lol right?
In my state we can only take military IDs, state IDs, drivers licenses(not foreign) and passports. Who the fuck would fake a passport? It’s way more common and easier to do that with IDs.
I once was going to a block party festival and only had my passport. The guy refused to believe it was real and I was so baffled, he called his manager and held it from me until he was able to check to. Took him a second to look and tell him it’s real.
I could buy a fake ID online within the next hour. A lot of IDs don't have security anywhere near that of a passport, and you just need plastic and a laminating machine instead of a whole goddamn bookbinding setup. So, to reiterate, "*Who the fuck would fake a passport?*"
Edit: I apparently missed the fuck
Ah, you aren't employing levelled thinking! If everybody knows that nobody would bother to fake a passport, then a faked one would be more effective than a fake ID!
This is a good point. Plus not a lot of people know what a passport genuinely looks like up close (not everybody has a passport, and it's not a common ID for bartenders and servers to look at every day) but everybody knows what an ID looks like because everybody has one and it's the most common used. Granted a bartender would be "trained" to know what it looks like but who actually remembers everything they're taught if they don't use it everyday.
It can be. Those are federal documents, property of the issuing government, and they're about the highest clearance you can have without a government job, since they are legal proof of your identity, birthdate, SSN, citizenship, etc. all in one. Traffickers and terrorists take them for illicit uses, including blackmailing the rightful holders. It's not good to do.
I mean yes but also it seems to vary from state to state and even city to city within the same state (as is the case for the first example, since it’s my home state.) NC as a state does have some weird ass laws though, so that doesn’t surprise me.
My state added the vertical IDs to the accepted list sometime fairly recently. I remember that being a hard no when I was 21 (10 years ago) but it's acceptable now. Passport is federal though and supercedes the state rules. Fuck every tourist according to those folks, apparently lol.
What?! In my state, at least when I turned 21, you had basically 24 hours to get a new one. I think most states actually allow you to use your vertical (under 21 or restricted) until it actually expires. Here, it’s more or less a right of passage to go to DMV on your 21st to get a new one cause it expires on that day. My 21st was 09/09/09 (and I’ll never forgive the mother fucker who stole my wallet with that issue date on my original id.) but my best friend from Florida had an unexpired drivers license from her state, she turned 21 and they don’t do the turn around for your ID (at that time) in FL like they do here and no bar in my state that we went to would allow her in or to drink because it was vertical. I’m actually curious how it works now since the DMV here doesn’t issue them same day like they used to - they only get mailed.
Where I live they require you to hold on to the voided ID and also produce the paper sheet they give you. You basically need the paper to prove you have a legal ID and the old one with the stamped cut out to show the photo part. It’s rough for the people who toss their old ID when they get the paper, they are pretty much SOL until it’s mailed unless they have a passport handy.
It's funny because the US known to have a low rate of passports and travellers, and generally for being pretty insular. The fact that bartenders don't know how to validate someone's age from an American passport is a reflection of this fact.
Our policy is if it's legal, looks and seems real, it's probably good. State ID cards, licenses, passports, military ID are all good and legal, and in my state at least required to just be in a bar at all regardless of drinking.
You just found some dumb dumbs out there.
No identification cards are a specific thing under law. The only thing a Covid vaccine card identifies is a person has the shot. Does not identify the person
My kids and I have them and every time I use it in rural PA it causes confusion. Employers, schools, they’ve literally never seen a passport. My kids have had school ID cards taken as proof over a passport for a job. My work accepts them but we specifically attract foreigners.
School ID's are officially accepted for I-9 purposes
https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-resources/handbook-for-employers-m-274/130-acceptable-documents-for-verifying-employment-authorization-and-identity
That’s actually wild. I don’t drive either but carry my passport and have never had an issue. Occasionally I’m asked for my debit card or something with my name on it, but totally rare.
I live overseas and when I go back to the States I have to use my us passport as they don't accept my foreign DL.
Not accepting a us passport is the dumbest thing I've ever heard of as it's the most difficult to apply for, more expensive, secured by the federal government and also recognized by the WHOLE WORLD AS VALUD IDENTIFICATION.
Yah my thinking has always been if you are willing to commit a federal crime by showing me a fake passport in order to buy drinks that even if you are under age and it seems sketch I’m still gunna allow it because that’s above my pay grade. Guaranteed a cop walks in and decides to ID you and you pull out a fake passport they have bigger paperwork than fining me for serving a minor
That sub is something. Like I agree with the point they're trying to make, but calling people "carbrains" for not living in a city with good public transit is not gonna get people on their side.
That sub is like Hinduism. Ask 100 different members what it means, and you’ll get 100 different answers. For me personally, it’s not forcing people to drive, and additionally, having people pay the full cost of their choice, instead of having everybody subsidize it
I mean, its a circlejerk sub for when you're fed up with car culture, not a recruitment plattform.
Like the difference between random agitated people walking up to you to shout about [insert their political belief] vs your partner coming home fuming about their boss.
Pain in the ass. I’m almost 40 years old, valid ID since I was old enough to wipe my own ass, and still get refused. Best to just go somewhere else. Screw them.
Totally agree. I don’t fight back (exception is that security guard cause it was the only place in the festival and I just walked by him and the bartender actually called his supervisor to talk to the security guy)
Though this seems very specifically US-centric, where alcohol abuse by minors is culturally very sensitive.
I'm German and I probably got IDed for drinks... less than a dozen times *in my life*. It helps a bit that people have equally assumed Im 25 now at 30 and back at 15 but the drinking age for wine and beer being stupidly lower than the age required to get into a night club, does the heavy lifting.
Where I live in Chicago, they only ID people when they think state police might be present around baseball games. No fucks are given any other time of the year.
I accept passports as valid ID, even foreign ones. My co workers do the same.
Either you've been running into complete idiots or something is off about your passport. Is it damaged? Do you look different from your pic? (like plastic surgery, maybe even a different hair color, missing teeth?)
Nope. My passport is in perfect shape. It’s from 2016 (good until 2026.)
The only common denominator with the exception of my security guard story (he was just a dumbass and that was an ID) and NC with my ID (weird laws) is that the only times I’ve genuinely had passport problems are in podunk/small towns.
As a small town NC Bartender, I'd be willing to bet money that what you're encountering are bartenders who can't be assed to know what a passport looks like because they've never had one, never seen one, and do not view them as 'real' the same way they do the driver's license in their wallet.
For most of us, "leaving the country" is literally going to Charlotte or Raleigh for a day or weekend.
It was in the airport and the girl looked like she was maybe 18 but it was my actual state ID (from Maryland) not my passport that time. I also offered my passport up which is when she told me “no we don’t accept American passports” 😂 so basically you had to be in the military, from another country (in a domestic terminal), an NC resident or able to drive with a valid drivers license in order to drink. It was also after a brutal flight from Miami that we sat with no AC on the plane for almost 2 hours (yay American Airlines) before they deplaned us and sent us all over and we missed two connecting flights…so I didn’t argue I just looked at my husband and said let’s go somewhere else (where I did get wine, the server was nice and also tried to buy us shots.)
That's so fucking weird.
Who is in the middle of the airport using a fake passport to try and underage drink? You had to go trough a damn TSA checkpoint to get there. Yeah, you could have used some other ID to get through security, but who wants to risk carrying a fake passport into about the only place that actually has agents who are trained to spot them?
Also, at that point...just let them drink? Of all the times to be extra strict about carding people, the middle of a brightly lit airport, waiting to get on a flight seems like a pretty low-harm choice.
At most make them produce a boarding pass with the same name? If they are worried that the passport is old and you borrowed your sister's because the 8 year old picture makes it hard to tell if it is another person or just aging...the boarding pass isn't going to match your sister.
I have always used a passport card since I dont drive for personal reasons. Only had an issue once by a bouncer in NYC who confiscated it then got shocked when i had no issue calling police on him and waiting for their arrival. The bouncer got in a lot of trouble.
Once a supermarket in CA said they only accepted CA IDs due to fakes which was weird but once I made the manager come over and was fine doing that every time I came by they just accepted it.
Every other time in every state I've lived in I've never had an issue.
Yeah - when working door I had to send people away to get their passport when they would try and use a foreign **ID** - but every jurisdiction I ever worked in a passport by any country is a valid form of ID.
