invinciblesummer

Is it required by law to produce I.D. when purchasing alcohol in New York?
I am 32 and my husband is 33. We tried to buy cider at a Food Emporium store tonight, and were asked for I.D.
We're from Australia, so are not sure of the laws around here and can not find anything definitive on Google.
I am feeling flattered that I could possibly look under the age of 21, but maybe they just ask everyone, regardless of how old they look?

sf7307

At my local Safeway in California, they have a sign posted that says "We I.D. anyone under 30". Obviously, they don't know if you're 29 or 31, I think they're just making the point that they'll ask for I.D. from anyone who looks "pretty young". They have the right to ask for I.D. from anyone.

sf7307

Oh, and yes, if you refuse to produce i.d., they can refuse to sell you alcohol.

toedtoes

I believe New York has the same rules regarding I.D. as California, which is:

There is no legal requirement to show identification in order to purchase alcoholic beverages, HOWEVER

A licensee may choose to require bona-fide I.D. from a person in order to purchase alcoholic beverages.

By requiring a bona-fide I.D. and making a good faith effort to verify that I.D. (e.g., look for alterations, look to be sure the photo AND description match the person in front of you, verify that the birthdate on the license is at least 21 years ago, etc.), a licensee may be able to defend itself against a charge of "selling to a minor".

Here in California, a bona-fide I.D. must contain the following:

1. Be issued by a government agency (e.g., city, county, state, country);
2. Have a photo of the person;
3. Have a physical description of the person (fyi: most passports don't have this and can and are often denied as identification for alcholic beverage purchases);
4. Have the birthdate of the person;
5. Have the name of the person;
6. Be currently valid (which means it must have an expiration date and not be expired)

In high tourist areas in California, many licensees choose not to follow this "safety net" guideline and will accept passports (or even not require I.D.) for alcholic beverage purchases. My guess is that New York is similar. In these areas, the licensee usually feels that the loss of income from tourists is greater than the risk of selling to a minor.

klam_chowder

At the airport, the bartenders ID everyone - even the obviously senior citizens. I think that is a bit silly. So be prepared to show id everywhere.

Enjoy-la!

KathyK

I live in Buffalo New York and our grocery stores ID everyone for beer purchases. It doesn't matter how old you are or how old you look, you have to provide ID. I am in my early 50's and automatically pull out my driver's lisence when I have beer that I'm purchasing. It seems a little silly, especially when the cashier is someone who went to school with my kids (two of which are older than 21), but I guess it helps with the issue of sales to underage kids.

invinciblesummer

Thanks everyone. I normally carry both my passport and Aussie driver's license with me, but we were only going straight out to dinner and back, and the cider was a last-minute decision.
Luckily my friend had I.D. with her so it was okay.

abram

This is slightly off topic, but I live in Wisconsin, and my husband (60) and I (58) were buying wine and champagne for a party the other day. The sign says that they card all people in a group. I don't carry my wallet when I'm with my husband, and for a short time, it seemed like we weren't going to be permitted to complete our purchase. Eventually, the clerk (older than we are) decided to pretend I wasn't part of the group buying alcohol.

toedtoes

Abram - that's getting to be more common everywhere.

The problem is that many kids will come in a group (and you'd be surprised how many older people are part of those groups) and buy alcohol for parties. If even ONE of the folks in the group is underage and they end up having an accident due to the alcohol, the business could lose their license (or worse).

They card everyone regardless of age so that they don't get that one kid who looks older and gets bipassed.

suze

Many places card EVERYone. I know they do at airports these days. Doesn't have anything to do with how old you look.

NeoPatrick

Thanks people for depressing me. I haven't been carded in years and I've bought alcohol at restaurants, liquor stores, and YES, airports! So you need to change the tune to "they card everyone except NeoPatrick".

mp

I giggle like a teenager when I get carded. then my teenager rolls his eyes at me.

nytraveler

In New York you are allowed to ask esentially anyone for ID to buy alcohol. In reality the cut off is about 35 or so - I've never seen anyone in their 60's asked. But some stores have VERY strict policies as to who MUST be asked by the clerks - and it's always looking WAY over 21.

ekscrunchy

In NYC, you can also be asked to show ID when buying cigarettes.

xrae

For the record, Tennessee law now requires showing ID for all alcohol purchases in store regardless of the buyer's age. Stores seem pretty consistent about posting the fact, but are inconsistent in its practice. (In my experience, clerks often glance at the purchaser and then type a fabricated birthdate into the register allowing completion of the sale).

wliwl

Yeah. Our grocery store (Wegmans) requires photo ID for all alcohol purchases. They even tap your birthday into the register.

nytraveler

Agree - in NYC for cigarettes you must be over 18 and they do card people who look well over that.

J62

If an underage buyer of alcohol gets in trouble (i.e. car accident) the store could be held liable. A strict ID policy by a store for either alcohol or tobacco can save the store should there be trouble down the road. Not sure about other states, but (unfortunately) NY is a litigious state, or at least a lawyer heavy state.

A store manager or owner can certainly OK a sale without an ID if they wish, but a business doesn't want clerks to have any discretion. An ID policy as you and others have found take the human element/error/guess work out of the picture.

Aduchamp1

I was carded at the local Food Emporium when I bought garlic.

The NY State laws are archiac, inluenced by religious groups, and convoluted, as they are across the country. A supermarket is allowed to sell beer but not wine and certainly not hard liquor. A liquor store is not allowed to sell food, but can have food to accompany wine tastings.

Do they still have package stores in PA?

In CA a supermarket can sell both wine and beer. And even though the wine industry in NY State is fairly large, they cannot get the legislature to change the laws like CA.

Additionally, the kids that work as supermarket and drugstore cashiers in NYC are rarely confused with MENSA memebers.

springtime00

i hate it when your at bottle king and you have to fill out that form everytime you go in lol