A New Twist on ID Fun.

[Jester]

If they were from a cruise ship, the cruise ship may have taken their passports at the beginning of the cruise, and returned them at the end.

And yet she still had her driver's license with her. Imagine that.

That being said, I have often seen it where cruise ship crew have their passports held by the cruise ship, probably so they don't bail at some port and not come back to work on the cruise ship....but that has naturally caused some problems for the younger looking ones who want to drink, especially if they are trying to do so at my bar. I especially love it when American cruise ship crew get pissy at me for this, even though they almost always know fully well what the laws are about such things. And even though they know that their cruise ship ID is not a valid ID for purchasing alcohol, they still try to use it. Silly rabbits.

That being said, I don't know that I've run into passengers that have had the cruise ship hold their passports. That seems like a sketchy way to do business. I mean, I am paying to go on your cruise ship, and you are going to hold my only international ID when I am in a foreign country? Sounds kind of dumb to me.

[bainsidhe]

The most frequent non-IDs I saw were college IDs or work IDs. Valid Government-Issued ID does not include a student ID from a state school or work ID from the local public hospital. And yes, I explained that quite often.

[BeenThereDoneThat]

You are unquestionably correct. But here I feel the need to defend Europeans in general. See, you DO need a passport to enter the country, of course. But that doesn't mean you have to have one with you wherever you go. Since passports are so valuable, many people, Americans, Europeans, and others, will often leave their passports on their cruise ship, in their hotel room, etc. Especially since passports tend to be a bit bulky and hard to carry easily. Which is at least partly why in recent years they came out with the DL-sized passport card, which confers all the benefits of a full-sized passport, but fits in your wallet for convenience.

I was going to ask the same question, and your answer cleared up most of it for me. Still, once you told them you needed the real passport, that should have been enough. They are in a foreign country and obviously don't understand the local laws...you just explained it to them. Now they know they have to carry their real passport if they want to get a legal drink in Florida. SCs are SCs...

[Jester]

No. They don't. I would have gladly (and legally) accepted their driver's licenses. But while she had one, he did not. So, under Florida law, I could not serve him, as he did not have an ID that meant the state law's requirements for alcohol sales.

He didn't need his passport. But he did need something other than what he had.

For him I say, too bad, so sad. I didn't really shed any tears, though.

[TopEndDave]

Were I live you need to produce ID for any take away alcohol purchases, no matter your age. The ID is scanned on a small computer and compared against a banned drinkers register. What it doesn't do is confirm that the person is of legal age to buy alcohol. A few places got into trouble when the laws first came in for assuming that it did and didn't check the date of birth on the ID.

[Canarr]

Okay, good to know... so far, I've only been asked for ID in NJ and PA for the purposes of alcohol purchase, and in both states, my German ID card was accepted. I've ordered alcoholic drinks in Ohio, North and South Carolina, Vermont, NY State and Massachusetts, but none of those places carded me - guess I look older than my 33 years.

But, since I always carry my driver's license as well, I'm prepared for Florida...

[BeenThereDoneThat]

Every place within a state or locality is different, too...for instance, I'm not usually carded at grocery or liquor stores, or even at bars anymore (I'm 43 and I guess I look it!), but there are some places that will card just about EVERYBODY just because their liability is so great. So I always know there's a chance.

[Jester]

I've only been asked for ID in NJ and PA for the purposes of alcohol purchase, and in both states, my German ID card was accepted.

There are two possibilities here. One, of course, is that the laws in NJ and PA are different than those in FL and AZ. The other one is that the people carding you were either lazy or unfamiliar with the laws in their states. I can't say which it was, of course, but it's not automatic that the laws are different.

[Canarr]

Okay, good to know... in any case, I know now which ID to pack if I ever make it to Key West

[onkko]

I just look at my Finnish ID and its hard to understand why it wouldnt be accepted when it has all bells and whistles It has picture, date of birth, all lines explained in finnish/swedish/english, picture, hologram of my picture and date of birth, nice "embossed pattern" where you can see FIN etc and in front there reads Finland Identity card and in back THIS IS CERTIFIED FINNISH IDENTITY CARD. Well laws are laws.
Here is picture of older version what is basically same with little wording/cosmetic changes in new one.

[An Haddock]

There are two possibilities here. One, of course, is that the laws in NJ and PA are different than those in FL and AZ. The other one is that the people carding you were either lazy or unfamiliar with the laws in their states. I can't say which it was, of course, but it's not automatic that the laws are different.

Oh, I don't know... I think sometimes clerks are too stringent with asking for ID.

Like the time I got carded in a liquor store... for purchasing a case of root beer. It was all I could do to not laugh right in the girl's face.

[Jester]

I just look at my Finnish ID and its hard to understand why it wouldnt be accepted when it has all bells and whistles.

Very simple, really. And that being, no matter how authentic it is or may look or seem, it does not fit within the guidelines as established by Florida law. Which, as I have said many times before, is that we can ONLY accept driver's licenses, passports, U.S. Armed Forces ID cards, and State-issued ID cards. A German Army ID card or an Irish Identity Card may have just as much information on them as your Finnish ID card, but neither of them are what is required by Florida law.

This brings up the obvious question: Why are those the only forms of ID acceptable for alcohol purchases under Florida law?

Well, I can take a guess, but please never ask me to actually attempt a serious explanation of the thinking of politicians or bureaucrats. I'd be laughing to hard to even think of typing, let alone intelligently or coherently.

My guess is that they had to draw the line somewhere, and/or that ID cards are easier to fake than driver's licenses, and/or that ID cards are easier to get than driver's licenses.

Whatever the reasoning, though, as a worker in Florida that deals with age-restricted purchases, I have to follow the law or risk loss of job, fines, and/or jail time. And I don't care HOW great your ID is, or HOW authentic it is, or HOW old you are....if it comes down to someone of age being denied alcohol or my losing my job and going to jail, do you wanna guess which one I am going to choose every single time?

Right!

Oh, I don't know... I think sometimes clerks are too stringent with asking for ID.

Like the time I got carded in a liquor store... for purchasing a case of root beer. It was all I could do to not laugh right in the girl's face.

That is not stringency, that is idiocy!

[Evandril]

I just look at my Finnish ID and its hard to understand why it wouldnt be accepted when it has all bells and whistles It has picture, date of birth, all lines explained in finnish/swedish/english, picture, hologram of my picture and date of birth, nice "embossed pattern" where you can see FIN etc and in front there reads Finland Identity card and in back THIS IS CERTIFIED FINNISH IDENTITY CARD. Well laws are laws.

Part of the problem may well be that not everyone knows what the different ID cards are supposed to look like. I'm sure with a little work I could come up with a nice ID card from Transubecistan that looks suitibly official, and has all the needed info on it...Just none of it valid Restricting it to certain forms of ID allows the servers a better chance of knowing what those forms are supposed to look like, and having an easier time catching a fake.

[MadMike]

Part of the problem may well be that not everyone knows what the different ID cards are supposed to look like.

Some bars have a book containing pictures of all the different state IDs. Maybe from other countries too, I'm not sure. I didn't see the whole thing.

I saw it at one of my regular hangouts a couple years ago. I don't know what kind of ID these people gave the bartender, but I saw her looking at it all confused, and then get out the book and start leafing thru it. Then she took it back, probably to ask the manager about it. Then she came back and said she couldn't accept it.

[Beckpatton]

Whenever I'm in the states and heading out for a drink, I make sure to have both my licence and my passport on me, as both have been denied at one point or another. Even though I am certain both are valid, rather than cause a scene, I'd prefer to have a back up to show off rather then bitch about it and delay my alcoholic goodness!!