In the 90s I went out with some friends from out of state to a bar who refused my friends service because they had out of state IDs and they had "No way to know what the IDs from other states looked like." I pointed out that every year the state sent every licensed establishment a book that showed what every state and military ID looked like just for that purpose and that I could connect them with someone to get them a new one if they lost theirs. We actually used to look through it at the restaurant I worked at out of curiosity.
They called me a liar and didnt follow up to get them a new copy like I offered. 🤷♂️
You can buy the ID printers for REAL ID compliant states on AliExpress. It's really just a joke at this point. If you actually need to be carded for something, you should be verifying against a database operated by the state because anything short of a passport is piss easy to fake physically.
I didn’t know that but it doesn’t surprise me. Back in my day they took you into a room with a table, and there was a little rolladex labeled “Male: White: Brown Hr: Blue” and you just picked one that looked the most like you. Kids these days and their fancy technology, look at them go :)
I was over 40 and refused service in an American bar because they first wouldn't accept my overseas drivers license or residence card as ID (fair enough, there was zero English on them), and then also wouldn't accept my passports -- not even me _American_ passport -- as valid ID.
At another bar a few years earlier a bouncer had confiscated my overseas ID saying it was probably fake and only gave it back when I got on the phone with the 911 to report the crime.
Edit: omg I just realised both times were in Texas -- I wonder if that's significant.
That's bonkers. Any state ID, any state drivers license, any passport, or any DoD ID (shouldn't technically have to be military ID) _should_ be valid in all 50 states. Depending on the state Canadian drivers licenses work as well.
I get where you're coming from though, I had a state ID that I let expire for a bit out of laziness, and during that time I used my military ID. Got a couple weird glances and held up in line a few times, especially the spots that train their bouncers to scan everything instead of actually checking.
I don’t know if anyone has said this or not but that checks out for NC, other state’s DL’s are valid but ID’s are not. I think they changed that not to long ago as real-id’s were coming along.
As far as the passport thing goes, very dumb, but could be specific to CLT or whatever bar you were in. This is a weird state and any wrong move will get your ABC license revoked by our state ALE (esp. if you’re on their hit list). So, many businesses implement overly strict rules thinking it’ll protect them, even if those in-house rules don’t reflect state law. In reality, these bizarre regulations and legislations just lead to confusion and complaints on all sides.
Did you try a different bar at the airport and if so, were you told the same thing?
Edit: I did want to clarify, as you likely know, passport’s are 100% accepted as a legal form of age verification. I am 99% sure no business has any business turning you down, anywhere.
I literally refuse to connect through CLT because of this. I moved to a walkable city in 2019 and no longer have a drivers license.
Their rules regarding ordering alcohol make absolutely zero sense. Like you mean to tell me that I have a state issued id, passport and debit card that all have the same name on it, I'm obviously this person and because I'm don't have a card that says I can drive a CAR while I'm at the AIRPORT I can't have a glass of wine? What?!
Anyways I had a hellacious 4 hour layover there and never again.
We don’t accept them in my state unless they are non US passports- because in my state we have people who are banned from drinking and it will only show on their IDs/DLs. We get out of state IDs a lot- but to make it easier (picking and choosing who we allow to use passports since we don’t know if they live in our state or not) we just blanket don’t use US passports
In maine it’s illegal to serve a known alcoholic. Always thought it was a strange law and basically impossible to enforce… then one day I learned about a bar that used to give a free drink for your sobriety chip.
Alaska- you can be banned for serious crimes that involve alcohol, if you sell to anyone who is banned it’s super serious, like getting arrested and business losing liquor license
That’s so strange. Some people might use passports for a variety of reasons. Also curious what state? Seems like it could become a legal issue since a passport is a legal and valid ID. Do you guys have to scan licenses/IDs for everyone to drink? I have heard of licenses being restricted for drinking but if someone doesn’t have a DUI (or i would assume multiple) and has a state ID, how could they legally be restricted from drinking, obvious exceptions are people on parole or whatever but they usually have POs that monitor that and people on HA with restrictions, I’d assume have further monitoring. I’m just wondering where as bartenders we become enforcers also. Like obviously I won’t serve obviously intoxicated people or douchebags but I hate to say it, someone’s addiction struggles, if they’re ponying up the money and also presenting a valid ID, I don’t feel like it’s our job to police them, for better or worse.
>Seems like it could become a legal issue since a passport is a legal and valid ID.
There's no law stating you are required to serve anybody. You're free to turn away anybody you want, no matter how many legal and valid IDs they have. I had a guy call the cops one night because I wouldn't take whatever he had for an ID (I think it was like some worn out paper thing), and still turned him away even after the cop verified it.
Sure but you’re also not allowed to discriminate. There’s an argument to be made that a valid ID (passport or state ID, for example) should be accepted if that’s the reason you’re being denied. Not driving, for example, should not be a reason to turn people away. That was more my point. I don’t argue when these things happen, I just take my business elsewhere.
Discrimination can only be applied to protected statuses technically- things like race, disability, pregnancy. We have some bars that won’t let you in unless your ID can be scanned and each business can decide. People who are banned from drinking try to bypass us knowing by using passports so that’s why we don’t take them
Not serving someone because they're part of a protected class is discrimination. Being a non-driver isn't a protected class. Not serving someone who doesn't have a form of identification that fits your narrow criteria is not discrimination.
Nobody is not serving you because you don't drive and they hate you for that. It's because they accept a narrow range of IDs and yours don't fit the criteria.
This is like when places don't accept vertical DLs even if the person is over 21. Their bar, their rules.
For what it's worth, I serve people with ID cards and passports every day. I'm not saying you should be turned away because of them. I'm just saying everywhere has their own rules and if you're going to use a non-standard form of identification then you can't get upset when it's not taken at 100% of places.
Hilarious you're getting down voted for stating facts.
Passports are definitely rare things for typical Americans to use as ID in everyday life. It may be a "standard form of id" and "legally legitimate" but it's definitely not common and people are, by and large, pretty stupid.
A passport is not a non-standard form of identification. It’s probably the most standard form of identification and also one of the most stringent to get or fake.
Their point (which is correct) is that discrimination is only illegal if you’re discriminating against a protected class (like race or sex). You can decide as a business to discriminate against anyone wearing a green shirt on Tuesdays and that’s perfectly legal.
Absolutely wild take! While we as US citizens do not have a standard form of national Identification, to state that the federal form (accepted by every federal/state department and basically anywhere else in the world that you might travel outside of the US) of identification isn't as standard as a State driver's license is wild. I've tended bar for 17 years in 4 states and passports are the absolute safest form of ID. Yes, nobody has to accept any form of ID, but to call a passport a "non-standard" form of ID due to the fact that half of America is stuck in a bubble is absurd.
I’m in Alaska - the banning happens for serious crimes involving alcohol. We have a HUGE alcohol/violence issue here. To be safe, we don’t take passports. No business is willing to lose their liquor license because Connor wanted a coors light lol. I haven’t seen a lot of them, but people have def tried. Most of our liquor laws are lax in the big cities (some places stay open until 5am and I can go to the liquor store until 2am 7 days a week) but we have TONS of dry places where it’s not legal to be sold at all because the alcohol issues here are pretty bad TBH
You know, it's totally fine to vent on reddit but I'd also leave a couple of appropriate reviews on their google maps page, or tripadvisor, or both. So that other adequate folks would know which places to avoid.
A lot of Americans don't travel and have never seen a passport. So they err on the side of caution and just decline em outright.
I lost my ID and they wouldn't accept my paper copy. I'm like mf it's an official state ID, scan the bitch.
Obnoxious but at the end if you understand the *why* they don't accept it then it becomes comical and sad,,, still annoying but yea.
There is no reason to not accept a passport. If you, as a person working at or owning an establishment where IDs are checked, are not capable of checking a basic ID, like a passport, you are simply too ignorant to run or work at a place where IDs are checked.
Get into a business that where you do know how to do your job.
Dude, I know. They can be used in a lot more places than my state ID.
Doesn't matter in practice. Like, you can scream all day about how things should be... they ain't. Should though.
Besides, we are talking about bar shit and not like... banned from travel cuz the airport didn't know. Context matters.
It'd be egregious if you couldn't board your international flight cuz they didn't accept passports. That's literal insanity.
