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 Kansas, the law regarding providing identification to police under reasonable suspicion is outlined in the Kansas Statutes. According to Kansas Statute 22-2402, a law enforcement officer is allowed to stop any person in a public place when they have reasonable suspicion to believe that the person is committing, has committed, or is about to commit a crime. The officer may demand the name and address of the suspect and an explanation of their actions. Failure to provide accurate identification when lawfully requested by a police officer can lead to charges such as interference with law enforcement, which is outlined in Kansas Statute 21-5904. However, the law does not require a person to provide identification unless the officer has reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. Additionally, providing false information to an officer is also a crime under Kansas law. The Fifth Amendment provides protections against self-incrimination, which means individuals may have the right to refuse to provide their name if it could be incriminating, as per the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Kolender v. Lawson.