When You Must Identify
CPL § 140.50 — name, address and an explanation, on reasonable suspicion of a felony or a Penal Law misdemeanor
Reasonable suspicion of a crime. A New York police officer may stop a person in a public place within the area of the officer's employment when the officer reasonably suspects the person is committing, has committed or is about to commit a felony or a misdemeanor defined in the penal law, and may demand the person's name, address and an explanation of the person's conduct.
A frisk is for weapons. When the officer reasonably suspects being in danger of physical injury, the officer may search the person for a deadly weapon, or for any instrument, article or substance readily capable of causing serious physical injury and of a sort not ordinarily carried in public places by law abiding people. Such a thing, or other property the officer reasonably believes it is a crime to possess, may be kept until the questioning is complete; then it is returned if lawfully possessed, or the person is arrested.
A peace officer who provides security for a court may stop a person in or about the courthouse on the same suspicion and make the same demand.
A false name is a class B misdemeanor. After being told the consequences, knowingly misrepresenting one's actual name, date of birth or address to a police officer or peace officer, intending to keep the officer from learning it, is false personation, a class B misdemeanor.
In cities with a population of one million or more, the name, address, social security number or other information identifying a person who was stopped, questioned or frisked is not recorded in a computerized or electronic database if the person is released without further legal action. Generic characteristics, such as race and gender, may be.
Sources for this section (2)
- CPL § 140.50 — Temporary questioning of persons in public places; search for weapons
- Penal Law § 190.23 — False personation
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed New York attorney.