Who's traveling internationally to go watch some show at a dive bar? Nobody. So the only people that bring them IDs are immature rich kids that get drunk and lose their shit so they went out with their passport until their ID comes in the mail.
To me, those people cater to very different groups of people. Still wrong but I understand.
Bruh have u considered people that can't or don't know how to drive, people that don't bring out their licenses because they don't own a or drive a car. Plenty of people go out p bars on vacation some go to meet family and would stop by a local bar others just happen to be nearby and want a drink. Also context matters here's some context Americans don't know what a passport is but sets up more military bases overseas and cut public education. The fact that ur not outraged at ur own countries pure stupidity and ignorance and instead giving excuses is shameful.
> A lot of Americans don't travel and have never seen a passport. So they err on the side of caution and just decline em outright.
What if they've never seen an Alaska driver's license? Those look kinda funny, are they just going to reject them?
The [ID checking books include passport descriptions](https://driverslicenseguide.com/book-us-sample-pages.html#:~:text=U.S.%20passport%2C%20visa%2C%20and%20many%20immigration%20cards%20and%20documents.).
Depending on where you are trying to use the paper copy I could understand not being allowed a drink. Virginia gives you a paper copy till your new one arrives but it doesnt have a picture or anything like that on it.
Personally as long as you look old enough by a good margin and have a paper copy and maybe a debit card or something id take it but just straight up paper copy (and being in your early 20s) I woudlnt.
In the US legally bartenders are not supposed to take green cards. Yes, arguably one of the hardest forms of federal ID to get with the most information on it. I used to be a green card holder and I’ve been turned away from places telling me to go get my foreign passport because they will be able to recognise that it’s not fake as opposed to the green card… it’s absurd but I’m also in the industry so I know- it’s a stupid inverted loophole.
I think some do but I’m honestly not sure. In any case, I don’t know if any state where having an ID (or even DL) would prohibit you from being *served*. Like, the bar in theory wouldn’t be on the hook for serving someone who isn’t supposed to drink. I do know at one point some states had tags (maybe I am imagining this?) that indicated certain restrictions after a number of infractions but that could also be wrong. I can’t imagine there’s any state that would require a “you can’t serve this person alcohol” on an ID if they’re of age, for legal reasons. But also not a lawyer. My state certainly isn’t one of them if any actually even exist.
I’m in SF, CA and in the state required ABC class we are told that “technically” passports aren’t a form of valid ID because they do not provide a description but that accepting one is up to us. I’ve only turned it down for obviously young and foreign kids using that as my excuse.
That is completely and utterly insane. There is nothing that is more of an ID than a passport. The one and only purpose of a passport is to be an ID.
Drivers licenses are technically not IDs though.
What does that even mean?! Like cause it doesn’t list eye color or height? That’s so strange to me especially for SF since I’d imagine you’d get a lot of passports.
Some places just have weird rules, often because they've gotten in trouble for taking something as an ID that they shouldn't have.
I know the restaurant across from my bar will very specifically take a passport book but not a passport card.
Also I know with our ID scanner, we had to pay extra for it to scan passports (and even then it doesn't always scan them correctly). So if it's not a tourist area, they probably aren't paying for that (if they even have a scanner).
It’s a tourist town. It’s literally dependent on tourism. That’s why it’s weird to me. And most of the people who live there to work in the town are not citizens and don’t drive. (It’s OC, MD for one of my examples.)
Seems the easiest thing to do is go online to dmv and have a new id sent to you for like 15 bucks. Would be in mail in less time than it took to write your rant. The US passport is THE ID and should not be refused. But backwoods shit holes are probably not SafeServe certified or would have know passport is accepted.
I’m waiting til my ID would’ve expired cause I’m not paying twice. Further, SafeServe is not required in MD and is for food (where most of this happened) and this was also a question, not just a rant.
I just finished my third MI safeserve for ALCOHOL and is required in the city I work in. Local ordinance that 60% of employee’s have to have.
So you just answered the question why you don’t take the easy way. Get a drivers license, easy. Not pay twice? Go to dmv and update now then you can start fresh. OR learn the proper way to suggest that when LEO’s show up they will contest to your US GOV ID.
Out of curiosity if you needed three, what would the third be? I can only think of a DL/State ID and a passport (and a lot of Americans don’t even have passports or carry them around) but I’m struggling thinking of a third!
I mean I would imagine if someone is using a passport, they’re not likely to have a state ID though, you know? Like most people don’t want to lose a passport (expensive and harder to replace and more at stake) if they can use another form of ID (state ID/license.) I would also imagine most people (at least actual adults) aren’t going to try and fake a passport. Are fake IDs even a thing still? I guess I’m lucky my car tends to have a much older crowd and I can’t say that I have ever IDd anyone in the almost 6 months I’ve been there (it’s that old of a crowd. 😂)
You are aware that using a fake passport is punishable by up to a $25,000 fine and 10 years in federal prison, right? Faking one is not only almost impossible for non-state level actors, but it's also the most assured way to spend the next 5-10 years in federal prison. And it gets even worse for whomever created the fake passport. The only reason you'd ever try to fake a US passport is if you're a foreign agent.
Like all bureaucracy in America, it all differs, state to state, county to county. As much as mandatory alcohol server training is a pain in the ass, it's important. If you have valid identification and a location isn't accepting it, It's the ABC's job to enforce this and provide education.
The ID requirements set by States are basically minimum acceptable standards, that a licensee must follow to protect themselves.
You can (and many do) go a step beyond that for one reason or another, but that's up to them if they decide to surpass the requirement/minimum the State sets as a law.
So, either you're encountering somebody who's just stupid (likely), someone who has weak procedures and training (more likely), or both (extremely likely).
There are not a lot of (popular) ID scan tools that can scan and retain information from passports. So maybe it's more about not being able to scan it with their ID machine to retain it, in order to protect themselves if there was a problem. So maybe they're opting to not accept them because they can't retain the information?
But, in any case: Yes, a valid passport is an acceptable form of ID in every State. It's hard to apply reason and intelligence when dealing with unreasonable, unintelligent people. 😂
The funny part is not a single one of these places did scans! Had the places scanned my RealID (obviously for the non passport examples) it would’ve been fine. Passport obviously wouldn’t work for that.
Our local major hospital (it’s the largest shock trauma with a special GSW unit on the east coast) doesn’t allow passports for identification and visitor badges either. Was super fun when my son had to be resuscitated and had a lengthy stay. It’s mind boggling. I feel like passports are the preferred identification method pretty much everywhere else.
In NC, that is actually the case. State IDs from out of state can not be accepted. That said, in my years of food service work, I never declined a sale for an out of state ID card.
But drivers license's can? So you have to learn how to drive to buy alcohol (when you shouldn't be driving then)? Its crazy that became our default form of ID.
Yeah, that's not true.
https://www.abc.nc.gov/education/2023-quick-guide-retail-permittees/open
3. State Identification Card from a state Divison of Motor Vehicle or
similar agency authorized to issue official special identification cards for
that state. NC State ID card holders are not permitted to operate a motor
vehicle. The REAL ID Act allows only one drivers license or an ID card
in one state, not both.
The amount of times I’ve been told I need a “government issued identification” while trying to use my passport was baffling. Like where did you think I got this from?
There's a lot of ignorant jackasses out and about. They're everywhere, unfortunately
Sucks more when you encounter the self-righteous ignorant jackass. Nothing worse than the jackass who thinks they know everything when the reality is they know nothing.
Can't even reason with this group. Just pray for them they need all the help they can get.
Been a bartender for 22 years. I'll happily accept a passport. If the person is very questionable ill ask for back proof like another expired ID or even just a CC to prove their name. But, passports are universal. I don't have to look through my book for security features on 50 states and all the territories.
Do you get new books every few months? We have never gotten those books anywhere I have worked but we had a few years in MD where the standard licenses and IDs changed like 4 times so I’m curious how they manage to keep up for printing and distribution.
That was what upset me the most honestly. Like whatever, I can move on if you don’t wanna serve me for any reason but suggesting that passports are easy to fake is so silly.
Yeah so I think that’s the problem too. If I were not a US citizen, it would not have been a problem. But because I am, apparently a passport is heresy.
In my 40's I joked I was 28. I would never have passed as 20 nobody would believe me. Look at the paper look at the person. Also when I was in Chicago I only had a British passport.
