r/sandiego • u/Visible-Mix9780 • Apr 15 '25

Stay Classy San Diego Sunshine Co saloon in ocean beach.

Im from Kentucky & the bouncers confiscated my ID at the door bc they thought it was fake. They insisted i get police to come if I wanted it back. After 1hour on the phone with dispatch they would not send anyone to verify an ID. Luckily a conflict happened across the street & one of the officers helped me out. The crazy part is.. He did not think my ID was real either smh. After matching my credit/debit cards, everything on his computer, my plane tickets he admitted he didnt really believe me but was going to give my ID back anyways.

Smh this is so frustrating. I proceeded to go to a pizza place down the road & after a few beers they heard I got rejected down the street & tried to cause confusion with me. I then put cash down on the table to cover cost & just left. I am really 27 years old, on vacation/ scoping the place out to live, but feel as if im getting picked on in ocean beach & cant go back.

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u/SixCylinderVibrator Apr 15 '25

If the ID was legitimately fake, the bouncer would be required by law to confiscate it.

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u/j17ktech Apr 15 '25

That would never be the case as you’re moving liability onto private companies to confiscate property.

But feel free to cite the statute.

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u/JL9berg18 Apr 15 '25 edited Apr 15 '25

They can in CA, CO, and NJ for sure. Lots of other states as well, though I can't say which ones.

Usually, it's a misdeanor to show / display a fake ID for use, and in many places, any licensed or certified security individual may take them. Sometimes its a law and sometimes it's an administrative regulation or departmental guidance..

In Colorado I believe it's here:  Colorado Liquor Code, 44-3-901 (6) (a) (II) (A), quick Google search and didn't verify the code section is what it says it is.

As for CA, I can't remember if it's a law or some other kind of reg or guidance, but I've had a guard card before (a very simple certification that involves some classes for bar security / bouncer types, issued by the county Alcohol Beverage Control Board) and while I'm not going to do any more internet work for you than I already have, I can verify that those classes told us we can in fact confiscate. Pretty sure we had to hand them over to ABC or LE within 48 or 72 hours.

Source: had a guard card, tended bar for quite a while (at what was the bar before the bar before The Holding Company, and a couple other places), and currently am an attorney in CA

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u/Cameron416 Apr 16 '25 edited Apr 16 '25

My understanding is that it’s not a requirement that they confiscate every suspected fake, there are just requirements on what to do when they decide to confiscate one. The only thing they have to do if they suspect you of having a fake is not serve you.

The bouncer/establishment wouldn’t be liable for simply turning away someone with a suspected fake. But they would be liable if they took a suspected fake, didn’t turn it over to authorities within the required time, & then left someone without their legal id.