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 Hawaii, there is no specific stop-and-identify statute that requires individuals to provide their identification to police upon request under all circumstances. However, under Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 710-1026(1)(b), it is a criminal offense to give false information to a law enforcement officer who is in the performance of their official duties. This includes providing a false name, address, or date of birth. While individuals in Hawaii are not legally required to carry identification at all times or to present it to law enforcement upon request without reasonable suspicion, if an officer has reasonable suspicion that a crime has been, is being, or is about to be committed, and that the individual is involved, the situation may legally compel the individual to identify themselves. The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized that under the Fifth Amendment, individuals may refuse to provide their name if doing so could be self-incriminating. However, this constitutional protection would be weighed against the specific circumstances of the police encounter.