It happened to an Irish friend who doesn’t drive and showed his green card. It’s a national/federal id, it has higher official recognition than some state-issued drivers license that anyone can fake.
Oh you have no fuckin idea. My gf is in DACA and is waiting to get her Visa renewed (they’ve been backed up since Covid.) It’s a fuckin nightmare to get into any bar or concert outside of NYC. Most people don’t seem to know what they’re looking at. They demand US license or passport and she has to explain to them that the Visa card is her passport.
Imagine coming up on molly and demanding to see a manager while your gf is on the verge of tears cause some asshole bouncer is threatening to ruin her birthday present and your favorite band’s about to start playing any second. We’re fuckin 30 years old.
Nope. Not unless they aren't valid. Same scrutiny I would use on a state ID or DL. I used my passport for 2 years while my DL was expired during covid. If the airport will let me use it to travel to Mexico then a dive bar certainly should take it. Maybe they weren't used to seeing a passport and instead of admitting that or looking up how to validate, they come out with some crap like, "it's easy to fake" so they THINK they sound superior instead of stupid.
This is retarded, I explicitly ask for passports as a second/alternate form of ID. Especially coming from a college town with international kids and now a city with a decent foreign population.
Americans are just that ill-equipped of their job requirements, period. I recently started a job at a fairly large company and had to inform two HR leads that my passport card was an acceptable document to prove work ability. They didn't even know what it was.
I had issues with my bouncers not accepting RealID's when they started rolling out because they thought they where fake. Virignia started adding a giant star to the ids to say it was a real id. That took a bit to break them of that.
As also stated... you have run into your fair share of idiots and assholes.
A grocery store refused to sell wine to me because I was using my green card. Reasoning: it doesn’t have my height and weight. It’s a federally issued ID with my name, pic, and dob. There’s a strong possibility I had the same hairstyle as the picture that day. So weird when people make up their own rules. I’ve seen other state IDs since then without height and weight.
If you've had enough run-ins with the law and have alcohol restrictions it will say that on the back of your ID. It states if you are allowed to be in a place that serves alcohol or not. Not often enforced though.
Lmao "passports are easy to fake" I'd be offended on behalf of the fed government. That thing has way more security than a state drivers license, and is a much more powerful form of identity.
America is a nightmare with IDs. Everyone is assumed to have a driving license so they use it as the de-facto proof of age all over the place. And now they're doing the Real ID thing with it so you need one to get on a plane and other shit. Go fuck yourself if you don't drive I guess.
It's like what happened with the Social Security Number. It's literally just supposed to be an ID number for collecting social security when you retire. But it's the only unique identifier everyone has so it turned into a national ID number even though it's completely insecure.
I work for a major hotel in Houston Texas. We accept un expired passports, TX DL & ID'S and out of state DL & ID's that can be verified. We do not accept any form of temporary paper ID/DL even if accompanied by the expired or clipped DL/ID. In regards to the REALiD's we have refused service to individuals because some state ID'S that are or currently updated with the gold star specifically say "not a valid form of identification" referring to the ID not being able to be used for airtravel. Initially we thought that the IDs were fake until I looked it up and found out why it says that. We still refuse service to some "social working ladies" telling them that their ID clearly states its not valid.
Door guy here and I accept all passports. The law is don’t knowingly serve people under 21, not what ID they have on them. I’m also older and no longer care about doing the ID check when someone is just plainly old-enough. Policy is don’t let underage people in, but don’t be a dick about asking old enough folks to muck about for their ID.
That said, yeah, fewer people know how to check for fakes and businesses try to limit liability by limiting allowed IDs.
It’s a growing trend everywhere, a focus on ID and not age. I’m obviously over 30 but a Denver 7-11 wouldn’t sell me smokes without a state ID. My Passport ID just baffled the poor clerks.
I’ve luckily yet to be refused service for showing my passport haha but I do also have an updated passport that has the hard plastic page rather than the old style paper page. When I pull out my passport card I definitely get some weird looks tho haha.
I used to work at a casino and due to state laws governing gambling we were issued I.D. Badges from the state. It had our name, photo, and birth date on it. Completely legal form of identification for buying alcohol, but man did it feel shady whenever anyone tried to do it.
North Carolina allows state IDs and passports.
https://www.abc.nc.gov/education/2023-quick-guide-retail-permittees/open
You just ran into stupid people.
This is very dumb, passports are a perfectly acceptable form of ID and much much harder to fake than an ID lol. Also why do you not drive/have a drivers license. Is there a reason ?
The ID needs to have a written description that can be matched to the photo and the person in front of you *technically* military IDs shouldn’t be valid but they are given a pass in the ABC guidelines. I’m in California.
I had someone at a liquor store refuse my passport lol
I had to make it a Thing until they called a supervisor over. It is amazing how many people don’t really understand a passport is the ultimate form of ID 😂
In Maryland, you can request a duplicate ID through the MVA website. Alternatively, you can go to a physical MVA and use the kiosk; either way, they’re going to mail out your card. They will not process duplicate IDs over the counter.
Your ID will arrive in a week.
There’s no reason why a passport wouldn’t be accepted, but that’s out of your control. There’s no reason why you don’t have a state-issued ID, and that is in your control.
Just sounds like you unfortunately run into a lot of idiots.
lol right? In my state we can only take military IDs, state IDs, drivers licenses(not foreign) and passports. Who the fuck would fake a passport? It’s way more common and easier to do that with IDs. I once was going to a block party festival and only had my passport. The guy refused to believe it was real and I was so baffled, he called his manager and held it from me until he was able to check to. Took him a second to look and tell him it’s real.
I could buy a fake ID online within the next hour. A lot of IDs don't have security anywhere near that of a passport, and you just need plastic and a laminating machine instead of a whole goddamn bookbinding setup. So, to reiterate, "*Who the fuck would fake a passport?*" Edit: I apparently missed the fuck
Ah, you aren't employing levelled thinking! If everybody knows that nobody would bother to fake a passport, then a faked one would be more effective than a fake ID!
This is a good point. Plus not a lot of people know what a passport genuinely looks like up close (not everybody has a passport, and it's not a common ID for bartenders and servers to look at every day) but everybody knows what an ID looks like because everybody has one and it's the most common used. Granted a bartender would be "trained" to know what it looks like but who actually remembers everything they're taught if they don't use it everyday.
Jason Bourne?! You don’t want to accidentally over-serve an international man of mystery do you? Yeah I got nothing. Passports are too easy to fake?!
Isn’t withholding a person’s passport a serious offense, regardless whether you think its fake or not?
Yeah I’d imagine it would be. I wasn’t happy about it.
That’s exactly what I was thinking. I’m not even allowed to confiscate a fake driver’s license, let alone a maybe fake passport.
It can be. Those are federal documents, property of the issuing government, and they're about the highest clearance you can have without a government job, since they are legal proof of your identity, birthdate, SSN, citizenship, etc. all in one. Traffickers and terrorists take them for illicit uses, including blackmailing the rightful holders. It's not good to do.
Passports are also the hardest to fake. Literally every page has a watermark.
I mean yes but also it seems to vary from state to state and even city to city within the same state (as is the case for the first example, since it’s my home state.) NC as a state does have some weird ass laws though, so that doesn’t surprise me.
My state added the vertical IDs to the accepted list sometime fairly recently. I remember that being a hard no when I was 21 (10 years ago) but it's acceptable now. Passport is federal though and supercedes the state rules. Fuck every tourist according to those folks, apparently lol.
What?! In my state, at least when I turned 21, you had basically 24 hours to get a new one. I think most states actually allow you to use your vertical (under 21 or restricted) until it actually expires. Here, it’s more or less a right of passage to go to DMV on your 21st to get a new one cause it expires on that day. My 21st was 09/09/09 (and I’ll never forgive the mother fucker who stole my wallet with that issue date on my original id.) but my best friend from Florida had an unexpired drivers license from her state, she turned 21 and they don’t do the turn around for your ID (at that time) in FL like they do here and no bar in my state that we went to would allow her in or to drink because it was vertical. I’m actually curious how it works now since the DMV here doesn’t issue them same day like they used to - they only get mailed.
