When You Must Identify
ORS 807.570 — a driver presents a license when stopped, and the detention lasts only to verify identity
A driver has to carry a license and present it to a police officer on request when lawfully stopped or detained while driving, or when the vehicle was in an accident. Not doing so is a Class C misdemeanor.
Only as long as identity takes. An officer may detain a person arrested or cited for this only as long as reasonably necessary to investigate and verify the person's identity.
The Supreme Court of the United States has held that an officer who can point to specific facts suggesting criminal activity may stop a person briefly to investigate, and may pat down their outer clothing for weapons where the officer reasonably believes the person is armed and dangerous. It has also held that a state law requiring a person lawfully detained on reasonable suspicion to state their name does not violate the Fourth Amendment. Whether any such duty exists is a question of the state's own statute, which is what this page sets out. Those holdings are a floor: a state's own constitution and statutes can give more protection than they do, never less.
It is a defense to produce a license that was valid at the time. The section speaks to drivers; it says nothing about passengers or people on foot.
Sources for this section (3)
- ORS 807.570 — Failure to carry or present license
- Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968) — Investigative stops require reasonable suspicion
- Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial District, 542 U.S. 177 (2004) — A stop and identify law may be enforced only once reasonable suspicion exists
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Oregon attorney.