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 regarding providing identification to police under reasonable suspicion is codified in Idaho Code § 19-705. This statute requires individuals to provide their name, address, and date of birth to a peace officer if the officer has reasonable suspicion to believe that the person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime. If an individual is stopped by police under reasonable suspicion, failure to provide this information can lead to a charge of 'obstructing or resisting officers' under Idaho Code § 18-705. However, if there is no reasonable suspicion, a person is not legally required to provide identification. Additionally, providing false information to an officer is a separate offense under Idaho Code § 18-5413, which can result in a charge of 'providing false information to law enforcement.' It is important to note that the Fifth Amendment may protect individuals from self-incrimination, which means they may have the right to refuse to provide their name if it could be incriminating, as established by the U.S. Supreme Court in Kolender v. Lawson.