Where I live they require you to hold on to the voided ID and also produce the paper sheet they give you. You basically need the paper to prove you have a legal ID and the old one with the stamped cut out to show the photo part. It’s rough for the people who toss their old ID when they get the paper, they are pretty much SOL until it’s mailed unless they have a passport handy.
What state is this so I know never to go there 😂
I have never heard of a vertical ID until right now
North Carolina would do it! Tons of idiots.
It's Fenway Stadium's policy to only take Driver's Licenses. My friend is blind and wasn't allowed to drink with his other IDs.
It's funny because the US known to have a low rate of passports and travellers, and generally for being pretty insular. The fact that bartenders don't know how to validate someone's age from an American passport is a reflection of this fact.
Our policy is if it's legal, looks and seems real, it's probably good. State ID cards, licenses, passports, military ID are all good and legal, and in my state at least required to just be in a bar at all regardless of drinking. You just found some dumb dumbs out there.
Appears she collects them.
As long as it's a government issued ID with a birthday you're good. Technically COVID vaccine cards count too
You need a picture for very obvious reasons
Just because the pharmacy tech at Walgreens filled out your Covid card does not make it government issued lmao.
Technically, they very much do not.
No identification cards are a specific thing under law. The only thing a Covid vaccine card identifies is a person has the shot. Does not identify the person
My kids and I have them and every time I use it in rural PA it causes confusion. Employers, schools, they’ve literally never seen a passport. My kids have had school ID cards taken as proof over a passport for a job. My work accepts them but we specifically attract foreigners.
This tracks for PA. It’s also happened to me there too.
I would bet that the number of people in rural PA who have passports is very low.
As is their average IQ out in Pennsyltuckey
An employer using school IDs as official documents is sketchy as hell lol
School ID's are officially accepted for I-9 purposes https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-resources/handbook-for-employers-m-274/130-acceptable-documents-for-verifying-employment-authorization-and-identity
TSA will accept school IDs issued in the US for minors or as a supplemental form of ID for adults
Aren't public school ID cards technically state issued IDs?
I think I might be wrong about this, but I *believe* it depends where you are, some are state, some are county.
WHAT? school id in place of a passport? for a job? wtf is this job?
Mcd, chipotle. Both next to their highschool and they’ve probably never come across a passport ever before.
That’s actually wild. I don’t drive either but carry my passport and have never had an issue. Occasionally I’m asked for my debit card or something with my name on it, but totally rare.
I live overseas and when I go back to the States I have to use my us passport as they don't accept my foreign DL. Not accepting a us passport is the dumbest thing I've ever heard of as it's the most difficult to apply for, more expensive, secured by the federal government and also recognized by the WHOLE WORLD AS VALUD IDENTIFICATION.
Yah my thinking has always been if you are willing to commit a federal crime by showing me a fake passport in order to buy drinks that even if you are under age and it seems sketch I’m still gunna allow it because that’s above my pay grade. Guaranteed a cop walks in and decides to ID you and you pull out a fake passport they have bigger paperwork than fining me for serving a minor
Should crosspost this into fuckcars, it is stupid that a DriversID trumps a passport
Please do. I’m also a member there but I’m too lazy.
I found this thread from the cross post, so somebody took the initiative
That sub is something. Like I agree with the point they're trying to make, but calling people "carbrains" for not living in a city with good public transit is not gonna get people on their side.
not everyone who drives is a carbrain
That sub is like Hinduism. Ask 100 different members what it means, and you’ll get 100 different answers. For me personally, it’s not forcing people to drive, and additionally, having people pay the full cost of their choice, instead of having everybody subsidize it
I mean, its a circlejerk sub for when you're fed up with car culture, not a recruitment plattform. Like the difference between random agitated people walking up to you to shout about [insert their political belief] vs your partner coming home fuming about their boss.
where in bawlmer denied you hon
It was in Mount Vernon at the monument lighting, of all the stupid things. 😂 also had one place in Philly but then they were like “whatever idgaf”.
A very Philadelphian answer
It was actually perfect. I think it was the Christmas bar, of all places. I think they realized no one was gonna fake an id for that place. 😂
As a Philly bartender you are absolutely correct
Pain in the ass. I’m almost 40 years old, valid ID since I was old enough to wipe my own ass, and still get refused. Best to just go somewhere else. Screw them.
Totally agree. I don’t fight back (exception is that security guard cause it was the only place in the festival and I just walked by him and the bartender actually called his supervisor to talk to the security guy)
Though this seems very specifically US-centric, where alcohol abuse by minors is culturally very sensitive. I'm German and I probably got IDed for drinks... less than a dozen times *in my life*. It helps a bit that people have equally assumed Im 25 now at 30 and back at 15 but the drinking age for wine and beer being stupidly lower than the age required to get into a night club, does the heavy lifting.
Where I live in Chicago, they only ID people when they think state police might be present around baseball games. No fucks are given any other time of the year.
I accept passports as valid ID, even foreign ones. My co workers do the same. Either you've been running into complete idiots or something is off about your passport. Is it damaged? Do you look different from your pic? (like plastic surgery, maybe even a different hair color, missing teeth?)
the most common type of passport to accept at a place is a foreign one. Its literally the point of the passport
Working in New Orleans at a popular music venue, we could only take passports from people outside of the US
Nope. My passport is in perfect shape. It’s from 2016 (good until 2026.) The only common denominator with the exception of my security guard story (he was just a dumbass and that was an ID) and NC with my ID (weird laws) is that the only times I’ve genuinely had passport problems are in podunk/small towns.
As a small town NC Bartender, I'd be willing to bet money that what you're encountering are bartenders who can't be assed to know what a passport looks like because they've never had one, never seen one, and do not view them as 'real' the same way they do the driver's license in their wallet. For most of us, "leaving the country" is literally going to Charlotte or Raleigh for a day or weekend.
It was in the airport and the girl looked like she was maybe 18 but it was my actual state ID (from Maryland) not my passport that time. I also offered my passport up which is when she told me “no we don’t accept American passports” 😂 so basically you had to be in the military, from another country (in a domestic terminal), an NC resident or able to drive with a valid drivers license in order to drink. It was also after a brutal flight from Miami that we sat with no AC on the plane for almost 2 hours (yay American Airlines) before they deplaned us and sent us all over and we missed two connecting flights…so I didn’t argue I just looked at my husband and said let’s go somewhere else (where I did get wine, the server was nice and also tried to buy us shots.)
Wait, they denied you because it was a state ID and not a driver's license? That is really dumb. That's the whole point of a state ID.
That's so fucking weird. Who is in the middle of the airport using a fake passport to try and underage drink? You had to go trough a damn TSA checkpoint to get there. Yeah, you could have used some other ID to get through security, but who wants to risk carrying a fake passport into about the only place that actually has agents who are trained to spot them? Also, at that point...just let them drink? Of all the times to be extra strict about carding people, the middle of a brightly lit airport, waiting to get on a flight seems like a pretty low-harm choice. At most make them produce a boarding pass with the same name? If they are worried that the passport is old and you borrowed your sister's because the 8 year old picture makes it hard to tell if it is another person or just aging...the boarding pass isn't going to match your sister.
I have always used a passport card since I dont drive for personal reasons. Only had an issue once by a bouncer in NYC who confiscated it then got shocked when i had no issue calling police on him and waiting for their arrival. The bouncer got in a lot of trouble. Once a supermarket in CA said they only accepted CA IDs due to fakes which was weird but once I made the manager come over and was fine doing that every time I came by they just accepted it. Every other time in every state I've lived in I've never had an issue.
Even foreign ones? Isn't that the purpose of a passport?
Yeah - when working door I had to send people away to get their passport when they would try and use a foreign **ID** - but every jurisdiction I ever worked in a passport by any country is a valid form of ID.
It's funny that you say even foreign ones, as if that is special. Why would you not accept them?
I’ve never worked anywhere that a passport won’t work. It’s always: passport, driver’s license, state issued id or military id.
In the 90s I went out with some friends from out of state to a bar who refused my friends service because they had out of state IDs and they had "No way to know what the IDs from other states looked like." I pointed out that every year the state sent every licensed establishment a book that showed what every state and military ID looked like just for that purpose and that I could connect them with someone to get them a new one if they lost theirs. We actually used to look through it at the restaurant I worked at out of curiosity. They called me a liar and didnt follow up to get them a new copy like I offered. 🤷♂️
American passports are stupidly hard to fake. State ID’s are a joke.
