Age limits – spending money and going out

Your leisure time is controlled by age limits too. There are lots of things which you can only buy or do once you reach a certain age.

If you buy something when you are under the legal age limit, any punishment will normally fall on the business which supplies you, rather than on you; but don’t do anything which might make businesses break the law, and respect any procedures which they put in place to check that you are the right age – such as showing age ID.

Acceptable age ID

You can get proof of age cards under the officially approved Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS). These have a PASS hologram and can be relied on by retailers and other businesses.

You can get a PASS-approved card through CitizenCard or Validate UK for £15; a few local councils offer them for free to young people in their area.

In Scotland, you can get a card free via the YoungScot website here.

If you have a provisional or full driving licence, you can also use this as it shows your date of birth.