Texas law on identifying yourself to police is pretty specific. Whether you have to identify yourself to police – or provide identification documents – is a situational thing. Usually, you do not have to provide police with your identity or identifying documents, but there are certain specific circumstances in which you are required to provide one or both. Those specific circumstances are set forth in Texas law. If you fail to identify yourself or provide identification documents when state law requires that you do so, you could find yourself in some legal hot water. If you find yourself in a situation in which the police are asking you for identification, you need to know when they can and cannot require you to provide that information. If you fail to identify yourself when the law requires you to do so, you need to find an attorney to help you out.
What Situations Require You to Identify Yourself to Police?
Texas law is specific on situations in which someone is required to identify themselves to police. In fact, there are only three such situations. In any other circumstance other than those three identified by law, you have no legal obligation to provide your identity to the police, either through identifying documents or by providing information orally. The situations in which Texas law requires you to identify yourself to police are:
- Under the Texas Penal Code, if you are arrested, you are required to identify yourself to police. If you have been lawfully arrested – obviously, this gives you grounds to fight the charge at trial – you violate this section if you intentionally give the police a false name, address, or date of birth, or if you refuse to provide any of that information. It is a Class C misdemeanor if you refuse to provide the information, and a Class B misdemeanor if you lie about the information. A Class C misdemeanor can be punished by a fine of up to $500, while a Class B misdemeanor carries a penalty of up to 180 days in jail, a fine of up to $2,000, or both.
- Under the Texas Transportation Code, you are required to give the police your driver’s license if you are stopped while driving. Failing to do so is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $200.
- Under the Texas Government Code, if you have a permit to carry a handgun, you must provide that to police upon request if you are carrying a handgun.
Those are the only circumstances in Texas in which you are required to identify yourself to the police. If you are stopped on the street and questioned, but not arrested, you do not have to provide ID or even tell the police who you are. In every circumstance except those described, you do not have to inform the police of who you are, nor do you have to provide proof of your identity.
If You Have Been Charged for Failing to Identify Yourself to Police in Houston, Call Madrid Law Firm
The police are limited in the circumstances where they can require you to identify yourself or provide identity documents, such as a driver’s license. If you have been charged with failing to identify yourself, you should find out whether the laws of Texas even required you to do so under the circumstances where police required you to provide identifying information. In such an instance, contact Madrid Law Firm and find out what can be done about your situation.
