Questions about I.D in America

McChubbin

Howdy.
Just wanted to ask this in relation to a trip I'm hoping to undertake next year.
It will be my first time visiting the States and I'll be heading to New York/Manhatten. I'm 26 years of age and thus of legal drinking age but to be on the safe side I want to bring a valid ID with me in case I'm carded during the trip.
However, I'm uncomfortable with the idea of carrying my passport around with me and would prefer to use an ID such as the Garda National Age Card.
My questions are as followed:

Will the age card be accepted in most bars in New York?

If not, are there any other alternative forms of ID I can use besides my passport?

I don't drive so I don't have a valid driver's license. If push comes to shove, I will use my passport but I'd prefer not to over safety issues. I'd be paranoid about it getting lost or stolen.

Any help on the matter would be greatly appreciated.

jaymcg91

From my personal experience, it's passports only for foreigners (state IDs / drivers license for the Americans also suffice). How on earth do the door people in the US know a Garda Age Card from the next piece of plastic?

toadfly

You'll have to bring your passport. I spent 5 weeks in the states when I was 23 and was kicked out of a bar in Hawai'i as I only had my age card.

McChubbin

Ahh, okay. No worries. I guess I'll just have to be extra vigilant when I'm over there. Thanks for the replies.

Ponster

McChubbin wrote: »

Ahh, okay. No worries. I guess I'll just have to be extra vigilant when I'm over there. Thanks for the replies.

Make sure scan/photocopy the important pages and email them to yourself and someone who'll still be at home.

empacher

I got back from the us two weeks ago. I'm 25 I was carded for every drink I got, in bars in restraunts. Day or night. They're very strict. If you look younger then 30 they card you.

athtrasna

empacher wrote: »

I got back from the us two weeks ago. I'm 25 I was carded for every drink I got, in bars in restraunts. Day or night. They're very strict. If you look younger then 30 they card you.

I've been out with much older people including some over sixty and we've all been carded, some places have an all or nothing policy.

OP I've travelled all over the world and never had an issue with my passport, a little common sense in taking care of it and it's totally safe to carry it with you 24/7. Unless you're going somewhere totally dodgy you'll be fine and safer to have it with you.

Novella

I'd bring my passport if I were you.

I ordered a cocktail with dinner a few months ago in a restaurant in Oregon and I wasn't served because the only ID I had was my Irish driving license (which is a piece of pink paper to be fair!) and a student card from an Irish college. I'm 25 btw.

rossie1977

you won't get away with anything but a passport. i am 37 and was asked for id all over new orleans in april and they wouldn't accept anything but a passport even to walk onto the casino floor.

ProudDUB

McChubbin wrote: »

It will be my first time visiting the States and I'll be heading to New York/Manhatten. I'm 26 years of age and thus of legal drinking age but to be on the safe side I want to bring a valid ID with me in case I'm carded during the trip.

There is no "in case" you get asked for ID. You WILL be asked for ID every where you go, every time you order alcohol. How old you are or look, is irrelevant. You'll still get asked, so bring the passport. As you don't have a drivers license, nothing else will be accepted. They would just laugh at you if you presented a Garda ID card.

I understand your safety concerns about the passport, but start figuring out now, where you will put it, or how you will keep it safe on a night out, as you'll definitely be needing it.

Ponster

ProudDUB wrote: »

They would just laugh at you if you presented a Garda ID card.

And in case anyone is suspicious of that, I worked in LA in 1999 and ordered food online to be delivered to my hotel. I wasn't given the beer though as the driver had never seen a passport before and had no idea if it was fake or not. He was only allowed to hand over alcohol with a drivers license.

Last year in Nebraska I booked into a hotel and again used my passport for ID. The girl behind the counter said "Well I guess that I can accept this"

The passport will be fine but some places will almost expect a drivers license.

coylemj

OP is heading for NYC/Manhattan so shouldn't be any problem with staff accepting a passport as ID. Other threads here have also highlighted the problem of staff in redneck states who don't know what a passport looks like and demand a driver's licence, that should not happen in Manhattan (fingers firmly crossed).

Was in Orlando with a gang from work at a sales convention a few years ago, the youngest of us (he was about 26) was always asked for ID in bars so we never left our hotel without checking that he had it on him.

ProudDUB

Ponster wrote: »

And in case anyone is suspicious of that, I worked in LA in 1999 and ordered food online to be delivered to my hotel. I wasn't given the beer though as the driver had never seen a passport before and had no idea if it was fake or not. He was only allowed to hand over alcohol with a drivers license.

Last year in Nebraska I booked into a hotel and again used my passport for ID. The girl behind the counter said "Well I guess that I can accept this"

The passport will be fine but some places will almost expect a drivers license.

