Guides
Short answers to questions that come up at a door, with the sources they rest on. Written for owners and managers.
Running the door
Routines, scripts, policies and printables for the people checking IDs.
Bar re-entry policy: hand stamps, wristbands and rescans
A bar re-entry policy: whether guests can come back, hand stamps and wristbands, passed marks, ID checks on return, capacity and smoking areas.
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November 9, 2026
How to train door staff to check IDs: a 15-minute session
A 15-minute session to run before a shift: house rules, the refusal line, what the scan does, when to call the manager and which states require server training.
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November 9, 2026
When an ID will not scan: damaged barcodes and manual entry
Why a license barcode fails to read, from wear and laminates to documents with no barcode, what the card still shows and what the door can do instead.
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November 3, 2026
How to refuse entry at a bar without a fight
The house line for each reason a bar turns someone away, from underage to dress code, how staff calm a guest who pushes back and what to write down after.
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October 27, 2026
How to check IDs at the door: a routine for door staff
The ID check door staff can run on every guest, in one order: card in hand, tonight's date line, photo, expiry and one feel. Plus what to do when it is off.
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October 23, 2026
Bar door policy template
A fill-in door policy for US bars: who gets carded, which IDs you accept, refusals, re-entry, bans, incidents and overrides. Download the template.
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October 19, 2026
Which IDs a bar can accept
Expired, paper and out-of-state IDs and passports, with what each state's law says.
Does the REAL ID star matter at a bar?
What the REAL ID star means, why the federal rule covers flights and federal facilities, and what state alcohol laws say about cards without a star.
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November 9, 2026
Birth certificates, Social Security cards and other non-photo IDs
What state alcohol rules say about birth certificates, Social Security cards, student IDs and IDs issued without a photo as proof of age at a bar.
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November 9, 2026
Can minors enter a bar with a parent?
What state alcohol laws say about people under 21 in bars and restaurants: parent, guardian and spouse exceptions, age floors, hours and license types.
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November 3, 2026
Can a guest show a photo of their ID at a bar?
What state alcohol rules and regulators say about photos, photocopies and screenshots of an ID, why a photo is not a state mobile ID and where a scan fits.
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October 27, 2026
Out-of-state and foreign driver's licenses at a bar
What state alcohol laws say about driver's licenses from other US states and other countries as proof of age, and how an ID scan reads them.
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October 27, 2026
Can a bar accept a passport or passport card?
What state alcohol laws and regulators say about US passports, passport cards and foreign passports as proof of age, and how an ID scan reads a passport.
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October 27, 2026
Can a bar refuse a vertical ID after the 21st birthday?
What state alcohol laws say about vertical under-21 IDs once the holder turns 21, state by state, plus what door staff check on one.
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October 23, 2026
Can a bar accept a paper temporary ID?
What state alcohol rules and DMVs say about paper temporary licenses and ID cards as proof of age, the old card as a second ID and how a scan handles paper.
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October 23, 2026
Can a bar accept an expired ID?
What state alcohol laws say about expired IDs as proof of age, which states tie a legal defense to an unexpired ID and how a scan flags expiry.
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October 19, 2026
Can a bar scan a military ID?
Federal law restricts scanning and copying US military IDs, and the published exceptions do not cover a venue door. What the statute says, and what your team can do instead.
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September 15, 2026
Fake IDs
What door staff check, by state and in general.
Spotting a fake California driver's license
The security features California publishes for its licenses, how its under-21 cards look, the 2025 design and what state law says about fake IDs.
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November 3, 2026
Spotting a fake Florida driver's license
The security features Florida's license agency publishes for its cards, the 2026 redesign, the under-21 card and what Florida law says about fake IDs.
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November 3, 2026
How to spot a fake Texas driver's license
What Texas DPS says its licenses and ID cards carry, the designs still in use, the under-21 card and what Texas law says when a fake gets past the door.
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November 3, 2026
Borrowed IDs: catching a real card in the wrong hands
Why a borrowed ID passes a scan, where look-alike cards come from, the second-ID ask that catches one and what state laws say about keeping the card.
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October 27, 2026
How to spot a fake ID at the door
The routine state alcohol regulators publish for door staff, the questions that catch a real card in the wrong hands and an honest account of what a scanner adds and what it cannot do.
