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 Wisconsin, there is no specific 'stop and identify' statute that requires individuals to provide their identification to police officers under all circumstances. However, under Wisconsin law, specifically statute 946.41, it is an offense to obstruct an officer, which can include providing false information or refusing to provide information when lawfully required. If an officer has reasonable suspicion that a person is involved in criminal activity, the officer may detain the person for a brief period. During this detention, if the officer requests identification and the individual refuses to comply, this could potentially be considered obstructing an officer. It is also a crime under Wisconsin statute 946.32 to knowingly provide false information to an officer. As for the Fifth Amendment protection, individuals may have the right to refuse to provide their name if doing so would be self-incriminating, in line with the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Kolender v. Lawson. However, this right is not absolute and depends on the circumstances of the encounter with law enforcement.