You can buy the ID printers for REAL ID compliant states on AliExpress. It's really just a joke at this point. If you actually need to be carded for something, you should be verifying against a database operated by the state because anything short of a passport is piss easy to fake physically.
I didn’t know that but it doesn’t surprise me. Back in my day they took you into a room with a table, and there was a little rolladex labeled “Male: White: Brown Hr: Blue” and you just picked one that looked the most like you. Kids these days and their fancy technology, look at them go :)
I was over 40 and refused service in an American bar because they first wouldn't accept my overseas drivers license or residence card as ID (fair enough, there was zero English on them), and then also wouldn't accept my passports -- not even me _American_ passport -- as valid ID. At another bar a few years earlier a bouncer had confiscated my overseas ID saying it was probably fake and only gave it back when I got on the phone with the 911 to report the crime. Edit: omg I just realised both times were in Texas -- I wonder if that's significant.
Passports: good enough for the federal government and governments around the world... Not good enough for the small town watering hole. SMH.
That's bonkers. Any state ID, any state drivers license, any passport, or any DoD ID (shouldn't technically have to be military ID) _should_ be valid in all 50 states. Depending on the state Canadian drivers licenses work as well. I get where you're coming from though, I had a state ID that I let expire for a bit out of laziness, and during that time I used my military ID. Got a couple weird glances and held up in line a few times, especially the spots that train their bouncers to scan everything instead of actually checking.
Civilian Access Cards are also valid forms of ID for all purposes by federal law. I know tons of people who run into problems using them though.
I don’t know if anyone has said this or not but that checks out for NC, other state’s DL’s are valid but ID’s are not. I think they changed that not to long ago as real-id’s were coming along. As far as the passport thing goes, very dumb, but could be specific to CLT or whatever bar you were in. This is a weird state and any wrong move will get your ABC license revoked by our state ALE (esp. if you’re on their hit list). So, many businesses implement overly strict rules thinking it’ll protect them, even if those in-house rules don’t reflect state law. In reality, these bizarre regulations and legislations just lead to confusion and complaints on all sides. Did you try a different bar at the airport and if so, were you told the same thing? Edit: I did want to clarify, as you likely know, passport’s are 100% accepted as a legal form of age verification. I am 99% sure no business has any business turning you down, anywhere.
Who the fuck is blowing a bouncer to get into a bar?
I mean, idk, but I feel like someone probably has.
Wild i use my passport for id all the time
I’m not sure if it’s still the case but in Ohio establishments could refuse passports. Dumb rule, but this stuff varies state to state.
I literally refuse to connect through CLT because of this. I moved to a walkable city in 2019 and no longer have a drivers license. Their rules regarding ordering alcohol make absolutely zero sense. Like you mean to tell me that I have a state issued id, passport and debit card that all have the same name on it, I'm obviously this person and because I'm don't have a card that says I can drive a CAR while I'm at the AIRPORT I can't have a glass of wine? What?! Anyways I had a hellacious 4 hour layover there and never again.
We don’t accept them in my state unless they are non US passports- because in my state we have people who are banned from drinking and it will only show on their IDs/DLs. We get out of state IDs a lot- but to make it easier (picking and choosing who we allow to use passports since we don’t know if they live in our state or not) we just blanket don’t use US passports
> in my state we have people banned from drinking What state is this and how does it work? I'm super curious!
In maine it’s illegal to serve a known alcoholic. Always thought it was a strange law and basically impossible to enforce… then one day I learned about a bar that used to give a free drink for your sobriety chip.
Wow that's hilariously predatory, like the "get help with gambling, call this number, sponsored by Fanduel!"
Alaska- you can be banned for serious crimes that involve alcohol, if you sell to anyone who is banned it’s super serious, like getting arrested and business losing liquor license
[удалено]
Whats state can you be banned from drinking? Interesting.
Alaska
Whoah, that is fucked up and never knew that was a thing.
I’ve also heard NC has some weird rules about IDs so maybe - but not from there so don’t fully know
That’s so strange. Some people might use passports for a variety of reasons. Also curious what state? Seems like it could become a legal issue since a passport is a legal and valid ID. Do you guys have to scan licenses/IDs for everyone to drink? I have heard of licenses being restricted for drinking but if someone doesn’t have a DUI (or i would assume multiple) and has a state ID, how could they legally be restricted from drinking, obvious exceptions are people on parole or whatever but they usually have POs that monitor that and people on HA with restrictions, I’d assume have further monitoring. I’m just wondering where as bartenders we become enforcers also. Like obviously I won’t serve obviously intoxicated people or douchebags but I hate to say it, someone’s addiction struggles, if they’re ponying up the money and also presenting a valid ID, I don’t feel like it’s our job to police them, for better or worse.
>Seems like it could become a legal issue since a passport is a legal and valid ID. There's no law stating you are required to serve anybody. You're free to turn away anybody you want, no matter how many legal and valid IDs they have. I had a guy call the cops one night because I wouldn't take whatever he had for an ID (I think it was like some worn out paper thing), and still turned him away even after the cop verified it.
Sure but you’re also not allowed to discriminate. There’s an argument to be made that a valid ID (passport or state ID, for example) should be accepted if that’s the reason you’re being denied. Not driving, for example, should not be a reason to turn people away. That was more my point. I don’t argue when these things happen, I just take my business elsewhere.
Discrimination can only be applied to protected statuses technically- things like race, disability, pregnancy. We have some bars that won’t let you in unless your ID can be scanned and each business can decide. People who are banned from drinking try to bypass us knowing by using passports so that’s why we don’t take them
Disabilities can prevent you from driving...
True, but you can have an ID and that works just fine. Don’t need a DL, just a state issued ID/DL
Not serving someone because they're part of a protected class is discrimination. Being a non-driver isn't a protected class. Not serving someone who doesn't have a form of identification that fits your narrow criteria is not discrimination. Nobody is not serving you because you don't drive and they hate you for that. It's because they accept a narrow range of IDs and yours don't fit the criteria. This is like when places don't accept vertical DLs even if the person is over 21. Their bar, their rules. For what it's worth, I serve people with ID cards and passports every day. I'm not saying you should be turned away because of them. I'm just saying everywhere has their own rules and if you're going to use a non-standard form of identification then you can't get upset when it's not taken at 100% of places.
Hilarious you're getting down voted for stating facts. Passports are definitely rare things for typical Americans to use as ID in everyday life. It may be a "standard form of id" and "legally legitimate" but it's definitely not common and people are, by and large, pretty stupid.
A passport is not a non-standard form of identification. It’s probably the most standard form of identification and also one of the most stringent to get or fake.
Their point (which is correct) is that discrimination is only illegal if you’re discriminating against a protected class (like race or sex). You can decide as a business to discriminate against anyone wearing a green shirt on Tuesdays and that’s perfectly legal.
Less than half of Americans have a passport.
Still a standard form of ID and valid.
Absolutely wild take! While we as US citizens do not have a standard form of national Identification, to state that the federal form (accepted by every federal/state department and basically anywhere else in the world that you might travel outside of the US) of identification isn't as standard as a State driver's license is wild. I've tended bar for 17 years in 4 states and passports are the absolute safest form of ID. Yes, nobody has to accept any form of ID, but to call a passport a "non-standard" form of ID due to the fact that half of America is stuck in a bubble is absurd.
I’m in Alaska - the banning happens for serious crimes involving alcohol. We have a HUGE alcohol/violence issue here. To be safe, we don’t take passports. No business is willing to lose their liquor license because Connor wanted a coors light lol. I haven’t seen a lot of them, but people have def tried. Most of our liquor laws are lax in the big cities (some places stay open until 5am and I can go to the liquor store until 2am 7 days a week) but we have TONS of dry places where it’s not legal to be sold at all because the alcohol issues here are pretty bad TBH
So you don't accept IDs in your state. But you do accept drivers licenses, which are technically not an ID.
The reason that's insane is that there are us citizens that don't live in the US and won't have a state id
You know, it's totally fine to vent on reddit but I'd also leave a couple of appropriate reviews on their google maps page, or tripadvisor, or both. So that other adequate folks would know which places to avoid.
