- Ontario's liquor regulator (AGCO) tells venue staff to examine the photo, birth date and expiry date, never accept ID without a photo, and hold the card in their hands.
- The AGCO lists acceptable photo ID: an Ontario driver's licence, Photo Card, Canadian passport, Permanent Resident Card, Secure Indian Status Card, Canadian Forces ID or an LCBO BYID card, plus equivalent foreign photo ID.
- Criminal Code s. 368 (using a forged document as genuine): up to 10 years on indictment. Section 56.1 (identity documents relating to another person): up to 5 years.
- A search for the fake driver's licence phrase in Canada, in October 2026, returned regulator and government pages on spotting fakes, not seller shops.
Why this page looks different from the licence pages
When we checked Google Canada for “fake driver's licence canada” in October 2026, the first results included an Ontario liquor-regulator guide on checking ID, an Immigration and Refugee Board document and a provincial page on licence security features. They explained how to catch fakes, not how to buy them. The people most likely to carry a fake ID are young people under the legal age for alcohol or cannabis. The people most likely to read about it are the staff who have to refuse them.
What a venue is told to do
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario tells licensees to hold the card, not look at it across the counter. Its guidance, in plain terms:
- Never accept ID without a photo.
- Take the card in your hands: “rather than allowing the patron to flash it at you”.
- Look at the photo, birth date and expiry date; reject expired or scratched cards.
- Feel for extra thickness around the photo and the edge of the lamination, which may mean a second photo has been placed on top and re-laminated.
- Look for consistency between numbers and letters: altered ones may be thicker, heavier or darker.
Other provinces have their own liquor and cannabis regulators and their own rules; this is the Ontario guidance we opened.
Who carries the legal risk
| Person | Provision we read | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| Someone who uses a forged ID to buy alcohol or enter a venue | Criminal Code s. 368 | Knowingly using, dealing with or acting on a forged document as if genuine: up to 10 years on indictment, or a summary conviction. |
| Someone who sells or ships one | s. 368 and s. 56.1 | Selling or offering a forged document; transferring, selling or offering for sale an identity document that relates or purports to relate to another person: up to 5 years under s. 56.1. |
| Someone who orders one in another person's name | s. 56.1 and s. 402.2 | Possessing such a document; possessing identity information intending to use it for a fraud-type offence. |
Those are ceilings and categories from statute. They say nothing about what happens to a particular young person caught once; that depends on the province, the facts and the prosecutor. A lawyer or a legal-aid clinic can answer that question; we cannot.
Ordering one online
We found no Canadian police report in our searches describing a specific ring that sells age-ID cards. What we can say from the statutes is what you hand over by ordering. A seller needs a photo, a name, a date of birth and often a signature. That is identity information, and section 402.2 makes it an offence to possess someone else's identity information with intent to use it for a fraud-type crime. A buyer who sends a clear photo and a copy of a real ID has given a stranger everything needed to open an account in their name.
If you have ordered one
- Do not use it. Using is the step the statute targets, and the step that turns a wasted purchase into a legal problem.
- If you paid, follow what to do if you paid a scammer, and report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
- If you sent ID photos, tell your bank and watch your credit file; the Social Insurance Number guidance is on SIN scams.
Frequently asked questions
What is the penalty for using a fake ID in Canada?
Criminal Code section 368 sets up to ten years on indictment for knowingly using a forged document as genuine, or a summary conviction. That is a ceiling, and outcomes depend on the facts, the province and the person.
How do bars check for fake IDs in Ontario?
The AGCO tells staff to hold the card, check the photo, birth date and expiry date, and look for the licence number pattern, raised lettering, ultraviolet features and extra thickness around the photo.
Can you be charged for having a fake ID?
Possessing one can fall under section 56.1 if it relates or purports to relate to another person, and under section 368 if used. Each has exceptions and a summary option.
What ID is acceptable to buy alcohol in Ontario?
The AGCO lists an Ontario driver's licence or Photo Card, Canadian passport, Permanent Resident Card, Secure Indian Status Card, Canadian Forces ID and an LCBO BYID card, plus equivalent foreign photo ID.
Is a novelty card legal?
A card made to look like government ID is not safe because a seller calls it a novelty. Section 368 turns on whether it is forged and used as genuine, not on what the seller labels it.