Some places won't even take a license if it from out of state. As each states has their own license, they all look different, so fakes are relatively easy to pass off on an unsuspecting waiter or bartender. A waiter in Maine won't necessarily know what an Illinois license looks like, and vice versa. So its either a passport, an instate license or nothing. But an Irish person who looks and sounds foreign should generally be ok with their Irish license, especially with the new credit card style. However, I'd say only the passport is 100% guaranteed, as I know people who only had the old paper license and they were refused liquor.

It's also quite common for everyone at a restaurant table to be asked for ID, even if only one of them is ordering booze. This is to prevent someone ordering a drink for themselves and passing it over to the underage person, once the waiters back is turned.

lil_lisa

I've even had issues with my passport in a few supermarkets. Some have a policy where they can only accept an ID which has your physical attributes (height, weight, eye/hair colour) on it.

InTheTrees

Because of the legal drinking age being 21, there's a thriving trade amongst college students producing fake ID's. Every college kid would know how to get one.

Thats one of the reasons weird foreign ID's like garda age cards wont work.

InTheTrees

I have grey hair, but I still get asked for ID sometimes.

If the law says ALL patrons much produce ID then thats what you have to do. The establishment could lose their license if they dont enforce it.

keith16

jaymcg91 wrote: »

From my personal experience, it's passports only for foreigners (state IDs / drivers license for the Americans also suffice). How on earth do the door people in the US know a Garda Age Card from the next piece of plastic?

rossie1977 wrote: »

you won't get away with anything but a passport. i am 37 and was asked for id all over new orleans in april and they wouldn't accept anything but a passport even to walk onto the casino floor.

I used my drivers licence everywhere in NYC and never had a problem.

Seeing as you don't have one, just bring your passport, use your common sense and you will be fine.

New York is relatively safe these days anyway.

InTheTrees

keith16 wrote: »

I used my drivers licence everywhere in NYC and never had a problem.

Seeing as you don't have one, just bring your passport, use your common sense and you will be fine.

New York is relatively safe these days anyway.

Yup.

Its more about accidentally losing your passport than having it stolen. I really dont think your average american criminal would have any interest in a passport.

ProudDUB

InTheTrees wrote: »

Yup.

Its more about accidentally losing your passport than having it stolen. I really dont think your average american criminal would have any interest in a passport.

I disagree. A passport would have a fair amount of value on the black market. A criminal could do all sorts of things with one, as its such a widely accepted form of ID. They could open fake bank accounts & do God knows what else, in other peoples names.

InTheTrees

ProudDUB wrote: »

I disagree. A passport would have a fair amount of value on the black market. A criminal could do all sorts of things with one, as its such a widely accepted form of ID. They could open fake bank accounts & do God knows what else, in other peoples names.

I suppose so. But given only a small proportion of americans even have a passport I just meant your average mugger in New york City may not appreciate the value as much as criminals in europe would.

I mean its not like an irish passport would get you a bank account in america for instance or help with immigration in any way.

Maybe you're right though.

Grab All Association

ProudDUB wrote: »

I disagree. A passport would have a fair amount of value on the black market. A criminal could do all sorts of things with one, as its such a widely accepted form of ID. They could open fake bank accounts & do God knows what else, in other peoples names.

Maybe in Nigeria Zambia Zimbabwe yes but in America unlikely.

ProudDUB

Chris___ wrote: »

Maybe in Nigeria Zambia Zimbabwe yes but in America unlikely.

US banks require two forms of government issued photo ID. A stolen passport and one of the widely available fake drivers licenses & you are on your way. As passports last 10 years, there is often a huge discrepancy in the photo on the inside, versus the physical appearance of the person presenting it. So you don't even need to look like the person in the photo, for it to be accepted.

Iranoutofideas

I was refused entry into a niteclub in San Francisco with a passport. According to the idiot at the door it wasn't a valid I.D.

spideog7

I know plenty of people who've got away with drivers licences and plenty who've gotten denied with them on occasion too, you've a much better chance with the new licence than the old one though.

Passport is the only thing that they'll definitely accept though, on the rare occasion that they turn that down there's not much you can do! Although one friend who got turned away was told by the bouncer to get back in line and next time hand up his drivers licence with a twenty dollar bill slipped in behind it, worked too!!

Getting asked for ID is much more commonplace over here but plenty of small local bars and restaurants won't ask, especially if you're away from student areas. I celebrated my 21st over here in a bar that I had frequented on several occasions!

SHOVELLER

ProudDUB wrote: »

There is no "in case" you get asked for ID. You WILL be asked for ID every where you go, every time you order alcohol. How old you are or look, is irrelevant. You'll still get asked, so bring the passport. As you don't have a drivers license, nothing else will be accepted. They would just laugh at you if you presented a Garda ID card.

