registration

Introduction

This document expresses the Ohayocon policy regarding acceptable forms of identification for proving your identity and for verifying your age. If you have questions or concerns about this policy, please contact us so we can help you.

Purpose

There are three primary reasons why we require a formal identification document.

• We need the ability to identify you in case you are involved in a medical emergency.
• Our pre-registration system links badges to individuals, and we want to ensure you are the only person who can claim your badge.
• We prohibit those under the ages of 18 or 21 to attend certain events, and you must prove your age to the door checker at such events. (You may also prove your age to a customer service associate to receive a non-transferable “18+ wristband” for your convenience.)

Acceptable forms of ID

You must bring any valid one of the following to the pre-registration desk to claim your badge, and also to door checkers or customer service to prove your age if you choose to participate in 18+ or 21+ restricted events:

• a state photo ID or driver license
• a passport
• a federal photo ID
• a military ID
• a school or university photo ID (except 21+ age verification)

In order to prove your age, you may bring any of the above forms of ID provided it has your date of birth printed. Exception: we cannot accept school or university photo IDs for 21+ age verification even if they contain your date of birth.

The names must match at will call

The name attached to your pre-registered badge must match the name on your ID, but you are not required to write any particular name on your badge once you have collected it. If you need to change the name registered to your badge because of this, please tell us what happened so we can help you. The service we contract for our registration desk may use the name attached to your pre-registered badge, but we will never share your information with anyone else. We thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

How we determine your age eligibility

For attending without direct supervision

Starting on the calendar day which contains your 13th birthday, you may attend Ohayocon without direct, “line-of-sight” supervision from a guardian. Your guardian must remain at the venue, however. Please keep in mind that many evening events are intended for 16+ audiences and most late-night events are intended for adults.

For attending without a guardian at the venues

Starting on the calendar day which contains your 18th birthday, you may attend Ohayocon without a guardian present at the venue.

For attending 18+ or 21+ restricted events

Starting on the calendar day which contains your 18th birthday, you are permitted into 18+ restricted events. Similarly, starting on the calendar day which contains your 21st birthday, you are permitted into 21+ restricted events. (Note: for 21+ age verification, we cannot accept school or university IDs.)

Simply put…

Your birthday is on your birthday, and today is today. Your Saturday badge permits you into events from 9 a.m. Saturday to 3 a.m. Sunday. If you turn 18 or 21 on that Sunday, you will be permitted into the corresponding events at midnight on Sunday, even though you have a Saturday badge.

Age restriction summary table

(Read accessible policy description.)

Age	Restrictions
0–12	Must have parent/guardian on site at all times Must be in the same room/hallway as parent/guardian at all times Not permitted in age-restricted events (even with supervision — Why?) If lost or unaccompanied without contact info, we may contact authorities
13–17	Must have parent/guardian on site at all times Not required to be in the same room as parent/guardian Not permitted in age-restricted events (even with supervision — Why?)
18–20	Permitted in 18+ age-restricted events with acceptable ID
21+	Permitted in 18+ age-restricted events with acceptable ID Permitted in 21+ age-restricted events with government-issued acceptable ID

 

Admission timetable for age-restricted events

(Read accessible policy description. The table has six columns: you may need to scroll sideways on mobile devices.)

^† Programs billed as “Night” events (e.g. “Friday night”) occur between 12–3 a.m. on the following calendar day, but are considered as being on the named day for admission purposes. For example, an event at 2 a.m. Saturday is a “Friday night” event and requires either a Friday or Weekend badge for admission.

Examples

Example 1: Celia pre-registered her badge under her deadname, Carlos, since her ID says Carlos. She will be able to claim her badge at the pre-registration desk. Once she receives it, she can write Celia on the badge, or any other name, or no name at all.

Example 2: Ben plans to use their student photo ID to claim their pre-registered badge. However, since that ID card doesn’t have their date of birth printed, they will be unable to attend 18+ restricted events. Additionally, we can’t accept school IDs for admittance to 21+ restricted events even if they have the date of birth printed. Ben could obtain a state ID before the convention in order to prove their age.

Example 3: Lebron wants to attend Ohayocon without his guardian’s direct supervision. However, he turns 13 on the Saturday of the convention. His guardian must supervise him on the convention Friday, but he can attend on Saturday and Sunday without direct supervision.

Example 4: Sylvia wants to go to an 18+ restricted event from 9-10 p.m. on the Friday of the convention. However, since her 18th birthday isn’t until the Saturday of the convention, she will not be admitted. Later, she decides to attend an 18+ restricted event at 1 a.m. Saturday. Since the calendar day is Saturday, she will be admitted even though we consider it a “Friday event” for admission purposes.

Example 5: Xinren wants to go to a 21+ restricted event from 11 p.m. – 1 a.m. on the Saturday of the convention. However, since hir 21st birthday is on the Sunday of the convention, Xinren will only be permitted to attend starting at midnight.