Verifying Age and Recognizing False Identification
What counts as identification
The exam expects you to name acceptable documents and read them properly. Accept a current government-issued photo ID showing a date of birth: a state driver license or state ID card, a US passport or passport card, or a military ID. Refuse photocopies, screenshots on a phone, IDs with broken laminate or punched holes, and expired documents. Foreign passports carry a photo and date of birth but may require a second form under house policy.
Vertical does not mean minor
Oklahoma issues a vertical-format credential to drivers under 21, marked with the date the holder turns 21. A person who turns 21 keeps that card until renewal, so format alone proves nothing. Read the date of birth and compute the age.
Reading the document
- Compute the birthday against today's date; if today falls before the birthday, the holder is still under 21.
- Feel and tilt the card: laminate seams, holograms, ghost image, raised or laser printing, consistent fonts, and a photo that sits flush with the card edge.
- Compare the photo with the face in front of you: eye color, nose, ears, facial hair, scars, and the printed height and weight.
- Ask a question only the real holder answers, such as the birth date spoken aloud or the address, and compare a signature on a receipt.
- Check every person in the group, including whoever is paying.
Worked example
A horizontal Oklahoma license shows a birth date of 03/14/2004. Today is 02/20/2024. The holder is 19, not 20 and not almost 21, so the sale is refused. Reverse the case: a vertical card showing 06/02/2001 with today 02/20/2024 is a lawful 22-year-old, and the vertical format is irrelevant.
Traps
- Checking only the buyer while their friends drink.
- Accepting an expired or visibly altered card because the photo matches.
- Doing the age math loosely and rounding up.