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 Georgia, the law does not specifically require individuals to provide their identification to police upon request under all circumstances. However, under Georgia Code § 16-11-36, obstructing or hindering law enforcement officers is a criminal offense, which can include giving a false name or date of birth. This means that while there may not be a 'stop and identify' statute per se, providing false information to an officer can lead to criminal charges. Additionally, if an individual is lawfully arrested, they are required to provide their name, address, and date of birth to the police. It's important to note that the Supreme Court ruling in Kolender v. Lawson allows individuals to refuse to give their name if doing so could be self-incriminating, in line with the Fifth Amendment. However, this protection would not apply if providing a name does not pose a risk of self-incrimination. In Georgia, as in other states, the specifics of when and how a person must identify themselves to law enforcement can be complex and may depend on the context of the encounter.