I am a cashier at a Walmart in Tennessee. I was instructed by management that we can only accept identification that has been issued by the US Federal Government or a state government.

Two days ago, a person attempted to purchase alcohol with his Salvadoran passport. One of my co-workers said that this was now acceptable identification for purchasing alcohol, and I allowed it.

I mentioned this to another co-worker, who reprimanded me, claiming that the law had not changed.

Is a foreign (non-US) passport considered acceptable identification to purchase alcohol in Tennessee?

closed as off-topic by user67108, Kate Gregory, gmauch, Newton, Michael Hampton Aug 6 '18 at 14:43


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    Hi Steven. This site is about travel, and this isn't really a question about travel. If you want to know about the law, then we have a Law site where you could ask. Or if you wanted to know how to handle the conflict between managers we have a Workplace site. – DJClayworth Aug 6 '18 at 13:29
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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it's not about travel. – user67108 Aug 6 '18 at 13:51
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    The law clearly only asks for 'Government Issued IDs', not for 'US-government issued IDs': publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules/0100/0100-11.20171115.pdf – Aganju Aug 6 '18 at 14:51
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    @Aganju You are linking to the Alcoholic Beverage Commision rules and not the law, which is even vaguer in the wording. According to the Tennesee Code (§ 57-3-406), a government-issued document with photo and date of birth is sufficient. There are also exceptions. e.g. for persons exempt under state law from having a photo identification document, who 'shall present identification that is acceptable to the retailer'. Finally, 'the retailer or employee shall make a determination from the information presented whether the purchaser is an adult.' – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo Aug 6 '18 at 15:24
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    I don't see why this question is off-topic. While it is being asked from the perspective of a US worker, the question can be rephrased as "Can a foreigner purchase alcohol in a store in Tennessee using their non-US passport?" I'm voting to reopen. – Robert Columbia Aug 6 '18 at 15:48