June 03, 2025
Can a business refuse to sell me alcohol if I don't allow them to scan my driver's license?
Dear Consumer Ed:
Can a business refuse an alcohol or tobacco sale if a customer refuses to have his or her ID scanned? I presented my valid driver’s license, but I don’t feel comfortable having the business scan it.
Consumer Ed says:
A business may refuse to sell alcohol or tobacco to a consumer who does not consent to having his/her identification scanned. Under Georgia law, a business is responsible for ensuring that every person who purchases alcohol or tobacco from its store is of proper legal age, and a business may be subject to fines and license suspension or revocation for knowingly selling alcohol or tobacco to someone under the legal age.
A driver’s license or state-issued identification contains the holder’s date of birth, and that information can be used to verify that the purchaser is of legal age. Many businesses now use ID scanning as their preferred method of reviewing proper identification because it is more secure and harder to counterfeit than other methods. A business, however, must obtain consent prior to scanning the barcode on a consumer’s state-issued identification. If a consumer does not consent to having his/her identification scanned, a business can refuse to sell the consumer alcohol or tobacco because a store has the ability to set reasonable policies related to its obligations under the law.
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