Age Verification for Retail Staff Course: Lessons 2026

Lesson 1: Who sets the legal age

Selling a restricted product to a young person can harm their health and break the law. In Canada, the rules come from two levels of government.

Federal law sets a floor

• Tobacco and vaping products: The federal Tobacco and Vaping Products Act says no one may furnish these products to a young person, meaning anyone under 18, in a public place or a place open to the public. To furnish means to sell, lend, give or send, whether or not money changes hands.
• Cannabis: The federal Cannabis Act bans selling or giving cannabis to anyone under 18.
• Fireworks: Natural Resources Canada says customers must be 18 or older to buy and use consumer fireworks.

Provinces can set a higher age

Provinces and territories can set a higher minimum age, and they set the age for alcohol. Some examples:

Training the law may require

Some provinces require approved training before you sell alcohol or cannabis. In Ontario, anyone who sells, serves or delivers liquor, including grocery and convenience store staff, needs AGCO-approved training such as Smart Serve. Ontario cannabis store staff must finish approved training such as CannSell before their first day of work. This course is background knowledge only and does not replace that training.

Lesson 2: When to ask for ID

You cannot tell age by looking. That is why many provinces set an "appears under" age. If a customer looks younger than that age, you must ask for ID.

B.C.'s liquor regulator says to check ID whenever there is any doubt that a person is a minor. A store may also choose to check the ID of every customer.

Ontario's AGCO warns staff not to rely on appearance, familiarity or how often someone visits. A regular customer who looks young still needs to show ID.

Lesson 3: What ID to accept

Good proof-of-age ID is:

• Issued by a government
• Valid, not expired
• Showing the person's photo and date of birth
• The original card, not a copy or a photo on a phone

For tobacco, the federal Tobacco (Access) Regulations list these documents: a driver's licence, a passport, a Canadian citizenship certificate with a photo, a permanent resident document, a Canadian Armed Forces ID card, or another government-issued document with the person's photo, date of birth and signature.

For alcohol in Ontario, the AGCO lists examples such as an Ontario driver's licence, an Ontario Photo Card, a Canadian passport, a permanent resident card, a Secure Indian Status Card, a Canadian Armed Forces ID card and the LCBO BYID card.

In Ontario, nobody can be required to show an Ontario Health Card. You may accept it only if the customer offers it.

Lesson 4: How to check an ID

1. Hold the card. Ask the customer to take it out of their wallet or case.
2. Look and feel for tampering: bubbles or peeling in the laminate, letters in a different typeface, or paper stuck over numbers.
3. Compare the photo with the customer's face.
4. Check the date of birth and the expiry date.
5. Ask a question if you have doubts, such as their birthday, their postal code or how to spell their middle name.
6. Ask for a second ID if you are still unsure.

Do the math

Take today's date and subtract the legal age. The customer must be born on or before that date. For example, if today is October 13, 2026 and the legal age is 19, the customer must be born on or before October 13, 2007. Someone born on October 14, 2007 is still 18.

Respect privacy

The privacy commissioners of Canada, Alberta and B.C. say that looking at a licence is often all that is needed, and that photocopying or scanning it generally goes too far. Do not copy, scan or write down licence details just to check a customer's age.

Lesson 5: Refusing a sale

Refusing is part of the job. Regulators such as the AGCO and AGLC suggest these steps:

• Decline the sale politely and professionally.
• Explain that the law does not allow the sale and point to the signs.
• Stay calm and hold your position, even if the customer is upset.
• Ask a supervisor or manager for help when needed.
• If the customer becomes abusive or threatening, call the police and note what they look like.

Adults buying for minors

Sometimes an adult tries to buy for a young person waiting outside or nearby. B.C.'s regulator says licensees must refuse service if they believe a customer is buying for a minor. Federal tobacco law also counts giving a product to a young person as furnishing it.

Signes

Stores must post age signs. Federal rules require a sign saying it is prohibited to provide tobacco products to persons under 18, unless a province has its own similar sign rule. Ontario requires age and ID signs for tobacco and vapour products, and B.C. retailers must use signs from the Ministry of Health.

Lesson 6: Inspections, deliveries and consequences

Governments check that stores follow the rules. In B.C., the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch runs a Minors as Agents Program: minors, always supervised by at least two inspectors, try to buy liquor or cannabis to see if staff ask for ID.

Checking ID protects you

• Under the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act, a seller is not guilty if they asked for and examined a listed ID and reasonably believed it was real.
• Under the Cannabis Act, believing the buyer was 18 or older is not a defence unless the seller took reasonable steps to check the person's age.
• Quebec's Tobacco Control Act says a buyer must show government photo ID with their name and date of birth when asked, and staff must refuse the sale if they cannot confirm the person's identity from it.

Deliveries

Federal law also bans sending or delivering tobacco or vaping products to a young person. A person delivering them should check government ID showing the person's name, photo, date of birth and signature.

Consequences for the store

Sales to minors can lead to fines and licence suspensions. In Alberta, staff who fail to ask for proof of age can also lose their required training certification. In Ontario, if a store's owner is convicted of 2 or more tobacco sales offences in 5 years, the store is automatically banned from selling tobacco for a period of time.