What ID do you use when you go out?

This is part question/part rant.

So I have FLR (M) and have a UK resident's card.  When I received this card, I started using it as my ID to get into bars, buy alcohol, etc.  I stopped carrying my passport with me because I felt safer with it at home and I didn't really think there was a point for me to carry two valid forms of ID around.  Now, I'm almost 25, but I still occasionally get carded.

Last night, my husband and I went to meet some friends at a bar we've been to quite a few times before.  The doorman let my husband in and asked me for ID.  I showed his my resident's card and he started asking me questions, like where did I get it, etc.  I explained it was my Resident's card and that it was issued by UK immigration.  He asked if I had any other ID, all I had was my MN driver's licence, which I know won't work over here.  I told him I had never had any problems using it before, even at this bar, and it is valid UK ID, he started being acting like a jerk on a power trip about it.  So my husband just said we'd go and get my passport (our flat wasn't that far from the bar). 

So we went back, got my passport, went back to the bar.  There was a different doorman who asked for my ID at the door, I gave him my resident's card and he let me in    After we had ordered drinks, the first doorman approached me at the bar and asked if I had brought my passport.  I explained I had, but had been let in with my card, he insisted I show him my passport.  It wouldn't have been such a big deal, but he was incredibly rude to my husband and I, and honestly I was just getting fed up with the whole thing.  I mean my resident's card has a freaking microchip in it, it's not like some poorly faked ID card.

But anyway, for those of you with resident's cards, what do you use for ID when you're going out?  Have any of you had this problem before?  I really don't want to have to start carrying my passport out with me, but it seems I might have to now.

I don't have a biometric ID card, but the few times I have needed ID, I've used my provisional driving licence, and that's always been OK.  I don't usually get carded at pubs (thank goodness, I'm 32) but once I had to show it to buy wine at Waitrose  .   

After we had ordered drinks, the first doorman approached me at the bar and asked if I had brought my passport.  I explained I had, but had been let in with my card, he insisted I show him my passport. 

Sounds like an a$$hole on a power trip.  If it's a bar you go to often you might consider speaking to the manager.  Failing that, as historyenne says, a UK driving license would probably be acceptable.

I use my provisional for ID (£20, so if its lost or stolen, its easy to replace) when I go out as I dont like to keep either passport on me and makes it easier.

I agree with others complain to the bar manager and even write a letter to the licence owners as well (it should be written above the door) and then just boycott the place. A wetherspoons in town tried to ID my mate who is going grey a few years ago (he was 27 at the time) and refused to serve him or anyone in our party until he did so. We wrote a letter to the head office, which fell on deaf ears, and refused to go into any wetherspoons anywhere now. We're generally a large mixed group of couples (usually between 3 -  6 couples) who would buy food and drink until closing, so losing us is about £120 or more of custom loss...

Also, if you do go back and the same bouncers are on, ask for the bouncers license holders details and see if you can report them to the SIA if your complaint falls on deaf ears with the manager or premise license holders. Their contact details are as follows:

http://www.sia.homeoffice.gov.uk/Pages/contact-complaint.aspx
f you have a complaint then you can call us on 0844 892 1025 (8am-8pm), send us an e-mail (info@sia.homeoffice.gov.uk), or write to us at:

Security Industry Authority
PO Box 1293
Liverpool
L69 1AX

Whichever method you use to contact us, please make sure you tell us about:

    the problem (including what has happened, when it happened, and the background to the problem if you think it is relevant);
    what you have done to try and sort it out; and
    what you want us to do to put things right.

We will do our best to resolve the problem.

Theres more info on the page on what to do if still unsatisfied with their response.

I'll be 26 in a month, but I look like I'm 17, so I ALWAYS get carded.  It's to the point where my poor friends have started carrying their IDs with them if they know they're going out with me, because we'll all get carded on my account! 

The first year I was here, I just used my passport.  I didn't like carrying it, but it's hard to dispute a passport.  Since I got my biometric ID card in February, I've been using that.  There are a lot of people that look at it like "WTF is this?" but if they have any issues, then I just show them my NJ license and my expired student ID which has my birthdate on it to corroborate.  Some places I've just used my NJ license, but that's usually dive bars where the people working there are younger than me and don't really care.

I am going to get a provisional license soon because, like the others have suggested, it's probably the best thing to carry.  People just aren't that familiar with immigration-related documents and I'd rather cut down on the amount of hassle I get.  Plus I need one anyway! 

Sounds like an a$$hole on a power trip.  If it's a bar you go to often you might consider speaking to the manager.  Failing that, as historyenne says, a UK driving license would probably be acceptable.

I think that was definitely the case, I was just getting annoyed because he asked me if I'd been there before and gotten in with my resident's card and I when I told him yes, I had, he was like,"No!  You definitely haven't!".

