Age verification
Age verification on the guest's phone, before they reach the door
VenueGo, a verification platform designed for venues, checks a guest's age on their own phone at sign-up or ticket purchase: face first, then the document, then a photo holding it. You get an approved, declined or needs-review result before the guest arrives, under your brand.
Step by step
How it works
- 1
Guest starts the check
When a guest signs up or buys a ticket, the white-label flow opens on their phone under your brand. The guest sees your venue, not ours.
- 2
Face, then document, then both
The guest captures their face first, then the document, then a photo of themselves holding it. Accepted documents are UK, Irish and US passports and driving licences.
- 3
One of three results
Each check ends approved, declined or needs review. An under-age decline is final: it is never retried into a pass. A session lasts 24 hours and allows three attempts.
- 4
Result reaches your systems
The result comes back to you and, for integrators, arrives by webhook so it can sit against the guest's ticket or membership record. Images are deleted after 30 days unless a review is open.
What you get
Digital age verification under your brand
The hosted flow runs under your brand on the guest's own phone at sign-up or ticket purchase. No scanner to buy and no device for the door team to manage.
Passports and driving licences
VenueGo reads UK, Irish and US passports and driving licences. Guests use a document they already hold, and the capture order is always face, document, then a photo holding it.
Three results, no quiet passes
Every check ends approved, declined or needs review. An under-age decline is never retried into a pass, and a session allows three attempts within 24 hours before it closes.
30-day deletion, London processing
Images are deleted after 30 days unless a review is open. Processing runs in London, data is stored in the UK, and everything is encrypted in transit and at rest.
Age rules on the ticket itself
In VenueOra ticketing, a ticket type can carry an age restriction alongside members-only and other rules, and where a venue uses that hardware, a kiosk runs face verification at the door. VenueGo adds the document check before arrival.
Three plans, from £0
Trial is £0 for 25 checks. Starter is £9 a month for 500 checks. Growth is £29 a month for 2,500 checks. Pick the plan that matches your event calendar.
Before the door
The check happens at the ticket, not in the queue
An ID scanner at the door checks a document when the guest is already standing in front of your staff. VenueGo moves that check to the moment the guest signs up or buys, on their own phone. The door team starts the night knowing who has already shown a passport or driving licence and who was declined. The Challenge 25 policy at the bar carries on exactly as before.
No scanner at the door
An ID scanner checks a document when the guest is already in the queue. VenueGo runs on the guest's phone when they sign up or buy, before anyone arrives.
Your Challenge 25 policy still applies
Staff still ask for ID at the bar when someone looks under 25. The check before arrival adds a record of who was verified at purchase; it does not change what happens at the point of sale.
A document check, not digital ID
Since September 2026, premises in England and Wales may accept digital proof of age only from a registered Digital Verification Services provider. VenueGo is a document check before arrival, not digital proof of age at the bar.
Built for integrators
The API starts a check and the webhook returns the result, so your ticketing, membership or door system holds the outcome. Or use the hosted flow with no integration at all.
Outcomes
What changes for your venue
01
Age known before arrival
Ticket holders for an 18+ night or an alcohol-led event complete the check when they buy, so your door team already knows who passed and who was declined.
02
Your brand, not a third party's
The guest sees your venue throughout the white-label flow. The check feels like part of buying a ticket from you, not a hand-off to a vendor they have never heard of.
03
A record you can account for
Each result is tied to the guest's record, with images deleted after 30 days unless a review is open. You can show what was checked, when, and what the outcome was.
What this does not do
VenueGo reads the document in the camera. It does not look up DVLA, the passport office, or any other government database, and it does not read a passport chip. A clear result is not proof a document is genuine. It does not replace a premises licence, a challenge at the bar, or legal advice.
FAQ
Questions venues ask
Is digital age verification for venues the same as an ID scanner at the door?
No. An ID scanner reads a document when the guest is already at the door, and the venue buys and maintains the device. VenueGo runs on the guest's own phone when they sign up or buy a ticket, before they arrive, with no hardware at the venue. Both check a document; only the phone-based check happens early enough to inform the door list and the ticket record. Neither is digital proof of age at the bar.
Which documents does VenueGo accept?
UK, Irish and US passports and driving licences. The guest photographs their face first, then the document, then themselves holding the document, and VenueGo reads the document in the camera. It does not accept PASS cards, student cards or other document types, so a venue that relies on PASS cards at the bar still checks those in person.
What happens when a check comes back as needs review?
A needs-review result means the check could not reach a clear approved or declined outcome and a person needs to look at it. While the review is open the images are kept beyond the usual 30 days so the reviewer can see them. Once the review closes the normal deletion applies. The guest's session lasts 24 hours and allows three attempts, so a poor photo can be retaken within that window.
Does a pass from VenueGo mean I can skip Challenge 25 at the bar?
No. VenueGo reads the document in the camera. It does not look up DVLA, the passport office, or any other government database, and it does not read a passport chip. A clear result is not proof a document is genuine. It does not replace a premises licence, a challenge at the bar, or legal advice. Treat the result as a record that the guest showed a passport or driving licence at purchase, and keep Challenge 25 running at the point of sale.
Where is the data processed and how long is it kept?
Processing runs in London and data is stored in the UK, encrypted in transit and at rest. Images are deleted after 30 days unless a review is open. The venue remains responsible for its own data protection assessment and for telling guests why the check is being run; VenueGo handles the capture, the check and the deletion schedule.
How much does VenueGo cost?
Trial is £0 for 25 checks, Starter is £9 a month for 500 checks and Growth is £29 a month for 2,500 checks. Every plan runs the same flow: face, document, then a photo holding the document, with approved, declined or needs-review results and 30-day image deletion. If you expect more than 2,500 checks a month, ask us.
Related
Industry
Nightclubs and bars
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Festivals
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Members' clubs
ReadGuide
Challenge 25 at events and festivals
Challenge 25 events guide: what the Licensing Act 2003 mandatory conditions require of festival bars, which ID counts, how TENs are licensed and what to record.
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Digital proof of age for alcohol sales in 2026
The 2026 change letting England and Wales premises accept digital proof of age for alcohol sales, what the DVS register requires and what a venue can do now.
ReadFor the full product site, see Visit VenueGo at venuego.co.uk .
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