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 Oklahoma, the law regarding providing identification to police under reasonable suspicion is outlined in the state's 'stop and identify' statute. According to Oklahoma statute 22 O.S. § 171.2, a person who is loitering or wandering in a place at a time or in a manner not usual for law-abiding individuals, under circumstances that warrant a reasonable suspicion that the person may be involved or is about to be involved in a crime, must identify themselves when asked by a police officer. Failure to do so is a misdemeanor offense known as 'failure to ID.' However, if an individual reasonably believes that providing their name could be self-incriminating, they may have the right to refuse under the Fifth Amendment, as established by the U.S. Supreme Court in Kolender v. Lawson. It is also a criminal offense in Oklahoma to provide false or fictitious information to a police officer during such an encounter. The nuances of these interactions can be complex, and the determination of reasonable suspicion can often be subjective, which is why it is important for individuals to understand their rights and for law enforcement to be properly trained in these statutes.