If you sell any age restricted products or services, you could benefit from test purchasing to ensure that Challenge 25 and similar guidelines are being followed to prevent the risk of underage sales.

Age verification testing involves using our team of 16-24 year old mystery shoppers who will attempt to purchase age-restricted products from your business. The aim is to see whether your staff are properly checking for identification and refusing to sell to underage individuals. If they’re asked to provide official ID to complete a transaction, you will receive a pass. If they don’t it’s a fail.

If your staff fail the age verification test, then it is important to provide additional training and support to help them improve. This could involve providing them with additional resources to better understand the legal requirements, or arranging further training sessions to ensure that they are better equipped to handle these situations in the future.

It’s worth noting that age verification testing is not just about ensuring that your business is complying with the law – it’s also about protecting young people from the potential harms associated with the underage purchase of alcohol, nicotine, tobacco, knives or gambling services. By ensuring that your staff are properly checking for identification, you can help to prevent young people from accessing these products and potentially putting themselves at risk.

Age verification testing is an effective tool for ensuring that your business is upholding the regulations around age-restricted products. By investing in this type of testing, you can be confident that your staff are doing everything they can to prevent underage sales, and that you are taking the necessary steps to protect young people and uphold the law.

What can we do?

• Alcohol
• Cigarettes, tobacco and nicotine
• E-cigarettes and vapes
• Computer games
• Energy drinks
• Knives
• Solvents
• Medicine and painkillers
• Lottery tickets
• Scratchcards
• Gambling
• Amusement machines

Where can we do this?

• Supermarkets
• Online
• Convenience stores and off-licences
• Petrol station forecourts
• Service stations
• Pubs and bars
• Bookmakers and betting shops
• Amusement arcades
• High street retailers