State guide
Hawaii ID scanning laws
Hawaii allows ID scanning when a customer's age is in doubt, but information from the scan cannot be kept or shared.
For bars, restaurants and retailers, the practical questions are which purposes justify a scan, when identification must be checked, which IDs count and what scan data may not be kept.
Reviewed September 29, 2026 ยท 9 primary sources linked
Hawaii at a glance
- Is it legal to scan IDs in Hawaii?
- Yes, for the purposes Hawaii lists.These include verifying age when there is reasonable doubt that a customer is old enough and checking whether an ID is genuine or confirming identity for non-cash payments, returns, refunds and exchanges.
- Do you have to check IDs in Hawaii, and when?
- It depends on what you sell.Honolulu's liquor rules require an ID check before alcohol is sold or served, and tobacco and vape retailers must check the ID of any buyer who reasonably appears under 27.
- Which IDs provide protection in Hawaii?
- In Honolulu, a state driver's license, a military ID card, other government photo ID or an ID the Liquor Commission approves.Each must be unaltered, undamaged and laminated. Tobacco and vape retailers rely on a photo ID showing the customer is 21 or older.
- Can you keep data from an ID scan in Hawaii?
- Not information obtained from a scan used to verify age or whether the ID is genuine.Hawaii prohibits retaining that scan-derived information, and customer consent does not create an exception.
- What other Hawaii laws reach the data you keep?
- Other stored ID information can fall under Hawaii's breach-notification and records-disposal laws.A name kept with a driver's license or Hawaii ID number is covered. Hawaii does not currently have a comprehensive consumer privacy law.
- Does scanning give you a defense if you serve a minor in Hawaii?
- A scan does not create the alcohol defense, but it can help staff determine whether an ID is genuine.Hawaii's alcohol protections turn on whether staff's belief that the customer was 21 or older was reasonable, or honest and made in good faith.
- Can a customer refuse an ID scan in Hawaii?
- Hawaii does not specifically regulate refusal of a scan or require a manual alternative.No Hawaii law requires a scan, and refusals remain subject to Hawaii's public-accommodation law.
What Hawaii venues should know
Is it legal to scan IDs in Hawaii?
Yes, for the purposes Hawaii's scanning law specifically permits.
Hawaii has a law written specifically about scanning a driver's license or ID card. It allows a business to scan the machine-readable part of an ID only for the purposes it lists, and no Hawaii law requires a venue to scan.
The purposes that can apply to a bar, restaurant or store are:
- Verifying that the driver's license or ID card is genuine or verifying the customer's identity if the customer pays by a method other than cash, returns an item or asks for a refund or exchange
- Verifying a customer's age for age-restricted goods or services, where there is reasonable doubt that the customer has reached the minimum age
- Preventing fraud on returns, refunds and exchanges, where the business uses a fraud-prevention service
- Establishing or maintaining a contractual relationship
- Recording, keeping or passing on information as state or federal law requires
The exact wording
No business may scan the machine-readable zone of an individual's identification card or driver's license, except for the following purposes:
To verify authenticity of the identification card or driver's license or to verify the identity of the individual if the individual pays for goods or services with a method other than cash, returns an item, or requests a refund or an exchange;
To verify the individual's age when providing age-restricted goods or services to the individual if there is a reasonable doubt of the individual having reached the minimum age required for purchasing the age-restricted goods or services;
Do you have to check IDs in Hawaii, and when?
It depends on what you sell.
Alcohol
Hawaii law prohibits licensees and their staff from selling or serving alcohol to anyone under 21 or letting them drink it, but the statutes do not themselves say when staff must ask for ID. In 2013 the legislature made a reckless sale to someone under 21 a crime, not only a knowing one, and said the change would help increase compliance by making ID checks necessary for liquor licensees.
Alcohol licensing is run by a liquor commission in each county, and each commission adopts its own rules. Honolulu's make licensees responsible for properly checking the ID of anyone wishing to buy alcohol before it is sold or served.
Tobacco and vape
Retailers must check the ID of any buyer of tobacco or vape products who reasonably appears to be under 27.
The exact wording
A person, including any licensee as defined in section 281-1, commits the offense of promoting intoxicating liquor to a person under the age of twenty-one if the person recklessly: (a) Sells or offers for sale, influences the sale, serves, delivers, or gives to a person intoxicating liquor, and the person receiving the intoxicating liquor is a person under the age of twenty-one; or (b) Permits a person to possess intoxicating liquor while on property under his control, and the person possessing the intoxicating liquor is a person under the age of twenty-one.
