State guide

New York ID scanning law: what ABC Law §65-b says

Last reviewed September 2026

For New York bars and other alcohol sellers: in a proceeding under ABC Law §65(1), a seller may raise an affirmative defense that includes a successfully completed transaction scan, and the same paragraph says the defense doesn’t apply in any other proceeding or forum (N.Y. ABC Law §65-b(7)(a)).

What the law says

What a “transaction scan” is (§65-b(1))

§65-b(1)(c) defines a “transaction scan” as the process, involving a device that can decipher any electronically readable format, by which a licensee or its agent or employee reviews a driver’s license or non-driver ID card presented as a precondition of buying alcohol, or of admission to an on-premises licensed venue restricted to people 21 or older. Under §65-b(1)(a), the “device” is commercial equipment “used at a point of sale or entry” that can read the information encoded on “the magnetic strip or bar code” of such a card “issued by the commissioner of motor vehicles.”

The transaction-scan defense (§65-b(7)(a))

In a proceeding under ABC Law §65(1), which bars selling, delivering or giving alcohol to “any person, actually or apparently, under the age of twenty-one years,” a seller may raise an affirmative defense by showing that:

• the person produced a driver’s license or non-driver identification card apparently issued by a governmental entity;
• the transaction scan was successfully completed; and
• the alcohol was sold, delivered or given in reasonable reliance on both that identification and that scan.

The statute doesn’t define “successfully completed.” In evaluating the defense, the liquor authority “shall take into consideration any written policy adopted and implemented by the seller to carry out the provisions of this chapter.”

The same paragraph sets two limits: “Use of a transaction scan shall not excuse any licensee … or agent or employee of such licensee, from the exercise of reasonable diligence otherwise required by this section.” And the defense “shall not be applicable in any other civil or criminal proceeding, or in any other forum.”

Other defenses in license proceedings (§65(6))

In a §118 proceeding to revoke, cancel or suspend a license over an alleged §65(1) violation, §65(6) sets out two other affirmative defenses: reasonable reliance on a photo ID card apparently issued by a governmental entity, and, on conditions it lists, a valid alcohol training awareness certificate held by the person who committed the alleged violation.

What may be recorded (§65-b(7)(b))

A licensee or employee “may electronically or mechanically record and maintain only the information from a transaction scan necessary to effectuate the purposes of this section,” limited to name, date of birth, license or non-driver ID number, and expiration date. That’s a limit; it doesn’t itself require recording anything. The same paragraph directs the liquor authority and the state commissioner of motor vehicles to jointly make “any regulation necessary to govern the recording and maintenance of these records.”

How it may be used (§65-b(8))

Recorded information may be used only for the purposes of the §65-b(7)(a) defense, and scan devices only for those in subdivision 2. Reselling or disseminating the information to any third person is barred, and that “includes, but is not limited to, any advertising, marketing or promotional activities.” Release is allowed under a court-ordered subpoena or a statute that specifically authorizes it. Each violation of subdivision 8 is punishable by a civil penalty of up to $1,000. Ohio has similar language in R.C. 4301.61(D)(4).

What it means at the counter

§65-b(2)(b) lists the only documents a licensee or its staff may accept as written evidence of age to buy alcohol: a valid driver’s license or non-driver ID card issued by New York’s commissioner of motor vehicles, the federal government, a US territory, commonwealth or possession, the District of Columbia, a US state or a Canadian province; a valid passport from any country; or a US armed forces ID card.

§65-b(2)(c) says that if the information a transaction scan deciphers doesn’t match what’s printed on the license or ID card, or the scan indicates the information is false or fraudulent, “the attempted purchase of the alcoholic beverage shall be denied.”

A successfully completed “transaction scan,” as §65-b(1) defines it, is one of three elements of the §65-b(7)(a) defense, and using one doesn’t excuse reasonable diligence. What a written policy should contain, what records would support the defense, and exposure outside a §65(1) proceeding are questions for your attorney.

Where Check ID fits

On iPhone and iPad, Check ID reads the barcode on US and Canadian licenses and ID cards, checks the birth and expiry dates against your rules, and shows a clear result, such as Verified, Underage or Expired ID. Verified means only that the dates meet your rules, and your staff make the call. It can’t tell whether a card is genuine: a well-made fake can carry a valid barcode.

A scan record never keeps the name, date of birth, address, ID number or a picture of the ID. It keeps details such as the result, age in whole years, issuing state or country, document type, and when and how the ID was scanned. Free and Pro scan history covers 7 days, on your device or in your iCloud. Check ID for Teams (coming soon) keeps scan records on our servers for two years by default, with the venue, the device and, when known, the staff member.

Repeat-entry alerts keep a one-way code derived from the barcode on the device. In the free and Pro app, codes older than 7 days are cleared at the first scan after the app restarts. Teams deletes repeat-entry codes from our servers after the repeat-entry window (4 hours by default), and team devices keep their own copy longer. Personal guest lists hold the names you add, which can include one saved from a scan. Teams guest lists hold the names your team types in or imports. Our product analytics include coarse scan statistics, such as the result, state and age, but never a name, birth date, address, ID number or photo. Security & data shows what each plan keeps.

We don’t claim Check ID is a “device” under §65-b(1). Whether it is, whether a scan helps you under this law, and how §65-b(7)(b) and (8) apply to what Check ID keeps and sends, including repeat-entry codes, guest-list names and product analytics, are questions for your lawyer or the State Liquor Authority.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• N.Y. Alcoholic Beverage Control Law §65-b, retrieved September 2026.
• N.Y. Alcoholic Beverage Control Law §65, retrieved September 2026.
• Ohio Revised Code §4301.61, retrieved September 2026.
• New York State Liquor Authority, retrieved September 2026.