Teenagers I.D

[Skullduggeryfizz]

My 16 year old son has just phoned me from the cinema, asking me to send a photo of his passport so he can get into the cinema to see a 15 film. I've just looked up on the internet to find out about I.D cards, but there seems to be quite a few on offer. I'm not sure if they are all nationally recognised or if I would just be wasting my money. Has anyone already done this and was it accepted everywhere.

Could he apply for a provisonal driving licence?! As you can get your CBT course (moped/scooter) at 16 on a provisional

Thanks. I will look into that.

A photocopy of the passport is usually accepted around here.

For a cinema a student ID is usually enough. For buying age restricted products the official ID cards are supposed to be taken but IME nobody knows what they are so they are pretty pointless. Driving licence is the best bet especially if he wants to learn to drive anyway :)

Dd has a photograph of her passport saved on her phone.

When dd was this age, I photocopied her passport, made a credit card sized copy and laminated it. It was incredibly useful for cinemas and buying train tickets and so on. I was very proud of myself for thinking of it!

I did the same as Curlew for DS1.
Unfortunately for DS2 his passport photo shows an acutely embarrassing picture of him as a cute baby faced 11 year old .
DS1, now 18, has found that Student cards are not accepted as proof for buying alcohol and he tends to use his driving license.

I can only speak from the point of view of buying alcohol (I used to sell it, and can spot a 17 year old a mile off as a result). In that context, the only universally accepted ID is a driving licence or passport - these citizencards etc. are very often useless.

My DS has a citizencard only because he kept losing his passport and driving licence and they are more expensive to replace,, im stupid never thought to give him a photocopy. He is 18 now so citizen card means he can get into pubs and stuff.

CitizenCard. Not too expensive, available to under-16s, proof of age is accepted by MOST. A lot will say "it's useless" but I've never been rejected, either for buying alcohol or for getting into clubs, and I'm baby-faced - 19 and most people think I'm three or four years younger

CitizenCard is supposed to be accepted everywhere but in most people's experience that I've spoken to the shops, bouncers etc don't know what it is. May be down to area? I'm from a smallish town in the Midlands.

From memory they are actually pictured on the training literature but because so few people have them in practice by the time you come across one you're working on what's familiar (passport and driving licence, occasional EU ID card) rather than actually remembering what the training says, so they tend to be rejected just as student/work IDs are rejected (too variable and therefore easy to fake)

Photocopies of passports etc will absolutely definitely not be accepted anywhere where a law is applied e.g. alcohol, entrance to pubs, 18 films, possibly DVDs/games etc. They may have been years ago but they won't now. In fact they helpfully brought this out the year I started drinking which was 2004

But photocopies should be fine for things like 15 films (no "official" ID so more discretionary) and proving age for child bus passes etc.

Laminated copy of passport was useful in proving 6'2" DS was only 14 and therefore should pay a child fare on the bus.

yourlittlesecret I'm 22 and got asked if I was a half fare on the bus the other day

ds had a citizencard

I like the idea of photocopying his passport and then laminating it. Also for him to put a photo of his passport on his phone. Great ideas and saves me money on an I.D card. These will be fine for now as he is only 16, don't want to give him any more ideas on wanting to do 18 year old things.