If you are planning on purchasing alcohol at Walmart, you may be wondering if your ID will need to be scanned. This is a common practice as this allows the store to recognize that you are of the legal drinking age.
This, of course, will vary by where you like as the drinking age in certain places is different. Though most stores that carry alcohol will typically be required by law to scan your ID to make sure you can buy the alcohol.
Keep reading to find out whether or not Walmart will need to scan your ID for alcohol purchases.
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What is Walmart’s Alcohol ID Policy?
Walmart has a similar policy to any other kind of store that allows the sale of alcohol. Any alcohol sales must be verified with an ID for the customer to be able to make the purchase and take the alcohol.
This is not something that is optional, as the register will lock once the alcohol has been scanned. The only way for the employee to unlock the register is to scan the customer’s ID.
Though the employee has the option of asking for everyone’s ID or just the person buying. If you are in a group, they could ask for everyone’s IDs or just stick with the ID of the customer who is making the purchase.
This is a personal call, but many cashiers will err on the side of caution. If they fail to check IDs, you could be legally prosecuted as well as have legal action taken against that Walmart store. So this is a very important matter.
If you want to buy alcohol at Walmart, you should make sure that you have your ID on you to show when asked. This will be necessary since the register will not continue the purchase until an ID is scanned.
How Does Walmart Check ID for Alcohol?
Walmart employees are required to check your ID for alcohol purchases, as the register will lock once alcohol is swiped. The only way to open the register and complete the purchase is to scan an ID through the register.
This is simple and only takes a few minutes to do, and it will unlock the register instantly.
If there is an issue and the employee doesn’t know what to do, they can call over a supervisor. This is commonly done if more than one person is with you when buying alcohol and they don’t know if they should card everyone.
There can also be confusing if you have minors with you when buying the alcohol. As there is no way of knowing if they will also have access to the alcohol.
Sometimes a cashier may also ask for the supervisor if you look much younger than your ID says you are. If they have strong suspicions that the ID is fake, they may leave the decision up to the supervisor.
Though most of the time, scanning your ID will be simple, and no issues will come up.
Does Walmart Self Checkout Ask For ID?
In most places, you have the ability to purchase alcohol at the self-checkout station. The stations are now equipped to scan IDs to ensure that you can legally make that purchase.
The checkout will lock and require that you scan your ID before moving forward with the purchase. It will open again and allow you to finish your transaction once you have scanned your ID.
If your ID shows that you are not the legal age to buy alcohol, the system will not allow you to move forward. An employee will most likely have to come to help you remove the alcohol from your receipt so that you can buy whatever else you have.
Will Walmart Scan My ID for Alcohol?
Walmart is legally required to scan the ID of anyone making an alcohol purchase. This is not optional as the registers are designed to lock until the ID has been scanned, verifying that you are legally old enough to purchase alcohol.
This has taken the place of the cashier’s simply guessing your age as that is too inaccurate. By checking IDs, Walmart is guaranteeing that it is following the law and not selling alcohol to minors.
Even if you are old enough, Walmart has the right to refuse alcohol sales to anyone. This could be because you have minors with you, you are intoxicated, or you are rude or abusive to the employees.
As a store that sells alcohol, Walmart takes its alcohol policy seriously as it can be liable for incorrect alcohol sales. This is why it is strict about having to scan IDs to be sure you can make that purchase.
The self-checkout scanners are also equipped to scan IDs in most places, so you can make your purchases through the self-checkout if you want to.