If we have any more problems I will be speaking to the manager or writing a complaint.  We haven't been going to that bar very long, but it's a really nice bar with good atmosphere so I really don't want to have to stop going to an establishment I enjoy because some doorman who's "been working there for 14 years" is going to act like an ass.

I'll be 26 in a month, but I look like I'm 17, so I ALWAYS get carded.  It's to the point where my poor friends have started carrying their IDs with them if they know they're going out with me, because we'll all get carded on my account! 

The first year I was here, I just used my passport.  I didn't like carrying it, but it's hard to dispute a passport.  Since I got my biometric ID card in February, I've been using that.  There are a lot of people that look at it like "WTF is this?" but if they have any issues, then I just show them my NJ license and my expired student ID which has my birthdate on it to corroborate.  Some places I've just used my NJ license, but that's usually dive bars where the people working there are younger than me and don't really care.

I am going to get a provisional license soon because, like the others have suggested, it's probably the best thing to carry.  People just aren't that familiar with immigration-related documents and I'd rather cut down on the amount of hassle I get.  Plus I need one anyway! 

I've had doormen who ask for ID, look at the front of my resident's card (the birthdate is on the back) and then just let me in, which I think it kind of funny.  I showed the jerky doorman my MN driver's licence when he started questioning the resident's card, but that still wasn't good enough for him.  Honestly, I don't think he would have given me such a hard time if I hadn't been with my husband.  My friend who was there waiting for us said he had been letting groups of girls on hen dos in who looked way younger than me without a second glance.

I haven't gotten my provisional licence yet, but I think after our trip to the states in August for our wedding celebration, I am going to start taking driving lessons and get to work on getting a UK driver's licence.

I got carded in Washington DC on my 40th birthday trip! It was in a student area and quite dark in the bar, the guy asked me for id and I said my passport was in the hotel, he took a look at me and said "how old are you", when I said I was 40 he said "ok"! Think he realised nobody would lie about that!

Your story reminds me of when DW's daughter visited last year, she was 20 at the time, and going into one pub they asked for her ID, she showed her NJ driving licence, and the doorman said "How do I know if this is legit", a fair point but DW said, well I've also got the same and you can see I'm old enough....so he let her in!

A UK driving licence is fine, also many towns will issue ID's that are accepted by the local pubs, so you don't have to carry a passport.

I'm well past the age of being carded and so don't feel the need to carry ID with me.  However, if I did need to carry ID, I would also get a provisional license.  I just recently found out that if you loose your visa, either in your passport or on a resident card, the cost of replacing it is the FULL price of the visa.  I don't want to ever have to pay for the price of again.      Loosing a license is soooooo much cheaper!

I'm well past the age of being carded and so don't feel the need to carry ID with me.  However, if I did need to carry ID, I would also get a provisional license.  I just recently found out that if you loose your visa, either in your passport or on a resident card, the cost of replacing it is the FULL price of the visa.  I don't want to ever have to pay for the price of again.      Loosing a license is soooooo much cheaper!

I would rather use my US passport, without the visa in it, then the ID card, which functions as a visa! When I'm in the UK, I usually use my US passport card as ID and it's pretty well accepted. It only cost $20 at the time I got it (I think it's a little more now, $30 or $35) and is the same size as a license but I think it's sort of analogous to the national ID cards the rest of Europe has and it's not been a problem. If anything, I get more funny looks about it in New York than in the UK.

Hm,  I've always just used my US Driver's License (NJ/NC depending on which I had the time).  Never really thought about it, but it's never been turned down...They do tend to look at it funny but normally because they can't find my DOB..

But, going on 25 next month, I might start taking it as a compliment to look under 18! 

I've also been using my US driver's license with no problems.  They tend to scrutinize it carefully, but in the end, it's always been accepted.

I'll have to start thinking about an alternative though since my US license expires in 2012.

I've also been using my US driver's license with no problems.  They tend to scrutinize it carefully, but in the end, it's always been accepted.

I'll have to start thinking about an alternative though since my US license expires in 2012.

Passport card, seriously. It's cheaper than a UK provisional driving license, fits in your wallet and is a good thing to have. It's proof of US citizenship for all intents and purposes except international air travel.

Passport card, seriously. It's cheaper than a UK provisional driving license, fits in your wallet and is a good thing to have. It's proof of US citizenship for all intents and purposes except international air travel.

I'm very interested in this since I can no longer renew my PA driver's license and I'd rather not carry around my full passport just to buy beer when I'm in the States.

Do you know if you can get a passport card through the US Embassy in London? All the links I'm seeing are US-based, and the embassy site doesn't have much on them, either. :/

I never get carded.

Lucky sods.

But I do carry around my UK drivers licence. Old habits die hard.