Some states have laws (statutes) that require a person to accurately provide their identification (ID) (name, residence address, date of birth) to the police if the police have reasonable suspicion to believe (1) a crime has been committed, is being committed, or is about to be committed and (2) the person asked to provide identification is involved as a participant or as a witness. If there is no reasonable suspicion, a person does not have to provide identification—but courts often find reasonable suspicion as a matter of course.

These statutes are sometimes called stop-and-identify laws or stop and ID laws, and the violation of the statute may be a criminal offense or crime known as “failure to ID.” Stop and ID laws vary from state to state in the states that have such laws. For example, in some states failure to ID cannot be the basis for an arrest (there must be an underlying criminal offense) and in some states the obligation to provide identification only applies to a person who has been arrested.

And in some states it is a criminal offense for a person to provide a false or fictitious name, residence address, or date of birth if the person has been detained by police on the basis of reasonable suspicion or is believed to be a witness to a criminal offense.

The United States Supreme Court has held that the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution may allow suspects to refuse to give their name if they have a reasonable belief their name could be incriminating. Kolender v. Lawson, 461 U.S. 352 (1983).

In Idaho, the law does not specifically require individuals to provide their identification to police upon request under all circumstances. However, under Idaho Code § 19-603, a person who is lawfully arrested for a crime is required to give their name, address, and date of birth to a peace officer. Failure to do so can result in a charge of obstructing officers, a misdemeanor under Idaho Code § 18-705. If an individual is not under arrest but is instead lawfully detained based on reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, they may be required to identify themselves. The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Kolender v. Lawson protects individuals from self-incrimination, meaning that if providing their name could be incriminating, they may have the right to refuse under the Fifth Amendment. Additionally, providing false information to an officer is a crime under Idaho Code § 18-5413, which makes it illegal to give false personal identity information to law enforcement officers. It's important to note that the specifics of these interactions can be complex and may depend on the particular circumstances of the encounter with law enforcement.