Checking ID like you mean it

By the end of this lesson you can run the same ID check on every guest, in about thirty seconds. Lesson 3-1 covers which documents you can accept and the age rule behind them. This lesson covers what your hands and eyes do once the card is in front of you.

Take the ID out of their hand

Hold the ID in your hands. Do not let a guest flash it at you across the bar. A card held at arm's length, or kept moving, gives you nothing to check.

A photo of the card on their phone is no better. Copies and photos are not acceptable. Only the physical card counts.

Then examine the ID closely. The AGCO guidance says to examine it by hand and not to rely on a quick glance. Thirty seconds feels long on a busy Friday night. Take them anyway.

Never accept ID without a photo. That rule has no exceptions.

The thirty-second routine

Run the same five steps in the same order, every time:

1. Feel the card. Check for extra thickness around the photo and along the edge of the lamination. Extra thickness can mean a second photo was placed over the original and the card was re-laminated.
2. Read the printing. Are the numbers and letters consistent, and the same thickness, weight and colour? Altered characters may come out thicker, heavier or darker than the rest of the card.
3. Compare the photo to the face in front of you.
4. Check the expiry date. An expired card is not valid ID.
5. Do the math on the birth date. Subtract the year of birth from this year, then check the month and the day.

Steps 1 and 2 are the two you will be tempted to skip. They are the two that find an altered card.

What an Ontario driver's licence shows you

Ontario licences carry security features you can check with your hands and eyes:

• Raised lettering on the licence number and on the date of birth. Run a thumb across them.
• A protected secondary photo and signature in the bottom right corner.
• A machine-readable barcode that holds the licensee's data.
• Ultraviolet features, an Ontario logo on the front and a stylized Trillium flower on the back. Both show only under a blacklight.

The licence number checks the card against its holder:

• The number starts with the first letter of the last name. Jane Public's number starts with a "P".
• The 9th and 10th numbers, the pair separated by a dash, match the last two numbers of the year of birth.
• The last two numbers give the day of birth.

Ontario licences and photo cards issued to people aged 16 to 18 carry an "AGE 19" banner near the bottom of the card, beside the date of birth. The banner shows the exact date the holder turns 19. If that date has not arrived yet, the guest is under 19 today.

Ask everyone who appears underage, every time

You must ask for ID to verify the age of anyone who appears underage, every time. Do not make assumptions based on appearance, familiarity, or how often the guest comes in. The regular you served last month still shows a card today.

Asking can upset people. Stay calm, professional and courteous. Stand your ground, because the law requires you to check the ID of a person who appears underage.

Ask a supervisor, a manager or a colleague for help when you need it. Notify the local police if a guest becomes abusive.

When you are not sure

Two moves come before a refusal. Request a second piece of ID. Ask the guest to confirm details on the card: the birthdate, the postal code, or the spelling of the middle name. The owner of the card answers without effort.

If the ID is still not valid, say no. Decline the sale or service and state that the law prohibits sale or service to minors. Refer to your signage. Keep the words short and even: "I can't serve you on this ID. The law doesn't let me serve anyone under 19." Call your supervisor over if the guest wants to argue it.

Why the refusal protects you

A guest who presents documentation that was not lawfully issued to them commits an offence under section 35 of the LLCA. That offence is theirs. It is not your defence.

Your protection sits in section 33 (5). If you sell on the strength of a prescribed document, you are not in breach of the appears-under-19 rules, so long as there was no apparent reason to doubt the document or to doubt that it was issued to the person producing it. Thick lamination, printing that does not match, or a photo that does not match the face all give you an apparent reason to doubt. Serve anyway and the protection is gone.

This is why the routine matters more than the outcome of any one check. The five steps are what turn "I looked at it" into "I checked it".

The trap to expect on the test

The test likes the word "appears". You check ID because a guest appears under 19, not because you know their age.

It also likes the familiar-regular scenario: a guest you have served for months, no ID on them tonight. The answer is still to check. Watch for an expired licence or a card with no photo. Both fail, whatever else looks right.

Recap

• Hold the ID, examine it by hand, and never accept ID without a photo.
• Feel for extra thickness around the photo and the lamination edge. Check that numbers and letters are consistent in thickness, weight and colour.
• Compare the photo to the face, check the expiry date, and do the math on the birth date.
• On an Ontario licence, check the raised lettering, the secondary photo and signature, the number pattern, and the "AGE 19" banner.
• Ask anyone who appears under 19, every time. Make no assumptions from appearance or familiarity.
• When you are unsure, request a second piece of ID and ask the guest to confirm details on the card.
• No valid ID, no service. Decline calmly, state the law, refer to signage, and call a supervisor if needed.
• Using another person's ID is the guest's offence under s. 35. Accepting an ID you had reason to doubt is your risk under s. 33 (5).