Which Forms of ID Should Be Verified with the ID Checking Guide?
Posted on: August 10th, 2016
Employees checking ID for alcohol sales, and all those seeking to verify age have to follow strict protocols. The types of identification deemed legally acceptable for confirming a guest’s age vary by state and/or municipality. Additionally, employers, bank tellers, and human resources professionals all have to follow specific regulations for verifying identity and authorization to work in the United States.
The majority of age verification in the United States involves the sale of alcohol. All states have laws similar to the following California legislative code on the sale of alcoholic beverages:
"…every person who sells, furnishes, gives, or causes to be sold, furnished, or given away, any alcoholic beverage to any person under the age of 21 years is guilty of a misdemeanor."
Acceptable ID for Age Verification
In the majority of states, the following forms of ID are acceptable for age verification:
 DRIVER'S LICENSE |
 STATE ID CARD |
 MILITARY ID |
 VALID U.S. PASSPORT |
Passports and military IDs, while accepted, are less commonly used forms of identification in most areas. As such, most ID checkers lack familiarity with the security features on such documents. For these forms of identification, it is highly advised that organizations use the ID Checking Guide for verifying age.
In some states, special ID cards for undocumented immigrants or community IDs are accepted. However, ID that is acceptable in one state may not be accepted in another. In fact, individual establishments at times may not even accept out-of-state identification as a valid form of ID. It is always advised to check what the legal guidelines are for one’s state and/or municipality before making a company policy.
Acceptable ID to Verify Identity & Authorization to Work
In order to gain employment in the United States, one must complete Form I-9. New employees must present either a single form of ID that establishes both identity and employment authorization, or they must present two forms of ID – one that establishes identity and another that establishes employment authorization.
Forms of ID that validate both identity and authorization to work include:
|
VALID U.S. PASSPORT |
 PERMANENT RESIDENT CARD |
 FOREIGN PASSPORT W/ I-551 STAMP |
 EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION CARD |
Forms of ID that validate identity only include:
|
DRIVER'S LICENSE |
STATE ID CARD |
|
MILITARY ID |
Primary Forms of ID that validate authorization to work only include:
 CERTIFICATION OF REPORT OF BIRTH |
 CERTIFICATION OF BIRTH ABROAD |
 U.S. SOCIAL SECURITY CARD |
In order to ensure the legitimacy of all types of identity and work authorization, refer to the 700-page U.S. Identification Manual, often referred to as the "bible" for ID verification.