I understand your safety concerns about the passport, but start figuring out now, where you will put it, or how you will keep it safe on a night out, as you'll definitely be needing it.

No you wont be asked for ID everywhere you go. In Manhattan only in places where there are bouncers on the door and these are generally in the village. Unless you look like a child you'll have no problem getting served.

Ponster

Iranoutofideas wrote: »

I was refused entry into a niteclub in San Francisco with a passport. According to the idiot at the door it wasn't a valid I.D.

Well to them it isn't

Some nightclubs in NYC will only take a US drivers license. Nothing else will work, not even a US passport if you're a citizen. The bouncers sometimes have card readers that they use to scan the license to check if it's real. If you don't have a scannable card then no entry.

Jimjay

When i was in new york i was never asked for id to buy drinks but most shops where i used a bank or credit card to pay asked for id.

iusedtoknow

Iranoutofideas wrote: »

I was refused entry into a niteclub in San Francisco with a passport. According to the idiot at the door it wasn't a valid I.D.

When we moved, we only used our passports for ID while waiting for our drivers licenses. Only had a problem once, getting into a concert at the fillmore, and the wife wanted to get the wristband for being over 21. The bouncer told us that it wasn't a valid and ID and not to try it again. Fortunately, his supervisor was there looked at it and said it was just as valid as an out of state license, and let her in.

Now, even though I don't drink I always carry either my license or state ID as it can come up at anytime going into places.

Paul_Hacket

SHOVELLER wrote: »

No you wont be asked for ID everywhere you go. In Manhattan only in places where there are bouncers on the door and these are generally in the village. Unless you look like a child you'll have no problem getting served.

That's bull****. I'm 42 and live in nyc. I was last carded on Friday night in my local neighborhood. A guy in his 20s will be cardred in just about every bar he goes to and most restaurants too, bouncer or not.

Viva La Gloria

I've heard of some places not accepting passports in the States. Although I know that they don't really use their passports as a form of ID to buy alcohol or get into clubs. But when I was there I only had my passport and got by with it whenever it was needed. Granted, I was in Florida; maybe it varies from state to state.

ProudDUB

Viva La Gloria wrote: »

I've heard of some places not accepting passports in the States. Although I know that they don't really use their passports as a form of ID to buy alcohol or get into clubs. But when I was there I only had my passport and got by with it whenever it was needed. Granted, I was in Florida; maybe it varies from state to state.

I don't think that it varies from state to state. I think that it varies from person to person (that is doing the IDing) and the circumstances of where you are. A person who is obviously a tourist, dresses like a tourist, looks like a tourist, talks like a tourist and is in a location that gets a lot of tourists, is not going to be held to the same standard as your average American. A foreign tourist will still be asked for ID, but no one is going to expect someone who is obviously foreign, to have an American drivers license.

However, there are lots of bars, restaurants & nightclubs all over the US that would not normally get a lot of tourists or foreigners. Door staff, serving staff and management would not have a lot of experience with dealing with passports or non US forms of ID. So to make their life simple, they accept US issued drivers licenses, or nothing at all.

SHOVELLER

Paul_Hacket wrote: »

That's bull****. I'm 42 and live in nyc. I was last carded on Friday night in my local neighborhood. A guy in his 20s will be cardred in just about every bar he goes to and most restaurants too, bouncer or not.

Not at all. I'm the same age and been drinking in Manhattan for years and again the majority of bars there will not ask unless you look like a child.

jaymcg91

I'm 23, and I've been asked for ID in every bar I've been in the US (NY, PA, CA and FL).

Viva La Gloria

ProudDUB wrote: »

However, there are lots of bars, restaurants & nightclubs all over the US that would not normally get a lot of tourists or foreigners. Door staff, serving staff and management would not have a lot of experience with dealing with passports or non US forms of ID. So to make their life simple, they accept US issued drivers licenses, or nothing at all.

Makes sense I guess, I've had no problems with my passport in Florida or San Francisco. Same with my sister except when she went to Arizona; they wouldn't accept it in some of the bars they went into. Bit of a difference in tourist destinations I suppose!

helimachoptor

I've only been asked once in NYC, I have been to this particular bar several times during my trips, so from about 21-31 the only time i've been asked is on my most recent trip :eek:

But passport/license is needed though imo they have no idea what you hand them in a lot of cases if you have the older style licenses.

dave2pvd

It depends on many factors. Some are overriding ones though - a county or city with huge fines/penalties for underage drinking, a bar that has already had citations for underage drinking, an area that often has police checkpoints on the drive home, a nightclub that wants to be 'restrictive', a new police chief that is cracking down,....the list goes on and on.

