Giving False Identification to a Police Officer (PC 148.9)

Penal Code 148.9 makes it an offence to falsely represent or identify oneself as another person, or as a fictitious person, to a peace officer upon a lawful detention or arrest. It is a misdemeanour. Its real significance is practical rather than legal.

Why a false name changes the whole night

Release on a written notice to appear under Penal Code 853.6 depends on the officer knowing who they are releasing. One of the listed exceptions is that the person could not provide satisfactory evidence of identification. Giving a false name removes the basis for a citation almost by definition — and it usually surfaces anyway, at fingerprinting during booking.

The result: a stop that would have ended with a citation becomes a booking, and the false name is added to whatever else was alleged. The most common motive — avoiding an existing warrant — also backfires, because the warrant is found at booking regardless. See how to check for a warrant and warrant recall.

A different, more serious statute

Penal Code 529 — false personation — applies where someone impersonates another real person and does something that could make that person liable or benefit the impersonator. It is a wobbler, chargeable as a felony. Using another person’s identifying information for an unlawful purpose can also bring identity theft under PC 530.5.

What it does to bail

PC 148.9 on its own carries a modest schedule figure. What drives the total is usually what came with it: the original offence, any warrant the person was trying to avoid, and in some cases resisting — see resisting arrest and holds and multiple cases.

Working out the amount, and what can change it

The figure comes from the countywide schedule that Penal Code 1269b requires each county’s judges to adopt and revise annually — which is why Orange and Los Angeles County can attach different numbers to identical conduct. A judge may raise bail under Penal Code 1269c, a hearing may be required in serious cases under 1270.1, and under In re Humphrey (2021) 11 Cal.5th 135 a court must consider ability to pay before setting money bail that results in detention.

Where they are, and where the case is heard

Which facility is holding the person decides how much time you actually have — a Temporary Holding facility must move someone within 24 hours, while a Type I city jail may hold an adult up to 96 hours excluding holidays. See what the classifications mean, our Orange County and Los Angeles County jail guides, and find an inmate. Neither county’s Superior Court publishes a city-by-city criminal assignment table, so the release paperwork governs the court date — see release paperwork.

Local guides: Anaheim, Brea, La Habra, Fullerton, Buena Park, Yorba Linda and Tustin.

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Please note: American Freedom Bail Bonds is a licensed bail bond agency, not a law firm. Nothing on this page is legal advice, and we cannot predict how any case will be charged or resolved. Charging decisions are made by the prosecutor, and bail schedules are revised annually. California bail license 1841014.