[ceejayoz]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_and_identify_statutes

> As of April 2008, 23 other states had similar laws. Additional states (including Arizona, Texas, South Dakota and Oregon) have such laws just for motorists, which penalize the failure to present a driver license during a traffic stop.

A state may require it. A state does not have to require it.

(To be clear, I'm handing over my license when asked regardless. There's just no apparent law applying universally to all 50 states that says I have to.)

[lwansbrough]

And again, this is about stop and identify, which again covers both pedestrians and motor vehicle operators but does not preclude the requirement to identify oneself when operating a motor vehicle, which is covered by different statutes.

[ceejayoz]

"Additional states (including Arizona, Texas, South Dakota and Oregon) have such laws just for motorists" implies that others do not, correct?

[ibejoeb]

Correct. Some states have broad stop-and-identify laws. Some have limited stop-and-identify laws.

What we're talking about is more specific than that, and other statutes are implicated.

If you were operating a vehicle and cop pulls up next you and casually asks about your day, then you don't have to identify, because that's a consensual encounter. If he suggests that you rolled through the stop, even if you didn't, then you're subject to things like implied consent that are attached to vehicle operation.

[lwansbrough]

If a state does not have a law regarding stop and identify, that does not mean they do not have a law about identifying when operating a motor vehicle.