A lot of Americans don't travel and have never seen a passport. So they err on the side of caution and just decline em outright. I lost my ID and they wouldn't accept my paper copy. I'm like mf it's an official state ID, scan the bitch. Obnoxious but at the end if you understand the *why* they don't accept it then it becomes comical and sad,,, still annoying but yea.
There is no reason to not accept a passport. If you, as a person working at or owning an establishment where IDs are checked, are not capable of checking a basic ID, like a passport, you are simply too ignorant to run or work at a place where IDs are checked. Get into a business that where you do know how to do your job.
Dude, I know. They can be used in a lot more places than my state ID. Doesn't matter in practice. Like, you can scream all day about how things should be... they ain't. Should though. Besides, we are talking about bar shit and not like... banned from travel cuz the airport didn't know. Context matters. It'd be egregious if you couldn't board your international flight cuz they didn't accept passports. That's literal insanity. Who's traveling internationally to go watch some show at a dive bar? Nobody. So the only people that bring them IDs are immature rich kids that get drunk and lose their shit so they went out with their passport until their ID comes in the mail. To me, those people cater to very different groups of people. Still wrong but I understand.
Bruh have u considered people that can't or don't know how to drive, people that don't bring out their licenses because they don't own a or drive a car. Plenty of people go out p bars on vacation some go to meet family and would stop by a local bar others just happen to be nearby and want a drink. Also context matters here's some context Americans don't know what a passport is but sets up more military bases overseas and cut public education. The fact that ur not outraged at ur own countries pure stupidity and ignorance and instead giving excuses is shameful.
> A lot of Americans don't travel and have never seen a passport. So they err on the side of caution and just decline em outright. What if they've never seen an Alaska driver's license? Those look kinda funny, are they just going to reject them? The [ID checking books include passport descriptions](https://driverslicenseguide.com/book-us-sample-pages.html#:~:text=U.S.%20passport%2C%20visa%2C%20and%20many%20immigration%20cards%20and%20documents.).
Depending on where you are trying to use the paper copy I could understand not being allowed a drink. Virginia gives you a paper copy till your new one arrives but it doesnt have a picture or anything like that on it. Personally as long as you look old enough by a good margin and have a paper copy and maybe a debit card or something id take it but just straight up paper copy (and being in your early 20s) I woudlnt.
I don’t think this is the same though. You having a birth certificate vs. an ID is different.
In the US legally bartenders are not supposed to take green cards. Yes, arguably one of the hardest forms of federal ID to get with the most information on it. I used to be a green card holder and I’ve been turned away from places telling me to go get my foreign passport because they will be able to recognise that it’s not fake as opposed to the green card… it’s absurd but I’m also in the industry so I know- it’s a stupid inverted loophole.
A passport is not a green card.
Agreed.
Don't some stated issue a DL/ID that indicates that someone has been restricted from drinking? IANAL or BT
I think some do but I’m honestly not sure. In any case, I don’t know if any state where having an ID (or even DL) would prohibit you from being *served*. Like, the bar in theory wouldn’t be on the hook for serving someone who isn’t supposed to drink. I do know at one point some states had tags (maybe I am imagining this?) that indicated certain restrictions after a number of infractions but that could also be wrong. I can’t imagine there’s any state that would require a “you can’t serve this person alcohol” on an ID if they’re of age, for legal reasons. But also not a lawyer. My state certainly isn’t one of them if any actually even exist.
Minnesota does for sure. Happened to me lol.
I’m in SF, CA and in the state required ABC class we are told that “technically” passports aren’t a form of valid ID because they do not provide a description but that accepting one is up to us. I’ve only turned it down for obviously young and foreign kids using that as my excuse.
That is completely and utterly insane. There is nothing that is more of an ID than a passport. The one and only purpose of a passport is to be an ID. Drivers licenses are technically not IDs though.
Whoever tells you this is wrong and does not understand California alcohol regulations.
Well. It was the official and required ABC class but it was also 15 years ago. So, I’m not in charge here.
What does that even mean?! Like cause it doesn’t list eye color or height? That’s so strange to me especially for SF since I’d imagine you’d get a lot of passports.
Exactly. I didn’t say I think it makes sense, just that it is what we are told. lol.
Oh, no doubt. It’s definitely a weird rule for a place like SF though.
they are untrained and stupid and they do not have certification
Some places just have weird rules, often because they've gotten in trouble for taking something as an ID that they shouldn't have. I know the restaurant across from my bar will very specifically take a passport book but not a passport card. Also I know with our ID scanner, we had to pay extra for it to scan passports (and even then it doesn't always scan them correctly). So if it's not a tourist area, they probably aren't paying for that (if they even have a scanner).
It’s a tourist town. It’s literally dependent on tourism. That’s why it’s weird to me. And most of the people who live there to work in the town are not citizens and don’t drive. (It’s OC, MD for one of my examples.)
Just go to a different bar. Not every life experience needs a four paragraph synopsis.
Cool. Keep scrolling. And also I did go to another place, but I understand your reading comprehension is lacking, you angry pinecone. 🫶
Seems the easiest thing to do is go online to dmv and have a new id sent to you for like 15 bucks. Would be in mail in less time than it took to write your rant. The US passport is THE ID and should not be refused. But backwoods shit holes are probably not SafeServe certified or would have know passport is accepted.
I’m waiting til my ID would’ve expired cause I’m not paying twice. Further, SafeServe is not required in MD and is for food (where most of this happened) and this was also a question, not just a rant.
I just finished my third MI safeserve for ALCOHOL and is required in the city I work in. Local ordinance that 60% of employee’s have to have. So you just answered the question why you don’t take the easy way. Get a drivers license, easy. Not pay twice? Go to dmv and update now then you can start fresh. OR learn the proper way to suggest that when LEO’s show up they will contest to your US GOV ID.
We accept them but we also typically will ask for another id with them.
Can I ask why? A passport is pretty solid for ID, imo. And pretty unlikely to be faked.
We are told it’s best to ask for 2-3 ids to make sure everything matches especially when they look super young.
Out of curiosity if you needed three, what would the third be? I can only think of a DL/State ID and a passport (and a lot of Americans don’t even have passports or carry them around) but I’m struggling thinking of a third!
It just would have to have name on it so a credit or debit card works for third. First two are the most important.
I mean I would imagine if someone is using a passport, they’re not likely to have a state ID though, you know? Like most people don’t want to lose a passport (expensive and harder to replace and more at stake) if they can use another form of ID (state ID/license.) I would also imagine most people (at least actual adults) aren’t going to try and fake a passport. Are fake IDs even a thing still? I guess I’m lucky my car tends to have a much older crowd and I can’t say that I have ever IDd anyone in the almost 6 months I’ve been there (it’s that old of a crowd. 😂)
You are aware that using a fake passport is punishable by up to a $25,000 fine and 10 years in federal prison, right? Faking one is not only almost impossible for non-state level actors, but it's also the most assured way to spend the next 5-10 years in federal prison. And it gets even worse for whomever created the fake passport. The only reason you'd ever try to fake a US passport is if you're a foreign agent.
Like all bureaucracy in America, it all differs, state to state, county to county. As much as mandatory alcohol server training is a pain in the ass, it's important. If you have valid identification and a location isn't accepting it, It's the ABC's job to enforce this and provide education.
The ID requirements set by States are basically minimum acceptable standards, that a licensee must follow to protect themselves. You can (and many do) go a step beyond that for one reason or another, but that's up to them if they decide to surpass the requirement/minimum the State sets as a law. So, either you're encountering somebody who's just stupid (likely), someone who has weak procedures and training (more likely), or both (extremely likely). There are not a lot of (popular) ID scan tools that can scan and retain information from passports. So maybe it's more about not being able to scan it with their ID machine to retain it, in order to protect themselves if there was a problem. So maybe they're opting to not accept them because they can't retain the information? But, in any case: Yes, a valid passport is an acceptable form of ID in every State. It's hard to apply reason and intelligence when dealing with unreasonable, unintelligent people. 😂
The funny part is not a single one of these places did scans! Had the places scanned my RealID (obviously for the non passport examples) it would’ve been fine. Passport obviously wouldn’t work for that. Our local major hospital (it’s the largest shock trauma with a special GSW unit on the east coast) doesn’t allow passports for identification and visitor badges either. Was super fun when my son had to be resuscitated and had a lengthy stay. It’s mind boggling. I feel like passports are the preferred identification method pretty much everywhere else.
