England and Wales allow digital ID for alcohol sales

Pubs, bars and shops in England and Wales can now accept a certified digital ID instead of a passport or driving licence to sell alcohol, after ministers approved the change on 15 September.

The Licensing Act 2003 (Mandatory Licensing Conditions) (Amendment) Order 2026 lets premises take proof of age from an app certified against the government's Digital Verification Services (DVS) Trust Framework, rather than a physical document. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the Office for Digital Identities and Attributes drafted the order; the DVS register currently lists 46 certified providers, including Yoti, Luciditi and the Post Office's EasyID.

Acceptance is voluntary on both sides. "Businesses will not be required to adopt digital proof of age when the legislation comes into force," the government said when the order was first published in draft. "They may continue to rely on existing physical documents if they wish." Licence holders who do want to accept an app must first sign up with a certified orchestration-service provider before using it at the till or the bar.

A phone now counts as ID at the bar, if the pub agrees to check it.

How the digital ID checks work

A certified app generates a time-stamped credential confirming the holder is over 18, without handing staff a date of birth, address or photo ID they could misplace. Yoti says more than 15,000 people downloaded its ID Checker app before the law took effect, and the student-discount platform TOTUM has said it plans a digital proof-of-age product aimed at university bars and student unions.

A voluntary system, for now

The government has been candid that uptake will take time. Officials acknowledged it "will take businesses time to widely adopt and accept digital proof-of-age," and pubs can simply keep asking for a passport if they prefer. That caution matters for an industry already absorbing higher costs: Wales cut business rates for pubs and cafés by 30% earlier this year precisely because margins in hospitality have little room left for new systems, certified or not.

For now, the change removes a legal obstacle rather than a practical one. Bar staff will keep checking IDs by eye for a while yet; what has changed is that, for the first time, a phone can count as one.