US driver's license will work all the time. Passport will work most of the time. Newer Irish DL will work some of the time. Old pink paper Irish DL will rarely work, and rightly so.

coylemj

dave2pvd wrote: »

US driver's license will work all the time. Passport will work most of the time. Newer Irish DL will work some of the time. Old pink paper Irish DL will rarely work, and rightly so.

The only thing that is guaranteed to work is a driver's licence issued by the state you happen to be in when they ask for ID. It's been stated several times on this and other threads (discussing this topic) that occasionally an 'out of state' US driving licence will not be accepted.

I suspect that this is down to a boss who doesn't trust his staff, I have no doubt that if the local cops bust the place that a licence from another state would be acceptable but as you said, sometimes the owner can't afford to take any chances because of an aggressive enforcement policy by the local cops or he's on his last chance from the county judge.

ProudDUB

coylemj wrote: »

The only thing that is guaranteed to work is a driver's licence issued by the state you happen to be in when they ask for ID. It's been stated several times on this and other threads (discussing this topic) that occasionally an 'out of state' US driving licence will not be accepted.

I suspect that this is down to a boss who doesn't trust his staff, I have no doubt that if the local cops bust the place that a licence from another state would be acceptable but as you said, sometimes the owner can't afford to take any chances because of an aggressive enforcement policy by the local cops or he's on his last chance from the county judge.

Nope, its not about the boss not trusting his staff. It's because every single state has its own license, with its own logo and state emblem. They all look different. My Georgia DL has a big peach on the front of it. My sisters Washington DL has fir trees on it. California licenses have a bear on them, Florida's has an orange on theirs and so on. No two look alike.

It's just not feasible for door and serving staff to know what all 50 of them are supposed to look like, or whether or not an out of state license is legit, or the by product of some savvy young entrepreneur in a dorm room, with a decent printer. So they'll only accept in state licenses, as everyone will know what they are supposed to look like. The same thing happens if you are presenting a check when you are paying for something. Businesses will generally only accept them with an instate license.

Cops don't generally do busts of places, unless they are targeting bars in college towns that have a bad reputation for serving under age drinkers. Most restaurants/bars would be inspected by teams of undercover diners/drinkers who try and order booze with bogus ID and/or underage drinkers. They order a drink and then wait and see what happens. Dunno about the rest of the country, but the ATF were behind most of the prosecutions when I managed a restaurant in Atlanta. Local law enforcement pretty much took a back seat, probably because of the bad reputation it had for being horrendously corrupt. :rolleyes:

Dublinflyer

Just back from San Francisco and my new Driving Licence card worked every time.

Mars Bar

Dublinflyer wrote: »

Just back from San Francisco and my new Driving Licence card worked every time.

I had no issues with my drivers licence in Southern California either. Sometimes they'd have a look and think "should I" but then a couple of others in the group would also show theirs and they'd take it. The old licences didn't work though.

SHOVELLER

Just back from a weekend in Manhattan and wasnt carded once. Started in the Standard and a few places nearby and ended up town in the UES.

No oirish bars as usual.

Paul_Hacket

SHOVELLER wrote: »

Just back from a weekend in Manhattan and wasnt carded once. Started in the Standard and a few places nearby and ended up town in the UES.

No oirish bars as usual.

Oh, you're in your 40s and you didn't get carded? That's amazing. Definitely the twenty something OP will have no problem then.

whitey1

It really all depends......touristy type places typically card everyone. irish bars not no much. Was in Manhattan for the Mayo V New York game back in May with a bunch of fellow 40 something's....none of us were carded once and we did the rounds to put it mildly

SHOVELLER

Paul_Hacket wrote: »

Oh, you're in your 40s and you didn't get carded? That's amazing. Definitely the twenty something OP will have no problem then.

I got a baby face:D

GoProGaming

Just to give a current account of i.d in las vegas.

They will accept passports anywhere, they will take your driving licence to examine it( new type and old) take out a huge i.d guidebook and check it off that. Which might i add is outdated in most casinos on the strip and only has the old paper driving licence in their guidebook. And they will not accept a lerner permit new or old. Our group of 4 got i'd alot and we are all in our mid twenties.

For the less stress and trouble just take your passport. As everyone is allowed check that. Only managers it would appear are able to verify driving licences.

InTheTrees

GoProGaming wrote: »

And they will not accept a learner permit new or old.

That made me chuckle. Considering it takes about five minutes of practice to pass an american divers license test I doubt most americans even know there's a thing called a "learners permit".

...dont start me on american drivers.

:mad:

McChubbin

Grand. Thanks for all the replies. Passport it is!