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Although I could substitute 'identify' in place of 'ID', would it be considered improper to use 'ID' as a verb? Here's what I mean:

That boy looks underage, I think we should ?ID him.

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I may be wrong, but I think I've read a similar sentence in some thriller with cops at work. – Paola May 18 '12 at 1:48
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I might call it informal, but I don't think I'd go so far as to call it improper. – J.R. May 18 '12 at 1:51

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It's in Merriam-Webster as a synonym of identify, and certainly most people would know what you meant if you said it. It comes across as a little informal and reminiscent of police jargon. If you're talking about IDing someone specifically to verify his age (as in your example), you may also hear the colloquialism to card.

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Yes you can. It's done quite frequently. Watch the evening news and you're likely to hear "Police have IDed (sp?) the killer..." or "Police are asking for your help to ID the suspect in this video." – TecBrat May 18 '12 at 2:17

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