May I See Your ID?

On January 1, 2018, a new Texas law went into effect permitting a merchant to request a government-issued photo identification to verify the identity of a credit or debit card user – and decline the transaction if the buyer refuses to show it. The new law is not mandatory. The law does not require a merchant to request photo identification, nor does it require the merchant to decline the transaction if the photo identification is not produced. It simply gives the merchant the right to request the photo identification and the option to turn away the customer without the identification.