Can you scan an ID in North Dakota?

North Dakota law regulates an act of reproducing a driver’s license and is designed to target those making or using “fake IDs.”  Otherwise, North Dakota law does not regulate a business’s practice of scanning driver’s licenses for obtaining information. 

There are some instances in which merchants are required to record information related to identity, such as sale of controlled substances and scrap metal recycling. ID scanning can improve the ease and accuracy of record keeping in these scenarios.

Overview of North Dakota ID Scanning Laws

North Dakota law makes it unlawful for anyone to print, photograph, photostat, duplicate, alter, or in any way reproduce a driver’s license (as well as a non-driver photo identification card) or any document used in producing a driver’s license in such a manner that it would be mistaken for a valid license or document.  It is also unlawful to display or have in possession any such print, photograph, photostat, duplicate, or reproduction unless authorized by law. 
Penalty:  A violation of this law is a class B misdemeanor; however, the law is designed to penalize those engaged in making or using fraudulent IDs. 

A business is likely allowed to scan driver’s licenses to obtain raw information as long as the scanning does not result in any reproduction (e.g., photos or photocopies) of such licenses. 
Subject to applicable privacy laws.

Does North Dakota offer affirmative defense for ID scanning?

No.

North Dakota Code § 39-06-40. Unlawful use of license.

It is a class B misdemeanor for an individual:

a. To display or cause or permit to be displayed or have in possession any canceled, revoked, fictitious, or fraudulently altered operator’s license or nondriver photo identification card;

b. To lend that individual’s operator’s license or nondriver photo identification card to any other individual or knowingly permit the use of that individual’s operator’s license or nondriver photo identification card by another individual;

c. To display or represent as an individual’s own any operator’s license or nondriver photo identification card not issued to that individual;

d. To fail or refuse to surrender to the director upon demand any operator’s license or nondriver photo identification card that has been suspended, revoked, or canceled;

e. To permit any unlawful use of an operator’s license or nondriver photo identification card issued to that individual; or

f. To use a false or fictitious name in any application for an operator’s license or nondriver photo identification card or to knowingly make a false statement or to conceal a material fact or otherwise commit a fraud in the application.

North Dakota Senate Bill No. 2156. Amend the purchase age for tobacco sales to 21.

It is a noncriminal offense for a minor an individual under twenty – one years of age to present or offer to another individual a purported proof of age which is false, fraudulent, or not actually the minor’s that individual’s own proof of age, for the purpose of attempting to purchase or possess cigarettes, cigars, cigarette papers, snuff, tobacco in any other form in which it may be utilized for smoking or chewing, electronic smoking devices, or alternative nicotine products.

51-32-01. Prohibited acts regarding sale of tobacco products, electronic smoking devices, or alternative nicotine products to minors an individual under twenty – one years of age.

It is unlawful for any person in the business of selling tobacco products to take an order for a tobacco product, other than from a person who is in the business of selling tobacco products, through the mail or through any telecommunications means, including by telephone, facsimile, or the internet, if in providing for the sale or delivery of the product pursuant to the order, the person mails the product or ships the product by carrier, and the person fails to comply with each of the following procedures:
a. Before mailing or shipping the product, the person receives from the individual who places the order the following:
(1) A copy of a valid government-issued document that provides the name, address, and date of birth of the individual; and
(2) A signed statement from the individual providing a certification that the individual:
(a) Is a smoker of legal minimum purchase age in the state;
(b) Has selected an option on the statement as to whether the individual wants to receive mailings from a tobacco company; and
(c) Understands that providing false information may constitute a violation of law.
b. Before mailing or shipping the product, the person:
(1) Verifies the date of birth or age of the individual against a commercially available database; or
(2) Obtains a photocopy or other image of the valid, government-issued identification stating the date of birth or age of the individual placing the order.
c. Before mailing or shipping the product, the person provides to the prospective purchaser, by electronic mail or other means, a notice that meets the requirements of section 51-32-04.
d. In the case of an order for a product pursuant to an advertisement on the internet, the person receives payment by credit card, debit card, or check for the order before mailing or shipping the product.
e. (1) The person employs a method of mailing or shipping the product requiring that the individual purchasing the product:
(a) Be the addressee;
(b) Have an individual of legal minimum purchase age sign for delivery of the package; and
(c) If the individual appears to the carrier making the delivery to be under twenty-seven years of age, take delivery of the package only after producing valid government-issued identification that bears a
photograph of the individual, indicates that the individual is not under the legal age to purchase cigarettes, and indicates that the individual is not younger than the age indicated on the government-issued document.
(2) The bill of lading clearly states the requirements in subdivision e and specifies that state law requires compliance with the requirements.
f. The person notifies the carrier for the mailing or shipping, in writing, of the age of the addressee as indicated by the government-issued document.