California Penal Code § 148.9 PC makes it a misdemeanor to provide false identification to a police officer if you are being detained or arrested. The penalties are up to six months in jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000.
The full language of the 148.9 PC reads as follows:
(a) Any person who falsely represents or identifies himself or herself as another person or as a fictitious person to any peace officer listed in Section 830.1 or 830.2, or subdivision (a) of Section 830.33, upon a lawful detention or arrest of the person, either to evade the process of the court, or to evade the proper identification of the person by the investigating officer is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(b) Any person who falsely represents or identifies himself or herself as another person or as a fictitious person to any other peace officer defined in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2, upon lawful detention or arrest of the person, either to evade the process of the court, or to evade the proper identification of the person by the arresting officer is guilty of a misdemeanor if (1) the false information is given while the peace officer is engaged in the performance of his or her duties as a peace officer and (2) the person providing the false information knows or should have known that the person receiving the information is a peace officer.
In this article, our California criminal defense attorneys discuss the following topics re. giving a false ID to police.
- 1. Elements of 148.9 PC
- 2. Defenses
- 3. Penalties
- 4. Immigration Consequences
- 5. Expungement
- 6. Gun Rights
- 7. Related Crimes
- Additional Reading
1. Elements of 148.9 PC
For you to be convicted of providing false identification to police in California, prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt the following three elements of 148.9 PC:
- You knowingly provided a fake name, or the name of another person, to a police officer,
- You provided this name after being lawfully detained or arrested, and
- You gave the fake or false name to avoid the court process or to avoid proper identification.1
As to the second element above, there must be detention or an arrest for 148.9 PC to apply. This means that it is not a crime to provide false identification during a consensual encounter with a police officer.2
Note that “false identification” includes giving police a false birth date.3
See our related article, Do I have to identify myself to police in California?
Providing false identification to a police officer is a crime in California.
2. Defenses
Here at Shouse Law Group, we have represented literally thousands of people charged with fraud crimes, including providing false IDs to police officers. In our experience, the following three defenses have proven very effective with prosecutors and judges.
1) There Was No Detention or Arrest
We have had cases where our client was engaged in a consensual conversation with an officer when they offered a fake name. This is not a 148.9 PC violation because no detention or arrest occurred yet.
We rely on evidence such as police bodycam and dashcam footage, surveillance video, and eyewitness accounts to prove the police did not detain or arrest you before you gave them a fake ID. The charge should be dropped once the D.A. sees that the order of events is in your favor.
2) You Did Not Act Knowingly
Sometimes people carry both a genuine ID and a fake ID on them, and they accidentally hand police the fake one. During the stress of being detained, people sometimes speak gibberish and provide false information out of sheer anxiety.
Criminal charges cannot stand unless the prosecutors can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you intended to provide false information, which is a very high bar. Mistakes are not a crime.
3) The Police Committed an Unlawful Search and Seizure
It is not uncommon for police to make mistakes, such as by committing an unlawful search by:
- not getting a search warrant;
- searching outside the bounds of the warrant; or
- conducting a warrantless search without a lawful justification.
Whenever the police may have committed an unlawful search, we ask the judge to suppress any evidence the police obtained through the unlawful search.
If the judge agrees to suppress the evidence – which in 148.9 PC cases could include a fake ID or text messages indicating an intention to deceive the police – the D.A. may be left with too weak a case to continue prosecuting.
Violating 148.9 PC is a misdemeanor.
3. Penalties
Giving a false ID to police in California is a misdemeanor punishable by:
- imprisonment in county jail for up to six months and/or
- a maximum fine of $1,000.
However, a judge can award you summary probation in lieu of jail time in a 148.9 PC case.4
4. Immigration Consequences
A 148.9 PC conviction generally has no negative immigration consequences because it is not a crime of moral turpitude. However, immigration law is always changing, so non-citizens arrested for giving a false ID to police in California are always advised to consult with an immigration attorney.5
5. Expungement
Once you complete your sentence for violating 148.9 PC, you should be able to get your case expunged from your California criminal record. This means it should no longer appear on your background check.6
6. Gun Rights
A conviction under California Penal Code 148.9 PC does not affect your gun rights. Therefore, you do not need to surrender your firearms if you get convicted of giving a false ID to a police officer.7
7. Related Crimes
- False impersonation (529 PC) – Using someone else’s name, identity, or likeness to cause harm or to gain an advantage unlawfully.
- Resisting arrest (148 PC) – Willfully resisting, delaying or obstructing peace officers or EMTs who are performing their official duties.
- False statements/information to a police officer (31 VC) – Examples include giving a traffic officer a fake driver’s license or learner’s permit.
Additional Reading
For more in-depth information, refer to these articles:
- Stars in Their Lies: How Better to Identify People Who Give False Dates of Birth to Police – Policing.
- Fake I.D. – Is it worth the Risk? – The Observer.
- You shall not pass: how facial variability and feedback affect the detection of low-prevalence fake IDs – Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications.
- Understanding Identity Theft: Offenders’ Accounts of Their Lives and Crimes – Criminal Justice Review.
- Blurred Lines of Identity Crimes: Intersection of the First Amendment and Federal Identity Fraud – Columbia Law Review.
Legal References:
- California Penal Code 148.9 PC. See People v. Guion (Cal. App. 1st Dist., 2013), 213 Cal. App. 4th 1426; People v. Walker (Cal. App. 6th Dist., 2012) 210 Cal. App. 4th 165; In re Kelly W. (Cal. App. 2d Dist., 2002) 95 Cal. App. 4th 468; People v. Chardon (Cal. App. 6th Dist., 1999) 77 Cal. App. 4th 205; People v. Webb (Cal. App. 1st Dist. 2017) 13 Cal. App. 5th 486. See, for example, R.D. v. Superior Court (Cal.App. 2025) .
- In re Voeurn O. (1995) 35 Cal. App. 4th 793. See also People v. Riley (2018), Cal. App. Unpub. Lexis 693.
- People v. Ivan J. (2001) 88 Cal. App. 4th 27.
- California Penal Code 148.9 PC. California Penal Code 19 PC.
- Blanco v. Mukasey (2008) 518 F.3d 714.
- California Penal Code 1203.4 PC.
- California Penal Code 29800 PC.