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 Indiana, the law regarding providing identification to police officers is codified in Indiana Code § 34-28-5-3.5. This statute requires individuals to provide their name, address, and date of birth to a law enforcement officer who has stopped the individual for an infraction or ordinance violation if the officer asks for it. The law applies when the officer has reasonable suspicion that the person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime. Failure to provide this information can result in a Class C misdemeanor, known as 'failure to identify.' However, if the individual has not been lawfully detained or if there is no reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, they are not legally required to provide identification. Additionally, under Indiana Code § 35-44.1-2-3, it is a criminal offense to provide a false or fictitious name, address, or date of birth to a law enforcement officer when asked. The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Kolender v. Lawson acknowledges 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 state statutes in any legal proceedings.