Arizona bartender asks woman for her ID. Then she leaves—-and comes back with a QR code

Having to show ID at a bar is pretty standard procedure. Even if you look well over 21, some bar staff may still ask to see proof. But as it turns out, some customers keep insisting on trying creative alternatives.

One woman who works at a bar appears sick of hearing them.

‘I don't have my ID, but I have a picture of it'

Phoenix bar worker Sandi (@bikinipreplife) shares a story about customers who tried to show something other than a physical ID. Her video has more than 2,100 views.

“Just when you think you've seen it all,” Sandi says. “Every day I work … somebody comes in, and I card them. And they go, ‘I don't have my ID, but I have a picture of it.'”

Sandi expresses her exasperation at this ask, as she always needs to see “a physical ID.” On the day she films her video, she says customers asked for this workaround not once but twice.

The request became even more outrageous once Sandi denied it.

“The girl leaves and comes back with a guy,” Sandi says. “And the guy goes, ‘Can you just scan this QR code on my phone for her ID?'”

Sandi looks at the camera, apparently flabbergasted, and says she reiterated that bar staff “need a physical ID.”

“A QR code?!” she says.

Many viewers in Sandi's comment section sympathized with her exasperation, with many pointing out how this “workaround” doesn't fly for virtually any other situation.

“Hey, I have a picture of a $20 bill can I buy some wings?” one commenter joked. “I used to work in property management and someone asked me if I would accept a picture of a check her mom was going to write for her rent … uhmmmm no. People are nuts.”

However, as multiple commenters point out, Arizona does in fact allow digital ID on some occasions. So what's the truth?

Does Arizona allow digital IDs at bars?

Sandi drew a line between accepted forms of digital ID and what those customers had shown her, explaining that “a pic off a camera roll” won't cut it. This is an accurate assessment of Arizona ID laws.

The Arizona Department of Transportation says the state's mobile driver license lives in an Apple, Google, or Samsung wallet, or in ADOT's own app. It releases selected information through an encrypted exchange, with “no visual inspection of a card.”

ADOT wrote in November 2023 that the ID can be used at select TSA checkpoints, and advised people to keep carrying a physical license for other situations.

Whether a bar can accept a digital ID depends on the bar. ADOT says each business decides whether to install the reader technology. Its Smart ID Verifier app lets licensed alcohol sellers verify mobile IDs after approval by the Arizona Department of Liquor. KJZZ reported in July 2024 that not all retailers participate, and that the state advises carrying a physical ID.

The Tucson Sentinel reported in 2024 that such digital checks require two devices, one for the customer and one for the employee; that the app logs each check for the Department of Liquor; and that no official list of participating businesses exists.