Am I required to show a police officer my drivers license if he requests it in California?
NO! Not unless you are driving a motor vehicle. Don’t be fooled by these sheep who do whatever they’re told too because the police said so. Being a good citizen doesn’t mean being bossed around by someone with a badge. There are a lot of good cops who do their job very well, but sadly there are a lot of bad cops who bend the laws or trick you into breaking the law. A good citizen is someone who knows the laws and follows them. The truth is this is a very gray area of the law. There currently is NO stop and identify laws in California at the state level. However, your city/town/etc might have a local law. If you are stopped by a police officer, simply ask if you can go. You DO NOT have to answer any questions. If he says you can’t go, then you are being detained (not arrested, however that can come later). You can ask why you’re being detained, however they can lie. At lot of people think that the police must tell the truth however that is not true. Just call your local police departmen
If you are driving and stopped by the police, California law says you must present your license to a peace officer upon request. If you are not driving, then the 4th amendment prohibition against unreasonable searches ans seizure is applicable. However, the Supreme Court held a few years ago that it is reasonable for an officer to be able to request ID if he is doing an investigation, and if you don’t provide it you can be detained for long enough for the officer to identify you. On the other hand, if a cop asks for ID for no reason, you do not have to show ID under the 4th Amendment.
In every state you are required to show your drivers license if requested by a peace officer so long as the officer has reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed. This was the holding in a 2004 Supreme Court case (Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial District Court of Nevada). Other than Hiibel, you also have to show you license if requested whenever you are operating a motor vehicle (note: this is a California law, but other states probably have a similar law).
