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[FyreWulff]

Reminds me of going to Vegas, my friends and I were buying booze, the Lady at the register wanted to see all our IDs. So odd.

This is policy at most stores. Wal Mart for example, if you show up to buy cigs in a group, the entire group gets carded or nobody gets cigs.

 

[the1npc]

American alcohol laws are fucked.
Was in NY and they wouldnt take my id, wanted a passport. I was 22 at the time legaly buying alcohol in ontario since I was 19...

 

[Kibbles]

$14.25? I have to pay like $31 for a new ID in Wisconsin. Mine's still vertical too, all my friends of same age have horizontal I don't get it. >_>

 

[FyreWulff]

Vertical ids? What

A lot of posters on GAF are probably too old, but at some point in recent years most states went to <21 year olds having their IDs be vertical to more quickly visually signify that they were underage to drink.

All my IDs have been horizontal, while only my youngest brother was young enough to get a vertical ID.


The new thing is to look for a gold star on your ID, that's the new new thing if your state gives fed approved IDs out and apparently will eventually be enforced for certain things.

 

[xJavonta]

Most bouncers, bartenders, servers are going to be familiar with their respective state ID and a few of the more common out of state IDs. Asking them to be familiar with all international IDs is ludicrous.

I always tell my traveling friends to bring their passports everywhere, because the bars here don't play.

I see international IDs probably less often than they do at my job, but it's really not hard to determine if it's fake or not. They don't even try. They just deny it.

 

[doctorblurg]

Guess thats not the case in Texas I've bought alcohol from several stores and never been denied because of the vertical ID I have

 

[Zoe]

This is policy at most stores. Wal Mart for example, if you show up to buy cigs in a group, the entire group gets carded or nobody gets cigs.

Yeah, when I worked a convention, a Japanese guest tried to buy beer from Walmart but the cashier refused to take his passport (which is stupid but their right). Then he wouldn't let the rest of us checking out behind him buy it because at that point he knew we would be buying it for the Japanese guy.

 

[M52B28]

A friend of mine told me about this happening to some people. It's pretty lame.

Years ago, a bill or something was passed to make sure that people under the age of 21 were to get vertical I.Ds to make it easier to differentiate them from horizontal I.Ds so that kids wouldn't be able to spoof at stores. At least that's what I think it means.

I think it came in in 2012 or around that year.

I used to have a vertical drivers license, but I got drunk at a bar and ended up losing it. I have to go to the DMV to get a new one, but I'm not sure if I'll be handed a horizontal.

 

[Intheflorsh]

Glad I got a horizontal ID this month then. That sounds incredibly annoying.

 

[Desi]

This happens in Maryland all the time. Was weird for me since i wasn't 23 till I started to go out and had to get a whole new ID for it aka. a state-sponsored scam. My girlfriend has even run into problems using her passport ID which I find even more hilarious considering that going in and out of the country is a lot more important than drinking terrible happy hour specials.

 

[ZetaEpyon]

It still astounds me the drinking age in the US is 21...

I mean depending on what you want to do in the UK you can have alcohol in private from the age of 5 (and can be in bars as long as they're supervised), 16-17 you can have beer, wine, or cider with meals in public, and 18 onwards you're grand.

Then again when the standard question to a potentially underage drinker isn't "ID?" but "When were you born?" I suppose it's not that hard to fiddle our system either

Here in Wisconsin at least, you can legally be served alcohol (even at a bar or restaurant) when under 21, as long as you're with your parent or legal guardian. I don't know how well this would play out in practice, though; I wouldn't expect that most servers are aware of it.

 

[Corpekata]

It was a recent change in Arizona, like last year, so I imagine it's probably new in other places too.

Technically they expire within like 3 months of turning 21 now, thought that too is a recentish change. I got a notice mine expired last year as the end of the grandfathering phase approached. I haven't bothered to get a new one since I rarely buy alcohol. I really ought to get a new one, thanks for the reminder op.

 

[CloudyTuba]

Vertical ids? What

It's something that only started happening in more recent years, at least here in California. I learned about it because my little sister got one, though I did not.

If you are issued a drivers license or state ID and you are under 21, the license is printed differently. Instead of being landscape orientation, it is rearranged to be portrait orientation and it is labelled with the date that this person turns 21. It's to make it easier to recognize who should not have alcohol.

The ID doesnt necessarily expire on that date though so many people still end up having portrait IDs for a couple years after they turn 21. Normally this is not a problem because they just check the 21 date on the card. However it seems like some stubborn places have a policy that they wont even check the date.

 

[jstripes]

This is policy at most stores. Wal Mart for example, if you show up to buy cigs in a group, the entire group gets carded or nobody gets cigs.

At the LCBO in Ontario, if someone potentially underage with you has even touched the bottle, they won't sell it to you.

If you argue this, they'll sometimes also watch you go out to your car, and refuse sale to anyone else who gets out of the car and comes in.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

It was a recent change in Arizona, like last year, so I imagine it's probably new in other places too.

Technically they expire within like 3 months of turning 21 now, thought that too is a recentish change. I got a notice mine expired last year as the end of the grandfathering phase approached. I haven't bothered to get a new one since I rarely buy alcohol. I really ought to get a new one, thanks for the reminder op.

You have to be careful with this too, as many establishments will refuse expired IDs, even if they are legit.

