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It is illegal to knowingly serve alcohol to a minor, and anyone who does can be held responsible. Many in the industry believe fake IDs are the primary problem since they’re considered the gateway to a minor getting access to alcohol. But how do fake IDs play into getting caught serving to minors? What are the repercussions? And who’s ultimately the person legally responsible when a minor is served?
To answer some of these questions and more, we put together 8 facts about the liability of serving minors and the risk to you when it’s a fake ID.
When authorities orchestrate a sting and check to make sure you aren’t serving minors, they legally cannot do so by using a fake ID or purposefully deceiving you. They’re typically checking to make sure you’re properly asking for identification. Most sting fails are a result of not asking for identification, or asking for identification but incorrectly calculating someone’s age based on their date of birth. When these human errors happen, you’ll fail the sting and both the server and the establishment will be presented with the ramifications.
In most cases, minors are served as a result of an establishment not checking IDs. While fake IDs are in the mix of minors trying to get alcohol, establishments don’t catch them because they simply aren’t checking IDs at all.
Honest math errors happen, especially when it’s a busy night and there’s a lot on the brain. It’s easy for people to miscalculate the year 21 years from today to determine if the person presenting the ID is of legal drinking age. Many establishments use tools such as ID scanners to help combat this risk factor.
The seller is the one liable for serving the minor, which oftentimes carries the same penalties as the person who holds the liquor license. As a bartender or server, you are responsible for checking the ID of your customers even if another person has previously checked it. In these situations, there are oftentimes separate penalties given to the parties involved, including the licensee (the owner of a bar) and the person who makes the sale (the bartender who serves a minor). Depending on the severity of the situation and state laws, the penalties can range from a fine to jail time for the person who made the sale.
When a minor is served, you need to prove you did the steps to the best of your abilities to not purposefully serve that person. If the guest presents a realistic ID that says he or she is of drinking age, and you did everything to the best of your ability to not purposefully serve him/her, the liability on the server and establishment is decreased significantly in most cases. In these cases, the minor with the fake ID is the one liable for crimes such as fraud, criminal possession of a forged instrument, or identity theft, which range in penalties from a Class B Misdemeanor to a Class D Felony. However, if it’s obvious that the ID is fake or if that ID clearly does not belong to the person presenting it and the server did not catch it, then the establishment and the person who served that minor also becomes liable.
One of the most common methods for underage persons to try to get into an establishment is to use a borrowed ID of someone over 21. This is a form of a fake ID, and carries the same liabilities as a newly manufactured fake ID. In these instances, it’s important for bartenders and servers to review the ID and do everything to the best of their ability to not purposefully serve that minor.
Any system that claims to catch 100% of fake IDs or uses the word “guarantee” is lying. A system can certainly assist in spotting some newly manufactured fake IDs, but many are so advanced that it would pass the test of a system reading a barcode on the back of an ID or doing an OCR scan of the front of the ID. Furthermore, a system wouldn’t register an ID as fake if it’s a borrowed/stolen real ID. The importance of human interaction with detecting a fake ID will always remain a priority.
While it’s true that an ID scanner won’t catch 100% of fake IDs, it still will drastically reduce, if not eliminate, your liability of serving to minors. When you use an ID scanner to scan every guest’s ID, you solve the two most common reasons that minors are served — 1) not checking the ID at all; 2) incorrectly calculating the age from the ID. Having a quick license scan double verifies the guest’s age with a simple color coded alert of whether they’re over 21 or under 21. It makes it foolproof even under high stress situations. It also serves as your paper trail to prove to authorities you didn’t purposefully serve that person and did the best of your ability to be compliant.
Checking IDs is commonly considered a necessary evil of serving alcohol. It’s not sexy. It’s not exciting. It’s a nuisance. But this nuisance is actually a huge asset to your nightclub, especially with the right technology. It’s no longer a matter of crossing your t’s and dotting your i’s. Using advanced technology to check IDs is the new way to protect your club while driving profit.
More than 250 ID changes are made annually in the United States alone, and the creation of fraudulent IDs will continue to advance. This is a deadly combination. It’s neither smart nor fair to leave the burden of identifying outdated or fraudulent IDs with your doormen. Once a minor is approved and served, litigation may be right around the corner.
While legal repercussions vary by state and circumstances, the license holder found in violation of alcohol furnishing laws can receive anything from a fine to a suspension to a revocation of the liquor license. This liability begins with the first drink. It doesn’t matter whether or not a minor exhibits signs of intoxication, if there’s alcohol in the blood system, then your nightclub is liable. And should your license get revoked, you’ll have to wait at least six months before you can apply for another, which will likely be more difficult and costly due to the revocation on your record.
Not only can electronic ID scanning systems deter minors from entering your club, but they can also mitigate risks associated with unlawful incidents. Advanced ID scanning systems have the functionality to:
Maintaining a secure environment minimizes costs associated with insurance, repairs, fines, and enforcement. What’s more is it provides an enjoyable atmosphere for your patrons, which translates to a more profitable establishment.
Better data means better business, and better business starts with great customer service. The more you know about your customers, the better you can communicate with them and develop lasting relationships. Electronic ID scanners allow you to collect information in the blink of an eye, such as customer demographics, frequency of visits, male to female ratio, and customer contact information. This information leads to better communication, management and, ultimately, profit.
Whitney Larson is the president at Vēmos. Contact her at whitney.larson@vemos.io.