A parcel of wine at the door
A driver has a box from an online wine shop. The label has a small '18+' sticker. The person who answers looks young. The driver is running late, asks 'are you eighteen?', gets a yes, and takes a signature. No ID is seen, nothing is recorded beyond the signature.
Weeks later, the shipper is asked by a regulator or a parent how they make sure age-restricted goods are not handed to children. They ask you for your records. You have signatures.
Why checks are not recorded
Age-restricted parcels are mixed in with everything else. The label may flag them, but the driver app treats them the same as any other stop, so the check depends on the driver noticing and doing it. There is no screen that asks what ID was seen, and no process for what to do if the recipient cannot show it.
| Step | What usually happens |
|---|---|
| Parcel flagged as age-restricted | A sticker, sometimes missed |
| Driver prompted to check | No prompt in the app |
| ID seen and date of birth checked | Question asked, answer accepted |
| Refusal when ID is not shown | Driver judgement, no process |
| Record for the shipper | Signature only |
What checks are required depends on the goods and on the shipper's and your own obligations, which your advisers set out. The system makes whatever you decide consistent and recorded.
What it costs
Risk for the shipper and for you if age-restricted goods reach someone underage. Shippers selling these goods increasingly choose couriers who can show a proper process, so without one you lose that work. And drivers are left to handle a sensitive conversation on the doorstep with no support.
Refused deliveries cost too. A parcel not handed over needs to come back, be held and returned to the shipper, and without a process that happens inconsistently.
It is also a question you will be asked when bidding. Shippers of age-restricted goods tend to ask couriers directly how the check is done and what record is kept, and 'our drivers ask' is not an answer that wins the contract.
The age check step we build
- Parcel flags from the shipper's manifest or label data, so age-restricted parcels are identified before the route starts.
- A required check step in the driver app for those parcels: the app will not complete the delivery without it.
- Prompts the driver works through: ID type seen from the list your policy accepts, date of birth confirmed as over the required age, and whether the recipient matched the name where required.
- A refusal route: if the check fails, the parcel is marked as refused with the reason and returned under the shipper's instructions.
- No photos of ID documents unless your policy and data protection advice say otherwise, to avoid holding sensitive personal data unnecessarily.
- A record per delivery for the shipper: time, driver, check completed or refused, available in a report.
What changes
Age-restricted parcels cannot be delivered without the check. Drivers have a clear process, including for refusals. Shippers get a record they can rely on. And you can offer that process when bidding for their work.
Signs your age checks need this
- Age-restricted parcels are identified only by a sticker.
- The driver app does not prompt for an age check.
- Your records for these deliveries are signatures only.
- There is no set process when ID is not shown.
- Shippers ask about your age verification process and you have no clear answer.