 

[gutter_trash]

North-East GAF, come to Quebec! get drunk legally at 18

most bars in Quebec rarely card people, you must have a baby face to ever get carded

 

[FyreWulff]

It still astounds me the drinking age in the US is 21...

I mean depending on what you want to do in the UK you can have alcohol in private from the age of 5 (and can be in bars as long as they're supervised), 16-17 you can have beer, wine, or cider with meals in public, and 18 onwards you're grand.

Then again when the standard question to a potentially underage drinker isn't "ID?" but "When were you born?" I suppose it's not that hard to fiddle our system either

It's technically 18 in the US. But states don't get federal highway subsidies if they don't raise their state age to 21.

A lot of states have weird loopholes. In mine until recently, it was legal to be drunk as a minor. You just couldn't be caught holding the drink.

 

[ThatGayWolf]

This is Whole Foods policy as well, and it's stupid. One of the reasons I don't shop there, since I have an ID they don't like. They don't trust their cashiers to do simple math, nevermind that faking an out of state ID in the right orientation would be the easiest thing in the world.

 

[AdventureMike]

My girlfriend, friend and I went to dinner last night in Illinois. My friend and I are from Wisconsin, and our vertical state driver's licenses go through the age of 21, but the licenses are still valid for years after turning 21. It even explicitly says "Under 21 until MM/DD/YYYY". As it turns out, Illinois has a law in place that allows restaurants to deny people based on the orientation of your state ID.

In this case, they only allowed horizontal IDs, which are given to people over the age of 21 in Illinois. So regardless of the fact that we are of legal age, we were denied service just because of the shape of our state IDs. Now I'm throwing $14.25 at Wisconsin to send a new driver's license for me for future trips to see my girlfriend. This is the most ridiculous policy I have ever heard of. I hardly drink alcohol, but I'll exercise my right if I am allowed to every so often.

How the hell is the orientation of a state ID going to stop someone from purchasing alcohol underage?

Has anyone else been denied in a different state because of this stupid policy?

When I saw this thread title, I actually thought exactly of an experience I had in Illinois. When I was 24, I moved to Illinois for a job, but still had a legal ID from South Carolina. Was denied service from a beer vendor at a cubs game for my vertical ID that I still had.

 

[TheLostBigBoss]

I know I cant go in into the casinos in CT with a vertical license, even if I am 21.

I went to Foxwoods a few months ago with a vertical license being 22.

So...

Vertical ids? What

They are non-21 Id's

When you turn 21 you can get the horizontal version, but its not required until your current Id expires.

 

[Chuckl3s]

I heard recently at a bar that that only applies to in-state IDs, and that they'll take vertical ones if they're out-of-state (in Arizona).

That is correct. They just passed it recently. Sometimes if you are cool enough we will still accept it if you are out of town.

 

[Feel the Swift]

Campus bars that are strict usually deny out of state. Especially males. Gotta keep that ratio tipped toward women you know

 

[spyder_ur]

It is a bit silly, but my understanding was that it was to prevent people from turning 21 and handing over their old ID to a friend/sibling. I knew a lot of people who did that. It's true of expired IDs here as well, though I did learn that you can fly with an expired ID just fine.

 

[adamantypants]

Lol that's fucked.

I've been with friends who turned 21 at midnight, standing outside of a bar, and the bouncer let them right on through at the turn of midnight. Vertical ID and all.

 

[Onaco]

Lol that's fucked.

I've been with friends who turned 21 at midnight, standing outside of a bar, and the bouncer let them right on through at the turn of midnight. Vertical ID and all.

They said they would only accept vertical IDs on your birthday.

 

[Eblo]

Ohioan here, and we have the same policies I believe. A few people I know, myself included, decided to wait until their 21st birthdays before renewing their state IDs/driver licenses. Otherwise, the renewed ID would be vertical. I guess the horizontal ID is so ingrained here that bars and other places rely on that instead of just reading the birth date? It's pretty dumb. and vertical licenses look plain juvenile

 

[ShyMel]

My sister had something similar happen to her back in July. She had turned 21 in mid June, but had not had the chance to get her horizontal one. We went to eat a local restaurant and she ordered a mixed drink. The waitress asked to her ID and when my sister gave it to her, she stared at it at for awhile. The two of us kinda looked at each other, then the waitress said that it's illegal for her to sell her alcohol. The waitress still brought her the drink she ordered though. Her licence is still good and is also from the same state we live in (NC) so that was an interesting experience.

 

[adamantypants]

They said they would only accept vertical IDs on your birthday.

Well that sucks. I live in Vegas. I didn't get the horizontal ID until mine expired. I never had any issue anywhere. I had friends that went to the DMV on their birthday to get the horizontal ones (because they're idiots and wanted to prove their age).

 

[samn]

Why would there be laws on the books speaking towards orientation? That is completely idiotic. If you're showing proof of age with a valid ID, it should be accepted and any business refusing should be cited. You're basically being denied your right to buy age-restricted items at that point.

Makes no sense.

You don't have the right to buy age restricted items.

 

[GAMEPROFF]

Sometimes America makes so few sense to me

 

[Arcteryx]

Alcohol regulations in the states are just plain stupid regardless. My 90 year old father got carded a few weeks back lmao.

 

[2 Slice Toaster]

The punitive damages for establishments selling to underage people, or to simply being found to have taken insufficient action in screening patrons is quite severe.

I appreciate that not being able to get a drink is incredibly inconvenient, but I can sympathize with businesses being risk conscious even to the point of seeming unreasonable.