How can I carry out an age check online?

Online retailers have not only a moral but also a legal responsibility to conduct an online age check on their customers, where they are selling age restricted goods on their site. The online gaming industry is also highly regulated and an age check on new customers to prevent underage gambling is a necessary part of holding a gambling license.

192business offer a service where we can check personal characteristics such as a name and address, and date of birth to verify that your customer is who they say they are, carrying out an age check at the same time. This means that as well as an age check you can also prevent fraud by verifying your customer.

We will check your customer data against a number of sources, and return a match to you. You can then use this to decide that your customer is of legal age – usually in the UK 18 or above. Using a number of data sources means that we can offer you high match rates so that your age check process is robust as possible and you don’t reject people who are of legal age.

We also offer the ability to verify driving licenses and passports, which can also be used to check age. Document checks can be useful for people who have just moved to a new country, or as an added layer of confidence in your age check process.

192business have produced a guide; available here, detailing age restricted goods and services, and work closely with a number of retailers to help them ensure age compliance. To see how we can help you check age with confidence, please request a free, no obligation demo here.

Why bother to carry out an age check online?

Age checks help protect businesses, brands, and their customers, and as such are encouraged by a number of industry bodies...

"The British Board of Film Classification has a strong record in providing enforceable film and media age restrictions for the cinema and the traditional retail sector. BBFC.online member businesses using the internet to retail or deliver film and media content digitally have the same responsibility. We are recommending that members use customer age verification solutions"

Andrew Cooke, Business Manager, British Board of Film Classification

"We are delighted to be able to help our members in what is a very important area for distance sellers. By using age verification, companies can ensure they are meeting their legal obligations not to sell alcohol to those underage."

Jeremy Beadles, Chief Executive at the Wine and Sprits Trade Association.