{"id":7349,"date":"2026-10-06T21:51:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T21:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/truthdocuments.com\/pass-card\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T21:54:03","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T21:54:03","slug":"pass-card","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/truthdocuments.com\/uk\/pass-card\/","title":{"rendered":"The PASS proof-of-age card: what it is and how it is checked"},"content":{"rendered":"<nav class=\"crumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\"><a href=\"\/uk\/\">Home<\/a> \u203a PASS proof-of-age card<\/nav>\n<p><span class=\"kicker\">The real route<\/span><\/p>\n<h1>The PASS proof-of-age card: what it is and how it is checked<\/h1>\n<div class=\"answer\"><strong>Short answer:<\/strong> PASS is the National Proof of Age Standards Scheme. It accredits the companies that issue proof-of-age cards, and every accredited card carries the PASS hologram. PASS says that a retailer need only check the hologram, the photo and the date of birth. Cards without the hologram are not PASS cards.<\/div>\n<p class=\"meta\">Last reviewed: <time datetime=\"2026-10-04\">2026-10-04<\/time> \u00b7 By <a href=\"\/uk\/authors\/\">Mark Dent<\/a><\/p>\n<nav class=\"toc\" aria-label=\"On this page\"><strong>On this page<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#s1\">What the scheme is<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#s2\">How a card is checked<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#s3\">Which cards count<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#s4\">If you are a business<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#faq\">Frequently asked questions<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/nav>\n<h2 id=\"s1\">What the scheme is<\/h2>\n<p>PASS is a community interest company that accredits suppliers of proof-of-age cards across the UK. It launched in 2000, and says it was created to counter fraudulent ID and give young people a reliable alternative to carrying a passport or licence. PASS reports support from police, Trading Standards and trade bodies.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"s2\">How a card is checked<\/h2>\n<p>PASS says the hologram is a registered trademark, which makes it a criminal offence to manufacture cards with similar marks. In its words, when a young person produces a card bearing the hologram, the retailer only needs to check the photo and the date of birth. That makes the card quick for a shop or door team to read, and it is why it is a fixed target for counterfeiters.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"s3\">Which cards count<\/h2>\n<p>The UK has no national identity card. For age checks, the usual acceptable proofs are a passport, a photocard driving licence and a card bearing the PASS hologram. A card that merely says &ldquo;student&rdquo; or &ldquo;ID&rdquo;, or a printout, is not on that list. Sellers of &ldquo;scannable&rdquo; IDs imitate these documents and carry the legal risk described in <a href=\"\/uk\/fake-id-uk-law\/\">fake ID and the law<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"s4\">If you are a business<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Look at the hologram, then the photo, then the date of birth, and ask yourself whether the person matches.<\/li>\n<li>If you cannot decide, you can decline the sale.<\/li>\n<li>Do not accept a photo of a card on a phone.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The scheme&rsquo;s own site is the place to read current guidance. For the other genuine photo ID, see <a href=\"\/uk\/is-my-licence-real\/\">checking whether a driving licence is real<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"faq\">Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n<details>\n<summary>What is a PASS card?<\/summary>\n<p>A proof-of-age card issued by a supplier accredited under the National Proof of Age Standards Scheme and bearing the PASS hologram.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>What does a retailer check on a PASS card?<\/summary>\n<p>PASS says the retailer need only check the hologram, the photo and the date of birth.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>Does the UK have a national ID card?<\/summary>\n<p>No. For age proof people usually use a passport, a photocard driving licence or a PASS-accredited card.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<div class=\"related\">\n<h2>Keep reading<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"\/uk\/fake-id-uk-law\/\">Fake ID in the UK: the law<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/uk\/is-my-licence-real\/\">Is my licence real?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/uk\/identity-document-scams\/\">All identity document scams<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/uk\/acceptable-id-uk\/\">What counts as ID<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sources\">\n<h2>Sources and official links<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pass-scheme.org.uk\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">PASS: the National Proof of Age Standards Scheme<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"author\"><strong>About the author<\/strong><br \/>Written by <a href=\"\/uk\/authors\/\">Mark Dent<\/a> from official GOV.UK guidance, UK legislation and public reporting. We do not sell, issue or arrange any licence or document, and we are not part of DVLA, DVSA or any government body. See our <a href=\"\/uk\/editorial-policy\/\">editorial policy<\/a> or <a href=\"\/uk\/contact\/\">report a mistake<\/a>.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home \u203a PASS proof-of-age card The real route The PASS proof-of-age card: what it is and how it is checked Short answer: PASS is the National Proof of Age Standards Scheme. It accredits the companies that issue proof-of-age cards, and every accredited card carries the PASS hologram. PASS says that a retailer need only check [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"truthdocuments-guide","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7349","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_hostinger_reach_plugin_has_subscription_block":false,"_hostinger_reach_plugin_is_elementor":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthdocuments.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthdocuments.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthdocuments.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthdocuments.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthdocuments.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7349"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/truthdocuments.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7349\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7987,"href":"https:\/\/truthdocuments.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7349\/revisions\/7987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthdocuments.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}