government agency (federal, state, county, or city) Bona Fide Identificationīona fide (legally acceptable) identification is one card that contains these six characteristics: Persons under the age of 21 are not protected by age discrimination laws when it comes to the sale or service of alcoholic beverages. However, it is important to remember that you cannot discriminate as to race, color, sex, religion, ancestry, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or national origin, among other things. If you have any doubts about an identification, you should refuse the sale of alcoholic beverages. A person does not have a legal “right” to buy alcohol, but you have a legal right to refuse service to anyone who cannot produce adequate evidence of their age. You are never required to sell or serve alcohol to anyone. The legal drinking age in California is 21. They must also know how to deal with the customer once a suspected false/counterfeit ID is presented.
Staff must know what to look for when checking ID’s to be able to prevent the sale. A very important step for the prevention of illegal sales to minors is adequate training of staff on what the policies and laws are regarding the sale of alcohol.
