# No ID = no criminal record ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 8, 2006, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-id-no-criminal-record/347528 "2006-03-08T09:12:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-id-no-criminal-record/347528/21 "2006-03-09T04:22:15Z")
> [@A.R. Cane](#): > > While I didn’t read the entire cite, I did skim it, and I believe I saw a reference that said the 5th amendment was a legitimate reason for refusing to ID yourself to a LE officer. It also said that the officer must have reasonable cause to ask for your ID. > While I’d like to believe that LE agencies were as thorough and efficient as they pretend to be, recent experiences tell a different story. We, too often, hear about serial criminals that have been in custody, only to be released w/o connecting them to their past crimes and outstanding warrants. It was upheld that refusing to Id yourself is a crime. There are laws against hindering prosecution. Those laws are constitutional so violating them is not covered by the 5th amendment. All this is about an inquiry during an investigation so yes there must be cause for an officer to ask for your ID. He can’t just go up to random people and ask for their Driver’s License (exception random DUI or safety roadside checks). The inquiry may come during a criminal investigation or a violation of motor vehicle laws. As to your last of course things aren’t perfect. Criminals get fake IDs, steal identities talk their way out of things. There is a reason for that, they are criminals. Not every crime gets you fingerprinted (I could go into what does but it is different in every state). Although it is against the law to refuse to give your name during an investigation, it is not a crime to not have your D.L. on you, just a minor motor vehicle violation. If you have someone else information you can talk your way out of a MV stop with just a ticket in someone elses name. The only way to stop that completely is to arrest and print everyone who forgets their wallet at home. I don’t think that is a good solution. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-id-no-criminal-record/347528/22 "2006-03-09T11:07:18Z")
> [@A.R. Cane](#): > > While I didn’t read the entire cite, I did skim it, and I believe I saw a reference that said the 5th amendment was a legitimate reason for refusing to ID yourself to a LE officer. What it said was > [@](#): > > Still, a case may arise where there is a substantial allegation that furnishing identity at the time of a stop would have given the police a link in the chain of evidence needed to convict the individual of a separate offense. In that case, the court can then consider whether the privilege applies, and, if the Fifth Amendment has been violated, what remedy must follow. We need not resolve those questions here. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-id-no-criminal-record/347528.md?page=1)