Fake government ID documents
Official text prohibited actmental stateif conditionpenaltylegal term
(a) Every person who manufactures, sells, offers for sale, or transfers any document, not amounting to counterfeit, purporting to be a government-issued identification card or driver’s license, which by virtue of the wording or appearance thereon could reasonably deceive an ordinary person into believing that it is issued by a government agency, and who knows that the document is not a government-issued document, is guilty of a , punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both the fine and imprisonment.
(b) Any person who, having been convicted of a violation of subdivision (a), is subsequently convicted of a violation of subdivision (a), is punishable for the subsequent conviction by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by both the fine and imprisonment.
(c) Any person who possesses a document described in subdivision (a) and who knows that the document is not a government-issued document is guilty of a punishable by a fine of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) and not more than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500). The fine shall be imposed except in unusual cases where the interests of justice would be served. The court may allow an offender to work off the fine by doing community service. If community service work is not available, the shall be punishable by a fine of up to one thousand dollars ($1,000), based on the person’s ability to pay.
History: Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 505, Sec. 6. (SB 485) Effective January 1, 2020.
Simplified explanation
Making or selling fake-looking government ID cards or driver's licenses, knowing they are not genuine, is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail; knowingly possessing one carries a fine.