In Kansas, it is unlawful for a person to engage in an unlawful use of a state driver’s license or nondriver’s identification card. An unlawful use of a fake identification may be a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the type of illegal use. If a person uses a fake ID to commit identity theft, they may be charged with that additional offense, which is a felony. Kansas state IDs are laminated and have a number of other features that make them hard to fake.
Types of Illegal Use Under Kansas State Law
Methods of fraudulent driver’s license or ID use include:
- Displaying, causing or permitting to be displayed, or having in possession a fictitious or fraudulently altered driver’s license.
- Lending a driver’s license to another person or knowingly permitting its use by another.
- Displaying or representing a driver’s license not issued to the person as the person’s own.
- Failing or refusing to surrender a driver’s license that has been suspended, revoked or canceled to the Division of Vehicles to the Kansas Department of Revenue.
- Using a false or fictitious name in an application, renewal or replacement for a driver’s license or knowingly concealing a material fact, or otherwise committing a fraud in such an application.
- Permitting an unlawful use of a driver’s license issued to the person.
- Photographing, reproducing or otherwise duplicating a driver’s license or facsimile so it could be mistaken for a valid driver’s license or display.
- Displaying or having in possession a duplicate unless authorized by law.
- Displaying, causing or permitting to be displayed a canceled, revoked or suspended driver’s license.
It is a Class B nonperson misdemeanor to display, cause or permit to be displayed, or have in possession a fictitious or fraudulently altered driver’s license. It is also a Class B nonperson misdemeanor to display, cause or permit to be displayed a canceled, revoked or suspended driver’s license. The penalty for a Class B misdemeanor in Kansas is up to six months' incarceration and a fine up to $1,000.
It is a Class A nonperson misdemeanor to:
- Lend a driver’s license to another person.
- Display or represent a driver’s license not issued to the person as their own.
- Fail to surrender a canceled, revoked or suspended driver’s license.
- Permit an unlawful use of a driver’s license issued to the person.
- Duplicate a driver’s license or display a duplicate unless authorized by law.
The penalty for a Class A misdemeanor in Kansas is up to one year incarceration and a fine up to $2,500. It is a security Level 9 nonperson felony to use a false or fictitious name in an application, renewal or replacement for a driver’s license or to knowingly conceal a material fact or commit a fraud in such an application.
The penalty for a security Level 9 nonperson felony is a term of incarceration that depends on the person’s criminal history and a fine up to $100,000.
Illegal Uses Involving Alcohol
It is unlawful for a person to lend a driver’s license or knowingly permit the use of a driver’s license by a person under 21 years of age to purchase alcohol or by a person under the legal age for consumption of cereal malt beverage.
It is further unlawful to:
- Lend a driver’s license, non-driver’s ID card or other form of ID to aid a person in wrongfully obtaining a driver’s license or replacement driver’s license.
- Display or cause to be displayed or have in possession a fictitious or fraudulently altered driver’s license by a person under 21 to purchase alcohol or cereal malt beverage.
The first conviction of any of these charges will result in the defendant being convicted of a Class B nonperson misdemeanor. The defendant will be sentenced to not less than 100 hours of public service and fined between $200 and $500.
A second conviction will result in the defendant being convicted of a Class A nonperson misdemeanor. The provisions apply to any driver’s license, non-driver’s ID card or form of identification issued under the laws of Kansas or another state or jurisdiction.
Fake ID and Identity Theft
A person will incur a separate charge of identity theft if they use, possess, sell or purchase a false identification with the intent to defraud the ID holder or any other person in order to receive some benefit.
Identity fraud is defined as using or supplying information a person knows to be false to obtain a document containing personal identifying information. Identity theft is also altering, making or replicating a document containing personal identifying information with the intent to deceive. Identity theft is a severity Level 8 nonperson felony.
Penalties for Identity Theft Under Kansas Law
The penalty for a severity Level 8 nonperson felony is a term of incarceration that depends on the person’s criminal history and a fine up to $100,000. The exception is if the monetary loss to the victim is over $100,000. In that case, the crime is a severity Level 5 nonperson felony.
The penalty for a severity Level 5 nonperson felony is a term of incarceration that depends on the person’s criminal history and a fine up to $300,000. Personal identifying information includes a driver’s license number or card or non-driver’s identification number or card.