The legislature believed that this Act would help increase compliance with the law by necessitating identification checks, at minimum, for those that hold liquor licenses, as well as hold accountable those persons who allow or influence the sale, possession, or consumption of alcohol to a person under the age of twenty-one.
The sale or service of liquor to a minor or the consumption of liquor by a minor on any licensed or unlicensed premises, any off-premises catered event, or any other premises authorized by the Commission is prohibited. Licensees are responsible for the proper checking of personal identification of any person wishing to purchase liquor, prior to the selling or serving of liquor.
All persons engaged in the retail sale of tobacco products or electronic smoking devices shall check the identification of tobacco product or electronic smoking device purchasers to establish the age of the purchaser if the purchaser reasonably appears to be under twenty-seven years of age.
HRS 281-78HRS 712-1250.5Honolulu Liquor Commission RulesHRS 712-1258
Which IDs provide protection in Hawaii?
Honolulu's liquor rules list the IDs that count, and the tobacco defense needs a photo ID. Hawaii's state alcohol law names no particular ID.
Honolulu's liquor rules name four kinds of ID:
- An official state driver's license
- A military ID card
- Other official government ID with a photo
- Another ID approved by the Liquor Commission
Each must be unaltered, undamaged and laminated. School IDs, expired documents of any kind, IDs issued for check cashing and other IDs not issued by a government agency are not accepted unless the Commission approves them.
Hawaii's state alcohol defenses do not name an ID. For tobacco and vape, the retailer's defense requires a photo ID showing the customer is 21 or older.
The exact wording
Documents used for identification shall be an official state driver's license, a military identification card, other official government identification containing a photograph, or other form of identification document approved by the Commission. Such documents shall be unaltered, undamaged and laminated.
School identification cards, expired documents of any kind, cards with such phrases as "information provided by applicant" or the like, identification cards issued for the purpose of check cashing or other identification cards not issued by a government agency are unacceptable, unless approved by the Commission.
Can you keep data from an ID scan in Hawaii?
Not information obtained from a scan made to check age or whether the ID is genuine.
Hawaii's scanning law says a business may not keep any information obtained from a scan, except from scans made for a short list of other purposes, such as fraud prevention on returns with a fraud-prevention service, a contractual relationship or a record that state or federal law requires. Scans made to verify age or to check that an ID is genuine are not among them.
Hawaii therefore sets no retention period or field list for these scans, because nothing obtained from them may be kept. The rule has no exception for a customer's consent, and the law makes any waiver of its provisions void. A business also may not sell or pass information obtained from a scan to a third party for any purpose, including marketing, outside those other purposes.
The law covers scanning the machine-readable part of a driver's license or ID card, so details staff read from the printed card and type in by hand are not a scan. It also requires a business to make reasonable efforts, through systems testing and other means, to ensure its rules are met.
The exact wording
No business shall retain any information obtained pursuant to subsection (a), except as permitted in subsections (a)(3) through (7).
No business shall sell or disseminate to a third party any information obtained under this section for any purpose, including marketing, advertising, or promotional activities, except as permitted in subsections (a)(3) through (7).
A business covered under this section shall make reasonable efforts, through systems testing and other means, to ensure that the requirements of this chapter are met.
Any waiver of a provision of this section is contrary to public policy and is void and unenforceable.
What other Hawaii laws reach the data you keep?
Other ID information a venue keeps can still trigger Hawaii's breach and records-disposal rules.
A customer's name kept with a driver's license or Hawaii ID card number is personal information under Hawaii law when either is unencrypted. A business holding it must give notice of a qualifying breach, and must take reasonable measures to protect it when disposing of it, including destroying or erasing digital records so the information cannot practicably be read or reconstructed.
These rules reach details typed in by hand as well as scanned ones. Hawaii does not currently have a comprehensive consumer privacy law or a biometric privacy statute.
The exact wording
Any business that owns or licenses personal information of residents of Hawaii, any business that conducts business in Hawaii that owns or licenses personal information in any form (whether computerized, paper, or otherwise), or any government agency that collects personal information for specific government purposes shall provide notice to the affected person that there has been a security breach following discovery or notification of the breach.
