You can tell real quick who went to college and who didnt by the replies to this thread. Getting a Fake ID is NOT a big deal. I went to a party school (FSU) and I can say without a doubt that the number of underage students WITH a Fake ID outnumbered those without. Nobody ever gets arrested, just usually turned down from the bar. Do you think the Police Station is going to process hundreds of Fake ID arrests each night, on top of all the normal crap they have to do?
From my experience, here are a few tips:
1. You need to know the law. In Florida, having an altered ID with your name and a 21 year old birthdate was a higher degree crime, however, just using someone else's ID who looked like you was "slap on the wrist" crime. So we all got older students ID's who looked like us.
2. Determine what kind of bar you are going to. At FSU, it was understood that you would never try to enter this one particular bar, Bullwinkles, due to how strict they were. If you did try, you usually got caught, and they WOULD get police involved.
3. You better know everything on that ID. They'll get you with the smallest thing. My roommate got pegged cuz he didnt know the middle initial on the ID.
4. They will try to trick you, be prepared. I have seen the Zodiac sign get used, and saying you didnt know what it was is a GREAT answer (I personally don't even know my own). But one trick they WILL get you on, is asking you to sign a piece of paper to match up the signature on the Drivers License, to the one you just produced. They employ this tactic at Bullwinkles ALL the time, and it works like a charm for them.
5. When stading in line, we would all make it a point to say each others names (the fake names). Like "yo Brandon, i can't believe you got a speeding ticket on the way to the bar, that sucks bro, hopefully we can drink it off tonight". If they hear you casually using the fake names, it just looks good for your credibility.
6. This last one is key, and you can field this one in multiple ways, but NEVER keep your fake ID and your real one in the same place. Had a friend get questioned about his fake, and he pulls out his wallet and when he opens it, his real ID is sitting right there and he gets busted. We used a seperate wallet that had the Fake in it, and only bring cash to the bar (this is great for multiple reasons, it limits your spending habits, and they can't ask you to match up against your debit/credit card names).
7. Have a firm plan on what to do if you get confronted about your fake. You need to go 1 of 3 ways, stick to your story that it's your real ID, give up immediately and cooperate, or 3(and we were runners so this was legit) drop your ID and haul ass in the opposite direction.