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September 16, 2026
Compliance checks and penalties
How stings work, what follows a failed check and what each state's process looks like.
Selling alcohol to a minor in California: what the license holder faces
What a California licensee faces after a sale to someone under 21: ABC's suspension schedule, paying instead of a suspension, revocation and the ID defense.
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November 9, 2026
Selling alcohol to a minor in Texas: what the license holder faces
What a Texas license or permit holder faces after a sale to a minor: TABC's suspension chart, paying instead, the 106.14 training rule and the seller's charge.
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November 9, 2026
California minor decoy operations and Rule 141
What California's Rule 141 requires of a minor decoy, how its defense works, what follows a sale and what recent ABC Appeals Board decisions held.
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November 3, 2026
TABC stings: how they work and what follows
How TABC runs minor stings in Texas: who the decoy is, which venues get checked, the employee's charge, TABC's penalty chart and the 106.14 training rule.
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November 3, 2026
How alcohol compliance checks and minor decoy stings work
How states and police run minor decoy stings at bars and stores: who the decoy is, what ID they carry, whether they may lie about their age and who gets told.
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October 27, 2026
After a failed alcohol compliance check: the first 30 days
What follows when staff sell to an underage decoy: the notice, the employee's case, penalties in three states and what owners commonly do in the first month.
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October 19, 2026
Tobacco and vape
The federal under-30 rule, FDA compliance checks and state rules on top.
What happens in an FDA tobacco compliance check?
How FDA checks tobacco and vape retailers: the undercover buy, the warning letter, civil money penalties, no-tobacco-sale orders and how a store can respond.
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October 23, 2026
Do vape shops have to check ID for anyone under 30?
Yes. Federal rules require a photo ID check for every tobacco or vape buyer under 30, with 21 as the minimum age. What the rule says and when it changed.
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October 19, 2026
Records, privacy and banned lists
What a scan stores, how long it may be kept and how banned lists work.
Can a bar keep a fake ID?
Which state laws let bar staff keep a fake or altered ID, on what conditions (receipt, police within 24 hours, training) and where the law covers only a short hold.
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November 3, 2026
How long should a bar ban last?
Bar ban lengths set by behavior, who can ban, how a ban ends or is appealed and what to record. Download a one-page fill-in ban policy.
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October 27, 2026
Can bars share a banned list between venues?
What state ID scanning laws say about using scan data for a banned list and passing it to other venues: use limits, sharing bans and consent, state by state.
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October 27, 2026
What a bar sees when it scans your ID, and what it can keep
What the barcode on a US license holds, what a bar's scanner shows staff, what it can keep and what Texas, New York and other state laws say about scan data.
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October 23, 2026
Choosing and running a scanner
Devices, staff phones, offline use and what a setup costs.
Scanning IDs on staff phones: a personal-device policy
What an owner decides when employees scan IDs on their own phones or venue phones: sign-in, what stays on a phone, lost phones, leavers and charging.
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November 9, 2026
How many ID scanners does a bar need?
How to count the ID scanners a bar needs: entrances, lanes at the peak, re-entry, a side check for doubtful cards, the bar and a spare for when a phone fails.
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November 3, 2026
The best ID scanner for a bar: how to choose
Phone app, handheld or countertop: what each can check, what one, three and six devices cost, offline use, ban lists and what state rules say about scan data. Written by AgeShield.
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October 5, 2026
Why the trial asks for a card
Nothing is charged when you start. The card, a verified email and one trial per owner keep an ID scanner from being opened anonymously by the people it is built to catch.
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September 15, 2026
Busy nights and seasons
Halloween, Thanksgiving Eve, New Year's Eve and spring break at the door.
College winter break: a door plan for hometown bars
A door plan for when college students come home for break: the season's dates, staffing, licenses from other states, groups, re-entry and incidents.
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November 9, 2026
Thanksgiving Eve at the bar: a door plan for the night
A door plan for Thanksgiving Eve: staffing and a second lane, out-of-state and borrowed IDs, the line, re-entry, refusals, incidents and closing time.
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October 27, 2026
Halloween ID checks at the door: costumes, masks and fake IDs
How to run the door on Halloween: masks off for the photo check, match the face not the costume, questions that catch a borrowed ID and a door card.
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October 19, 2026
Looking for how the product works? Start with how AgeShield checks an ID or the privacy controls.
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