Any business or government agency that conducts business in Hawaii and any business or government agency that maintains or otherwise possesses personal information of a resident of Hawaii shall take reasonable measures to protect against unauthorized access to or use of the information in connection with or after its disposal.
Does scanning give you a defense if you serve a minor in Hawaii?
No, but a scan can help staff check that an ID is genuine, which bears on whether their belief about the customer's age was reasonable.
Alcohol
In a criminal case, it is a defense that the person who provided the alcohol believed, reasonably under the circumstances, that the customer was 21 or older. Without that defense, the law treats a sale to someone under 21 as evidence that the person who made the sale knew the customer's age.
In a liquor license case, a sale to someone under 21 is not a violation if the licensee was misled by the customer's appearance and the circumstances into honestly believing they were 21 or older and acted in good faith. The licensee must prove it.
Neither defense depends on scanning. A scan can help staff check that an ID is genuine at the moment of sale, but Hawaii does not let a business keep information obtained from it as a record of the check.
Tobacco and vape
A retailer has a defense if it asked for, examined and reasonably relied on a photo ID showing the customer was 21 or older. Failing to ask for and examine a photo ID counts against the retailer as conclusive proof of the violation.
The exact wording
The defendant provided the intoxicating liquor to the person under the age of twenty-one with the belief, which was reasonable under the circumstances, that the person under the age of twenty-one had attained the age of twenty-one;
The fact that the defendant distributed or sold intoxicating liquor to a person under the age of twenty-one is prima facie evidence that the defendant knew the transferee was a person under the age of twenty-one, except as provided in subsection (2)(c).
provided that the consumption or sale of liquor to a minor shall not be deemed to be a violation of this subsection if, in making the sale or allowing the consumption of any liquor by a minor, the licensee was misled by the appearance of the minor and the attending circumstances into honestly believing that the minor was of legal age and the licensee acted in good faith; provided further that it shall be incumbent upon the licensee to prove that the licensee so acted in good faith;
It shall be an affirmative defense that the seller of a tobacco product or an electronic smoking device to a person under twenty-one years of age in violation of this section had requested, examined, and reasonably relied upon a photographic identification from the person establishing that person's age as at least twenty-one years of age prior to selling the person a tobacco product or an electronic smoking device. The failure of a seller to request and examine photographic identification from a person under twenty-one years of age prior to the sale of a tobacco product or an electronic smoking device to the person shall be construed against the seller and form a conclusive basis for the seller's violation of this section.
Can a customer refuse an ID scan in Hawaii?
Hawaii does not create a specific right to refuse a scan or require a manual alternative.
No Hawaii law requires a venue to scan an ID or to offer an alternative to scanning, so how a venue handles a guest who does not want their ID scanned is a matter of venue policy. Honolulu's liquor rules require licensees to check the ID of anyone wishing to buy alcohol, but do not require a scan.
Refusals remain subject to Hawaii's public-accommodation law, which covers bars, restaurants and stores. It prohibits denying, or attempting to deny, service because of race, sex including gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, color, religion, ancestry or disability.
The exact wording
Unfair discriminatory practices that deny, or attempt to deny, a person the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of a place of public accommodation on the basis of race; sex, including gender identity or expression; sexual orientation; color; religion; ancestry; or disability, including the use of a service animal, are prohibited.
Alcohol, tobacco and county rules
Alcohol
Recklessly selling or serving alcohol to anyone under 21 is a misdemeanor.
The offense also covers letting someone under 21 possess alcohol on property under the person's control, and it applies to licensees as well as their staff.
HRS 712-1250.5Tobacco and vape
Retailers must check the ID of any buyer who reasonably appears to be under 27.
Selling tobacco or vape products to anyone under 21 is prohibited. The retailer's defense requires a photo ID that staff asked for, examined and reasonably relied on.
HRS 712-1258County liquor rules
Each county's liquor commission sets its own rules, and Honolulu's require an ID check before alcohol is sold or served.
Honolulu's rules also list the IDs that count and require every licensee to post a sign stating that it is illegal to use a false ID, or another person's ID, to obtain liquor.
Honolulu Liquor Commission RulesWhat this means for your AgeShield setup
These are the AgeShield settings affected by the Hawaii rules above. How you configure them is ultimately a decision for your venue.
- How long visits are kept
- Hawaii sets no retention period for information from a scan made to check age or whether the ID is genuine, because that information may not be kept at all.AgeShield setting: Choose how long visits are kept, down to 0. Which ID fields are stored with them is a separate setting.
