Kentucky has no stop-and-identify law, but a false name is a crime

KRS 523.110(1) reaches one narrow act. You commit it by giving a false name, address, or date of birth to a peace officer who asked for it in the lawful discharge of official duties, with the intent to mislead the officer as to your identity. Staying silent is not on that list, and neither is answering that you would rather not say. The section also carries a precondition that most states' false-information offenses lack: it "shall not apply unless the peace officer has first warned the person whose identification he or she is seeking that giving a peace officer false identifying information is a criminal offense." That warning requirement was added by 2016 Ky. Acts ch. 98, sec. 2, effective July 15, 2016, and it is an element, not a courtesy. An officer who never delivered the warning has no KRS 523.110 case no matter what name was given.

The penalty is fixed by the general sentencing chapters rather than by KRS 523.110 itself. A Class B misdemeanor carries a term of imprisonment that "shall not exceed ninety (90) days" under KRS 532.090(2), and a fine capped at two hundred fifty dollars under KRS 534.040(2)(b). KRS 534.040(4) bars that fine entirely against a person the court determines to be indigent under KRS Chapter 31.

One Kentucky wrinkle raises the stakes well above the ninety-day maximum. KRS 431.015(1)(a) tells peace officers to issue a citation rather than make an arrest for a misdemeanor committed in their presence, but KRS 431.015(1)(b)1. lists a short set of exceptions where the officer may arrest instead, and KRS 523.110 is named in that list alongside KRS 189A.010 driving under the influence and the assault, sexual offense, and weapons chapters. Two further exceptions in the same paragraph let an officer arrest where the person "poses a risk of danger to himself, herself, or another person" or "refuses to follow the peace officer's reasonable instructions." So a fake name in Kentucky is one of the few low-level misdemeanors that can lawfully end in handcuffs rather than a slip of paper.

Kentucky's loitering statute is where several states hid an identification duty, and Kentucky's does not. KRS 525.090 defines loitering as remaining in a public place to gamble with cards, dice, or other gambling paraphernalia, to unlawfully use a controlled substance, in or around a school, college, or university without a legitimate reason or written permission, or in a transportation facility to sell merchandise or services without authorization. Nothing in it compels an account of yourself. Loitering is only a violation under KRS 525.090(2), which caps exposure at a two hundred fifty dollar fine under KRS 534.040(2)(c) with no jail. The General Assembly last touched it in 2026 Ky. Acts ch. 184, sec. 37, effective July 15, 2026, to carve charitable gaming under KRS 238.505, sports wagering, fantasy contests, fixed-odds wagering, and historical horse race wagering out of the gambling clause.

Driving is the exception that swallows the rule for most people. KRS 186.510 says the licensee "shall have his or her license in his or her immediate possession at all times when driving a motor vehicle and shall display it upon demand" to a peace officer, a member of the Department of Kentucky State Police, a field deputy or inspector of the Department of Vehicle Regulation or the Transportation Cabinet, or a safety officer gathering information for an accident report under KRS 67A.075 or KRS 83A.088. The section, amended by 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 8, sec. 3, effective June 29, 2023, gives one defense: producing in court an operator's license issued before the arrest and valid at the time of it. KRS 186.620(3) sharpens the point. If a driver on a public highway is asked to display a license by an officer authorized to arrest for driving on a denied, canceled, suspended, or revoked license or under KRS 189A.090, the failure to display "shall be admissible in court and shall be prima facie proof" of that offense.

Refusing to identify is also not, by itself, resisting or obstructing. KRS 520.090 requires that the person use or threaten physical force or violence against the officer, or use some other means creating a substantial risk of physical injury, before resisting arrest attaches. KRS 519.020(2)(a) expressly puts outside the obstruction offense "any means of avoiding compliance with the law without affirmative interference with governmental functions," and KRS 519.020(2)(b) puts the hindrance of unlawful action by a public servant outside it as well. Separately, KRS 431.025(1) requires the person making an arrest to tell you of the intention to arrest and the offense you are being arrested for, and KRS 431.025(3) forbids unnecessary force in making it.

040(4). 015(5) directs the officer to write "ARRESTED" in the court-appearance field of the citation. 620(3). 110 charge lacks an element and is the right one to attack first.