thread Re: ID scanning for age restricted items is not working in Hardware Setup & Troubleshooting

ID scanning for age restricted items is not working

MarCellars — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 20:00:14 GMT

Hi, everyone -

I've been looking through the threads here for hours trying to figure out why my barcode scanners are not working for age verification on age restricted items. I am running Square for Retail (or Square Premium). I have 21+ added as a restriction for all applicable items in our beer and wine store, and when these items are scanned the verification window pops-up but none of the scanners will recognize any identification scans. Any of my fellow Square users experienced in this? Any help or input would be greatly appreciated.

Re: ID scanning for age restricted items is not working

JTPets — Thu, 08 Oct 2026 17:25:15 GMT

I do not use age verification but I would valdiate the scanner supports the barcode style being scanned - some scanners only handle specific barcodes, others need to scan a barcode to change formats.

Re: ID scanning for age restricted items is not working

kacey_k — Thu, 08 Oct 2026 20:58:08 GMT

Hi! Welcome to the Square Community!

Since the age-verification window is appearing, it sounds like your item restrictions are triggering correctly. The issue may be with scanner compatibility or configuration.

Not all barcode scanners support the PDF417 barcode format used on the back of driver’s licenses, even if they work perfectly for scanning retail products.

A couple of things I’d recommend checking:

Verify that your scanner supports PDF417 barcodes.
Check whether PDF417 scanning needs to be enabled in your scanner settings.
Confirm that your scanner model supports ID scanning within Square for Retail, since barcode compatibility alone doesn’t guarantee integration.

Which scanner models are you currently using, and are you running Square for Retail on an iPad or Square Register?

That information could help narrow down the issue! 😊

Re: ID scanning for age restricted items is not working

Getonthebus — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 15:54:36 GMT

The barcode on someone's ID is a different format than the bar code on a UPC code. The UPC codes used here in the US and Canada are strictly designed for retail at the POS. The barcode on the back of someone's driver's license is a totally different set up. You can get an app on your phone that will scan someone's ID or you can have your folks that work in your store take the class to get their ABC card and while that may seem like a royal pain in the @SS - it's really a great informative class especially if you are selling items like beer, alcohol and smokes. The class will help them to correctly read someone's ID and can save you AND your employee some money especially if they are caught selling to an underage minor.