- Which ID fields are stored
- Hawaii's rule covers any information obtained from those scans. It names no field that may be kept.AgeShield setting: Choose which ID fields are stored. Each field can be switched off.
- Photo capture
- Hawaii makes it an offense to use or possess any reproduction, imitation or facsimile of a driver's license, or any identification that looks like a driver's license.AgeShield setting: Auto document crop is not available for venues in Hawaii, and AgeShield does not capture or store ID document images there. Auto face crop and Person photo can be switched on or off by the venue.
- Manual entry
- Hawaii's scanning law covers scanning the machine-readable part of a driver's license or ID card. Its breach and disposal laws apply to a stored name and license number however they were entered.AgeShield setting: Manual entry is available for staff to type details from the printed card.
- Banned and watch lists
- A Banned, VIP, Regulars or custom list entry created from an age or authenticity scan would keep information obtained from that scan, and Hawaii also bars passing that information to a third party. Refusals remain subject to Hawaii's public-accommodation law.AgeShield setting: Each list entry can be created from a scan or entered by staff. Whether a list is shared across your venues is a separate setting.
- Consent screen
- Hawaii's scanning law makes any waiver of its provisions void, and its rule on keeping scan information has no consent exception.AgeShield setting: The consent screen is available if your venue uses one as part of its own policy.
Common questions
Is it legal to scan IDs at a bar in Hawaii?
Yes, but only for the purposes Hawaii's scanning law lists. They include verifying a customer's age where there is reasonable doubt that they are 21 or older, and verifying that an ID is genuine or the customer's identity when they pay by a method other than cash, return an item or ask for a refund or exchange.
Do you have to check IDs in Hawaii, and when?
It depends on what you sell. Honolulu's liquor rules require an ID check before alcohol is sold or served, and tobacco and vape retailers must check the ID of any buyer who reasonably appears under 27.
Which IDs provide protection in Hawaii?
Honolulu's liquor rules accept an official state driver's license, a military ID card, other official government photo ID or an ID the Liquor Commission has approved, each unaltered, undamaged and laminated. Tobacco and vape retailers rely on a photo ID showing the customer is 21 or older.
Can you keep data from an ID scan in Hawaii?
Not information obtained from a scan used to verify age or whether the ID is genuine. Hawaii prohibits retaining that information or selling or passing it to a third party, and customer consent does not create an exception.
Does a customer's consent change the Hawaii rule?
No. Hawaii's scanning law makes any waiver of its provisions void, and its rule on keeping scan information has no consent exception.
Can a business keep a photo or copy of a driver's license in Hawaii?
Hawaii makes it an offense to use or possess any reproduction, imitation or facsimile of a driver's license, or any identification that looks like a driver's license.
Does scanning give you a defense if you serve a minor in Hawaii?
A scan does not create the alcohol defense, but it can help staff determine whether an ID is genuine. Hawaii's alcohol protections turn on whether staff's belief that the customer was 21 or older was reasonable, or honest and made in good faith.
Can a customer refuse an ID scan in Hawaii?
Hawaii does not specifically regulate this. No Hawaii law requires a scan, and refusals remain subject to Hawaii's public-accommodation law.
What happens if a business violates the scanning law?
The Attorney General or the Office of Consumer Protection can seek penalties of up to $2,500 for each violation, and the business is liable to an injured person for actual damages. A court may award attorney fees to the winning side.
Sources
- HRS 487J-6
- HRS 281-78
- HRS 712-1250.5
- Honolulu Liquor Commission Rules
- HRS 712-1258
- HRS 487N-1
- HRS 487N-2
- HRS 487R-2
- HRS 489-3
This page is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal advice. We research each rule and link its source, so you can check it against your own venue. Questions are welcome at support@ageshield.bar.
ID scanning laws in nearby states
Rules change across state lines. Compare the ID-scanning guidance for nearby states.
- State lawState law
California ID scanning laws
California allows scanning only for listed purposes. See which fields you may keep and who you may never share them with.
- State lawState law
Oregon ID scanning laws
Oregon allows age scans but bars storing personal information from them. See what may be kept and which IDs count.
- State lawState law
Washington ID scanning laws
Washington sets no limits on what you keep from a scan. See why its liquor protection needs a signed card instead.
Still unsure how Hawaii applies to your venue?
Tell us what type of venue you run and we'll point you to the published rules we know of that may apply.