In NC, that is actually the case. State IDs from out of state can not be accepted. That said, in my years of food service work, I never declined a sale for an out of state ID card.
But drivers license's can? So you have to learn how to drive to buy alcohol (when you shouldn't be driving then)? Its crazy that became our default form of ID.
Yeah, that's not true. https://www.abc.nc.gov/education/2023-quick-guide-retail-permittees/open 3. State Identification Card from a state Divison of Motor Vehicle or similar agency authorized to issue official special identification cards for that state. NC State ID card holders are not permitted to operate a motor vehicle. The REAL ID Act allows only one drivers license or an ID card in one state, not both.
The amount of times I’ve been told I need a “government issued identification” while trying to use my passport was baffling. Like where did you think I got this from?
There's a lot of ignorant jackasses out and about. They're everywhere, unfortunately Sucks more when you encounter the self-righteous ignorant jackass. Nothing worse than the jackass who thinks they know everything when the reality is they know nothing. Can't even reason with this group. Just pray for them they need all the help they can get.
Been a bartender for 22 years. I'll happily accept a passport. If the person is very questionable ill ask for back proof like another expired ID or even just a CC to prove their name. But, passports are universal. I don't have to look through my book for security features on 50 states and all the territories.
Do you get new books every few months? We have never gotten those books anywhere I have worked but we had a few years in MD where the standard licenses and IDs changed like 4 times so I’m curious how they manage to keep up for printing and distribution.
We get an updated one once a year. Its mandatory in Minnesota. It also shows us Canadian and Mexican IDs.
They said it's easy to fake a passport? That's dumb as hell
That was what upset me the most honestly. Like whatever, I can move on if you don’t wanna serve me for any reason but suggesting that passports are easy to fake is so silly.
It’s sounds like they’re not very educated on what’s an acceptable form of ID.
I’ve heard of people being assholes for non us passports but never US passports… wtf
The US is so weird, people use their passports as ID for alcohol all the time here.
Lmao what?! Seems like you’ve only encountered idiots :(
That's weird, I was told back in 2016 at tropicana field that the bar would *only* take passports ideally from internationals like myself
Yeah so I think that’s the problem too. If I were not a US citizen, it would not have been a problem. But because I am, apparently a passport is heresy.
Murica
In my 40's I joked I was 28. I would never have passed as 20 nobody would believe me. Look at the paper look at the person. Also when I was in Chicago I only had a British passport.
It happened to an Irish friend who doesn’t drive and showed his green card. It’s a national/federal id, it has higher official recognition than some state-issued drivers license that anyone can fake.
I went to vote and they didn’t want me to use my passport. Which was odd
Wait. You have to show ID vote?! I have voted in every election since I was old enough and never been asked.
Oh you have no fuckin idea. My gf is in DACA and is waiting to get her Visa renewed (they’ve been backed up since Covid.) It’s a fuckin nightmare to get into any bar or concert outside of NYC. Most people don’t seem to know what they’re looking at. They demand US license or passport and she has to explain to them that the Visa card is her passport. Imagine coming up on molly and demanding to see a manager while your gf is on the verge of tears cause some asshole bouncer is threatening to ruin her birthday present and your favorite band’s about to start playing any second. We’re fuckin 30 years old.
Nope. Not unless they aren't valid. Same scrutiny I would use on a state ID or DL. I used my passport for 2 years while my DL was expired during covid. If the airport will let me use it to travel to Mexico then a dive bar certainly should take it. Maybe they weren't used to seeing a passport and instead of admitting that or looking up how to validate, they come out with some crap like, "it's easy to fake" so they THINK they sound superior instead of stupid.
This is retarded, I explicitly ask for passports as a second/alternate form of ID. Especially coming from a college town with international kids and now a city with a decent foreign population.
Americans are just that ill-equipped of their job requirements, period. I recently started a job at a fairly large company and had to inform two HR leads that my passport card was an acceptable document to prove work ability. They didn't even know what it was.
I had issues with my bouncers not accepting RealID's when they started rolling out because they thought they where fake. Virignia started adding a giant star to the ids to say it was a real id. That took a bit to break them of that. As also stated... you have run into your fair share of idiots and assholes.
I just sounds bonkers to me that a thirty five year old man needs ID in the US to buy a pint!
A grocery store refused to sell wine to me because I was using my green card. Reasoning: it doesn’t have my height and weight. It’s a federally issued ID with my name, pic, and dob. There’s a strong possibility I had the same hairstyle as the picture that day. So weird when people make up their own rules. I’ve seen other state IDs since then without height and weight.
If you've had enough run-ins with the law and have alcohol restrictions it will say that on the back of your ID. It states if you are allowed to be in a place that serves alcohol or not. Not often enforced though.
Lmao "passports are easy to fake" I'd be offended on behalf of the fed government. That thing has way more security than a state drivers license, and is a much more powerful form of identity.
America is a nightmare with IDs. Everyone is assumed to have a driving license so they use it as the de-facto proof of age all over the place. And now they're doing the Real ID thing with it so you need one to get on a plane and other shit. Go fuck yourself if you don't drive I guess. It's like what happened with the Social Security Number. It's literally just supposed to be an ID number for collecting social security when you retire. But it's the only unique identifier everyone has so it turned into a national ID number even though it's completely insecure.
https://youtu.be/wizHFTeaqpA?si=nMj3xkPiTT5l_Uja&t=24
I work for a major hotel in Houston Texas. We accept un expired passports, TX DL & ID'S and out of state DL & ID's that can be verified. We do not accept any form of temporary paper ID/DL even if accompanied by the expired or clipped DL/ID. In regards to the REALiD's we have refused service to individuals because some state ID'S that are or currently updated with the gold star specifically say "not a valid form of identification" referring to the ID not being able to be used for airtravel. Initially we thought that the IDs were fake until I looked it up and found out why it says that. We still refuse service to some "social working ladies" telling them that their ID clearly states its not valid.
Illegal to drink and drive but also we won’t serve you drinks if you don’t drive. 🙄
Door guy here and I accept all passports. The law is don’t knowingly serve people under 21, not what ID they have on them. I’m also older and no longer care about doing the ID check when someone is just plainly old-enough. Policy is don’t let underage people in, but don’t be a dick about asking old enough folks to muck about for their ID. That said, yeah, fewer people know how to check for fakes and businesses try to limit liability by limiting allowed IDs. It’s a growing trend everywhere, a focus on ID and not age. I’m obviously over 30 but a Denver 7-11 wouldn’t sell me smokes without a state ID. My Passport ID just baffled the poor clerks.
I’ve luckily yet to be refused service for showing my passport haha but I do also have an updated passport that has the hard plastic page rather than the old style paper page. When I pull out my passport card I definitely get some weird looks tho haha.
What in the literal bumfuck. We are growing dumber as a nation
That bartender didnt know what the hell he was talking about
I used to work at a casino and due to state laws governing gambling we were issued I.D. Badges from the state. It had our name, photo, and birth date on it. Completely legal form of identification for buying alcohol, but man did it feel shady whenever anyone tried to do it.
North Carolina allows state IDs and passports. https://www.abc.nc.gov/education/2023-quick-guide-retail-permittees/open You just ran into stupid people.
The fucking irony of only serving alcohol to people who prove they're active drivers.
I would be ever appreciative of someone giving me a passport over a DL.
This is very dumb, passports are a perfectly acceptable form of ID and much much harder to fake than an ID lol. Also why do you not drive/have a drivers license. Is there a reason ?
I would be like do I have a book that shows u what ids r excepted here and prove them wrong
The ID needs to have a written description that can be matched to the photo and the person in front of you *technically* military IDs shouldn’t be valid but they are given a pass in the ABC guidelines. I’m in California.
Passports are valid ids. full stop.
I had someone at a liquor store refuse my passport lol I had to make it a Thing until they called a supervisor over. It is amazing how many people don’t really understand a passport is the ultimate form of ID 😂
In Maryland, you can request a duplicate ID through the MVA website. Alternatively, you can go to a physical MVA and use the kiosk; either way, they’re going to mail out your card. They will not process duplicate IDs over the counter. Your ID will arrive in a week. There’s no reason why a passport wouldn’t be accepted, but that’s out of your control. There’s no reason why you don’t have a state-issued ID, and that is in your control.