In order to consume or purchase alcohol in the United States of America you must be at least 21 years of age. Most restaurants, bars, liquor stores, grocery stores, and any other establishment that sells alcoholic beverages will require its clientèle to show proof that they are actually 21 years old or older. While there are general laws that all vendors must follow, many establishments have procedures that go beyond the state's minimum requirements. This page is a list of establishments that serve alcohol, along with what form of ID they accept as proof of age. The goal is for everyone to know in advance what is required at these establishments so conflicts are avoided at the register.
Note that ever since 2010, military IDs and passports that contain a photo and date of birth are acceptable forms of identification, regardless of whether they have a physical description of the person on them. This means that if the seller checked these forms of ID carefully it is equivalent in the eyes of the law as to if the employer checked a state issued photo ID or drivers license. However, this does not mean the employer is required to serve you when you present such identification. Some vendors have stricter ID requirements.
M = military ID DL = all drivers licenses and state IDs CADL = CA drivers licenses and state IDs P = passports FID = foreign IDs
please edit this list by adding new establishments and making current entries more up to date
Restaurants and Bars
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KetMoRee - DL (do not accept military IDs or passports that do not have a physical description, it is unclear if they accept the ones with a description)
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This restaurant will not accept a military ID for age verification as the sole form of ID. This is because they are confused as to what constitutes an acceptable form of ID. California use to require that acceptable forms of ID have a physical description (height, weight, color of hair, etc) of the person the ID was issued to printed on them. Since 2010 government issued passports and military IDs that do not include such information are considered valid forms of identification as long as they have a photo and a date of birth. This issue came about because US passports and newly issued military IDs no longer has a physical description of the person printed on them in plain text. KetMoRee wrongly insist that all military IDs are unacceptable for age verification. While KetMoRee may be able to refuse alcohol service to someone who only provides such an ID, that would be a company policy requiring stricter verification than what the law requires. Someone who took issue with them rejecting her perfectly valid military ID took issue with this policy and posted about it, leading to all sorts of condescending remarks directed towards her from the staff. Please see Proof of Age for Alcohol for a list of establishments that sell alcohol and their age verification policies.
- JodyD clarified by saying: "I was told by management while patronizing during their Club hours that their Company policy dictates they will "not" accept a Military ID as the sole form of ID.This is due to the fact that their is no physical description on many of the varying forms of military ID(ie. Military Dependent). They will however accept a Military ID in conjunction with any other document containing a Full Name (ie. Credit/Debit Card, Student ID, Birth Cert.) Again, this is a company policy independent of ABC Law."
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OliviaY just to note I have a military dependent card, have for years, and it has my age, height, weight, eye color AND hair color on it so I have no idea what else they require for "physical description" that isn't on that form of ID.
- "Since 2010 government issued passports and military IDs...", i.e. this only applies to IDs issued recently. Your Military ID might be accepted, but I would not take a gamble. I'm a bit confused as to why they would accept a military ID in conjunction with a credit card, its not like a credit card has a physical description. If someone was trying to pass as you by using your military ID, couldn't they just as easily have your credit card as well. —MattHh
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This restaurant will not accept a military ID for age verification as the sole form of ID. This is because they are confused as to what constitutes an acceptable form of ID. California use to require that acceptable forms of ID have a physical description (height, weight, color of hair, etc) of the person the ID was issued to printed on them. Since 2010 government issued passports and military IDs that do not include such information are considered valid forms of identification as long as they have a photo and a date of birth. This issue came about because US passports and newly issued military IDs no longer has a physical description of the person printed on them in plain text. KetMoRee wrongly insist that all military IDs are unacceptable for age verification. While KetMoRee may be able to refuse alcohol service to someone who only provides such an ID, that would be a company policy requiring stricter verification than what the law requires. Someone who took issue with them rejecting her perfectly valid military ID took issue with this policy and posted about it, leading to all sorts of condescending remarks directed towards her from the staff. Please see Proof of Age for Alcohol for a list of establishments that sell alcohol and their age verification policies.
- Little Prague Bar - DL, FID, M, P - The standing policy at Little Prague Bar is that they accept any Government issued Identification Card including Passports. Some foreign Driver's Licenses are not accepted due to the fact they are nothing more than a laminated picture on flimsy paper and may or may not actually be the individual. Do not be surprised if you have a foreign ID or Passport and they take a double look and ask a few questions though... they try to be as accurate as possible and are very strict when it comes to false IDs.
Stores that Sell Alcohol
- Trader Joe's - DL (do not accept foreign IDs, it is unclear whether they accept passports and military ID)
- CVS - Only accepts American issued IDs, military and American passports. Do not accept foreign IDs or foreign passports.
Disclaimer: Like everything else on the wiki, this page is the compiled knowledge and experience of normal people, so if you really want to get drunk or cook coq au vin and waited until the last minute to buy wine and are denied, just correct the above!
