1. Get an AVN from the Secretary of State (one time).

○ Go to the Secretary of State’s website or office, prove your age once (online or in person), and they give you an AVN — a short private code only you need to keep.

○ Write it down, store it in a password manager, or save it in a phone wallet — treat it like a personal key.

2. Visit an age-restricted website in Illinois.

○ The site’s landing page displays a warning: “This site contains content not appropriate for all ages. Age verification required.”

○ You’ll see two things on that page: boxes to sign in (for returning users) and a box that says “Verify with your Illinois AVN.”

3. Enter your AVN in the site’s AVN box.

○ Type (or paste) your AVN and click Verify with Illinois SOS. The site only sends that AVN to RAVE to check — it does not send your name, DOB, or ID.

4. GAVE checks the AVN and returns a green or red light.

○ Green light = you meet the site’s minimum age (e.g., 18+).

○ Red light = you do not meet the age requirement, your AVN is invalid, or RAVE cannot verify.

5. If RAVE returns green, the site lets you in.

○ If you already have an account and provided your username/password, you’re signed in and taken to the home screen.

○ If you don’t have an account, the site takes you to a short account-setup (username/password), then to the home screen.

6. If RAVE returns red, access is denied.

○ The site shows a plain message: “Access denied — age requirement not met.” It gives links: SOS help (for AVN issues) and site support.

7. You don’t have to do age verification every time — if you make an account.

○ Once you’ve successfully verified with your AVN and created an account, the website may let you sign in with username/password only on future visits (no AVN re-entry), unless the law requires re-verification.

8. There are two optional rules legislators can add:

○ Inactivity re-check: If you haven’t logged in for a long time (for example, 6 months), the site must ask you to re-verify with your AVN before letting you back in.

○ Verification expiry: A verification can expire after a set number of days (30 / 60 / 90). After expiration you must re-enter your AVN.

9. If you forget your AVN or it’s invalid:

○ The site will point you to SOS for AVN recovery or correction. The website itself must not try to recover or display your AVN.

10. If SOS is temporarily down:

● If a site already trusts that you had a green light and the law allows, it may let you in for a short emergency window (for example, 24 hours). Otherwise you’ll need to try again later.

(Disclaimer: RAVE is currently only a proposal. No bill has yet been introduced.)