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AgeShield

Guide

How to choose an ID scanner for a bar

A bar can check IDs with a handheld scanner, a countertop or kiosk scanner, or an app on the phones its staff already carry. The right choice depends less on the device than on where your state expects the check to happen and what record you need to keep. This guide is written by AgeShield, which makes an ID scanner app.

A bar and restaurant with three places where staff check IDs marked: the door, the bar and the waiters at the tables

Start with where the check has to happen

Many venues picture the ID check at the door. Some state rules name more than one moment, which can mean more than one place where somebody needs to check an ID. We quote what these rules say; your state's guide has the detail.

Massachusetts, cannabis retail

The rule names two moments for the ID check: on entry to the premises and at the point of sale.

Read the text: 935 CMR 500.140(2)

Utah, alcohol

For a customer who appears to be 35 or younger, the law names admittance to a bar and the moment alcohol is bought in a restaurant's dispensing area, and calls for an electronic check.

Read the text: Utah Code 32B-1-407

Texas, off-premises alcohol

Certain off-premises retailers must electronically check the ID for each covered sale.

Texas ID scanning laws

ID scanning laws by state covers every state, with every rule linked to its source.

The three kinds of ID scanner

A handheld scanner

A dedicated device bought for each checking point. It reads the barcode on the back of a license, and some models add fake ID checks, lists or photos as paid extras for each device.

Fits a venue that wants a device it owns outright and checks IDs at one place.

A countertop or kiosk scanner

A fixed unit at a register or an entrance, usually plugged in. Some models add ultraviolet or infrared checks of the card itself.

Fits a single fixed point, such as a package store register.

An ID scanner app

Software on the phones or tablets the staff already carry, paid as a subscription. The phone camera reads the barcode, and every phone at the venue works from the same lists.

Fits a venue that checks IDs at more than one place, or moves its door around on event nights.

What to check before you buy

Which IDs it reads
Licenses from every state and from Canada, passports, green cards, licenses from other countries. Ask what happens with each, not only whether it reads them.
What its fake ID check checks
A barcode check and an ultraviolet or infrared check are different things. No scanner catches every fake, and a clean result is not proof that an ID is real.
What happens without a signal
Whether the door keeps scanning when the signal drops, and what syncs later.
What it keeps, and for how long
Your state may limit which details a venue keeps and for how long. Check that you can switch fields off and set the retention yourself.
Banned lists across doors
Whether a guest banned at the door is flagged at the bar too, and across venues if you run more than one.
Who scanned
Whether each scan records which staff member made it, on a shared device.
Cost per checking point over three years
Devices, add-ons, warranty and subscriptions, for the number of places your venue checks IDs.

For the numbers, see what an ID scanner costs a bar.

What an app adds beyond the scan

  • Several checking points on one plan: the door, the bar and a register each run on a phone or tablet the venue already has.
  • One Banned list on every device, so a guest banned at the door is flagged at the bar too.
  • An audit log of every scan, decision and setting change, with who did it and when, ready when someone asks.
  • You choose which details are kept and for how long, field by field.
  • Analytics on who comes in and when, and Regulars and VIPs recognized on scan.

Where AgeShield fits

AgeShield ID Scanner is an ID scanner app for bars, clubs, restaurants and retailers. It runs a fake ID check on licenses and state IDs, keeps scanning offline, and covers three devices on every plan, so the door, the bar and a register can each check IDs without a second purchase. It reads with the phone camera only: if your door needs ultraviolet or infrared checks of the card, a hardware scanner does that and AgeShield does not. See the ID scanner for bars.

Try it at your own door

Fourteen days free on your first venue, with every Pro feature on and three devices scanning at once.

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