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The background of PASS
The ability to determine the age of young people has become increasingly difficult over the years. This has led to problems for both retailers and young people when trying to purchase and sell age related goods.
In order to address this problem a group of trade associations and government agencies got together to help find a solution that could protect both the retailer and the young person.
As a result the British Retail Consortium (BRC) volunteered to lead an initiative that would address the issue and introduced a set of standards for proof-of-age cards. For the first time, the introduction of these standards provided a level of security which gave confidence and consistency to all users. This was encapsulated by the inclusion of the PASS hologram.
The hologram was an important measure in preventing fraudulent proof-of-age cards, a problem that had dogged many of the schemes on offer across the country.
All the existing proof-of-age card providers were encouraged to adopt the standards and to incorporate the hologram in all cards.
The scheme, named the Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS) ensured that all cards carry:
- Date of birth
- Full name
- A passport standard photograph
- An image of the holders signature
- A PASS hologram
A rigorous application and accreditation process was developed to protect the integrity of the scheme and within a matter of months all the existing schemes had adopted the standards.
In 2005 the scheme was further protected as it gained Trademark registration, making unauthorised use of the hologram on cards a criminal offence.
2001 - Agencies meet to address age-related-sales issues
2002 - BRC volunteer to lead the initiative
2003 - PASS scheme launched
2004 - 11 card issuers accredited, 700,000 cards in circulation
2005 - 15 card issuers accredited, 1.5 million PASS Cards in circulation
Get Passed
Young people can get hold of PASS accredited cards from a number of the card issuers.All cards that are PASS accredited carry the distinctive PASS logo in a hologram.
When to use your card
Problem Resolution
PASS is supported by:
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