So you got your fake ID in a sketchy envelope from some foreign country, and because you're not from Pennsylvania or Florida or Illinois, you have no idea if it's any good. Fear not my underage friends, as a bouncer, let me clue you in as to what we look for.
There are some IDs that are damn near un-fakeable. States are starting to put cut-outs within their IDs that show when held up to light and this cannot be faked.
If you're from California you'll have a bear, Texas has the state of Texas, Michigan has "MICH". I'm not going to talk about these IDs because it's unlikely you have fake one.
Instead, I'll focus on some of the most commonly faked IDs: Illinois, New Jersey, Florida, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and New York.
Most IDs have something on them called microprint. This is tiny text somewhere on the ID that is extremely difficult to fake. It's what many bouncers look for because if its not there, there is a 0 percent chance the ID is real.
Illinois, New Jersey, and Florida all have very distinct microprint on them. For Illinois it's on the top right corner on the back of the ID and states "Lifegoeson.com". New Jersey has GARDEN STATE repeated in the shape of a border around the grey symbol on the top left corner on the back of the ID. The SUNSHINE STATE is written in the shape of box on the bottom right corner on the back of Florida's ID.
Now it's very unlikely that your ID has this microprint, but that's OK because unless the bouncer has bionic vision it's going to be tough to make out the words. The better IDs have what looks like writing in place of this microprint.
With a magnifying glass it would be easy to see that its just dots or scribbles, but if the line or border or box is consistent and looks like it could say something then you have a good fake. If the line is uneven, broken in places, or very clearly is not text, your fake is not so good.
Pennsylvania IDs have holograms that say the counties in PA. The first two are ALLEGHENY and ADAMS and for some reason most fake PA IDs say ARMSTRONG BEAVER.
Connecticut IDs have a tree when held up to the light. If you do not have this then your fake is shit. The more accurate way to tell if your ID is good is by the numbers on the front of the ID.
If you're born in an even year the first two numbers of the serial number will be 12 plus the month of your birth. If you're born in an odd number year it will be the same number. For some reason many fake IDs start with 08 so if yours does this than your ID isn't too great (unless you were born in August of an even number year).
New York IDs have raised print. If yours has raised print then your ID is fuego, because most don't.
Other methods of ID checking are better known, like shadows behind the ears or ID thickness. Many times you can tell just by their demeanor. If they look away while handing me the ID or are talking to their friends I'm much more suspicious.
Just be careful when using them because it's obviously illegal. Sometimes it's just better to wait until your 21.
