The laws relating to the sale of alchol in the UK are due to change before the end of 2025, following a consultation on amending the Mandatory Licensing Conditions (secondary legislation) to allow for digital forms of proof of age.
Online
Currently for online sales the law is ambiguous, particularly around whether an age check must be done at the point of sale (online) as well as at the point of delivery (the doorstep). Current official guidance states: “The Home Office advises that anyone selling alcohol online or by phone should already be taking all reasonable steps to verify age at the point of sale in order to avoid committing an offence of selling alcohol to a child. PAS 1296 is a good point of reference for these steps.”
In-person
At present, proof must include a hologram or an ultraviolet mark so has to be a physical document. Going forward, it is likely that age can be checked online using a digital proof from a Digital Verification Service that has been certified against government standards, known as the Digital Identities and Attributes Trust Framework. There will need to be a technical check that the digital proof is valid, and we are working with the Proof of Age Standards Scheme to create the infrastructure required to do this for any approved digital ID in any licensed premises. Read more here.