{"id":7302,"date":"2026-10-06T21:51:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T21:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/truthdocuments.com\/fake-id-uk-law\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T21:53:58","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T21:53:58","slug":"fake-id-uk-law","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/truthdocuments.com\/uk\/fake-id-uk-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Fake ID in the UK: what the law says"},"content":{"rendered":"<nav class=\"crumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\"><a href=\"\/uk\/\">Home<\/a> \u203a Fake ID in the UK<\/nav>\n<p><span class=\"kicker\">Reference<\/span><\/p>\n<h1>Fake ID in the UK: what the law says<\/h1>\n<div class=\"answer\"><strong>Short answer:<\/strong> Yes. Under the Identity Documents Act 2010, having a false identity document with improper intention carries up to ten years, and having one without reasonable excuse up to two. Making or supplying one can fall under the Fraud Act 2006. The Act covers passports, immigration documents and UK driving licences.<\/div>\n<p class=\"meta\">Last reviewed: <time datetime=\"2026-10-04\">2026-10-04<\/time> \u00b7 By <a href=\"\/uk\/authors\/\">Mark Dent<\/a><\/p>\n<nav class=\"toc\" aria-label=\"On this page\"><strong>On this page<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#s1\">What counts as an identity document<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#s2\">The offences in plain terms<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#s3\">There is no national ID card<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#s4\">What buyers risk beyond the charge<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#faq\">Frequently asked questions<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/nav>\n<p>People search for &ldquo;fake ID&rdquo; to ask two different things: is it an offence to carry one, and what happens to the person who sells it. The law treats both, and the sellers usually carry the heavier charge. The penalties below are maximums published on legislation.gov.uk and were checked on 4 October 2026. This is information, not legal advice.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"s1\">What counts as an identity document<\/h2>\n<p>Section 7 of the Identity Documents Act 2010 defines the term. It includes passports, immigration documents and UK driving licences. The Act is not about a student card or a gym pass. A forged card imitating one of the listed documents is the problem.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"s2\">The offences in plain terms<\/h2>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Provision<\/th>\n<th>Conduct<\/th>\n<th>Maximum<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>2010 Act, s.4<\/td>\n<td>Having a false, improperly obtained or someone else&rsquo;s document with improper intention<\/td>\n<td>10 years, fine, or both<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2010 Act, s.6<\/td>\n<td>Having such a document without reasonable excuse<\/td>\n<td>2 years, fine, or both<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Fraud Act 2006, s.6<\/td>\n<td>Having an article for use in fraud<\/td>\n<td>5 years on indictment<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Fraud Act 2006, s.7<\/td>\n<td>Making, adapting or supplying articles for fraud<\/td>\n<td>10 years on indictment<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>A maximum is the ceiling Parliament sets, not what most people receive. The wider list is on <a href=\"\/uk\/document-fraud-law\/\">UK law on fake documents<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"s3\">There is no national ID card<\/h2>\n<p>The UK does not issue an identity card. When a shop, a bar or a landlord asks for ID, the usual proof is a passport, a photocard driving licence, or a card carrying the PASS hologram for proof of age. A scanned or photographed copy of a genuine document is not a substitute, and adverts offering a &ldquo;scannable&rdquo; ID are selling exactly what the law above describes.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"s4\">What buyers risk beyond the charge<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Money paid for nothing, with no one to complain to.<\/li>\n<li>Your photo, signature and address in a stranger&rsquo;s hands.<\/li>\n<li>A document that fails the first proper check.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The same logic applies to a counterfeit licence: see <a href=\"\/uk\/fake-driving-licence\/\">fake driving licences<\/a> and <a href=\"\/uk\/buying-fake-passport\/\">fake passports for sale<\/a>. For the proof-of-age cards that are genuine, see <a href=\"\/uk\/pass-card\/\">the PASS card<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"faq\">Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n<details>\n<summary>Is it illegal to have a fake ID in the UK?<\/summary>\n<p>It can be. For the documents the Identity Documents Act 2010 covers, possession without reasonable excuse carries up to two years, and with improper intention up to ten.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>Is selling fake IDs a different offence?<\/summary>\n<p>Making or supplying articles for use in fraud falls under section 7 of the Fraud Act 2006, with a maximum of ten years on indictment.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>Does the UK have a national ID card?<\/summary>\n<p>No. Proof of identity or age is usually a passport, a photocard driving licence or a PASS-accredited card.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<div class=\"related\">\n<h2>Keep reading<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"\/uk\/document-fraud-law\/\">UK law on fake documents<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/uk\/fake-driving-licence\/\">Fake driving licences<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/uk\/pass-card\/\">The PASS proof-of-age card<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/uk\/identity-document-scams\/\">All identity document scams<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/uk\/challenge-25\/\">Challenge 25<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sources\">\n<h2>Sources and official links<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.legislation.gov.uk\/ukpga\/2010\/40\/section\/4\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Identity Documents Act 2010, section 4<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.legislation.gov.uk\/ukpga\/2010\/40\/section\/6\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Identity Documents Act 2010, section 6<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.legislation.gov.uk\/ukpga\/2010\/40\/section\/7\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Identity Documents Act 2010, section 7 (definition of identity document)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.legislation.gov.uk\/ukpga\/2006\/35\/section\/6\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Fraud Act 2006, section 6<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.legislation.gov.uk\/ukpga\/2006\/35\/section\/7\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Fraud Act 2006, section 7<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"author\"><strong>About the author<\/strong><br \/>Written by <a href=\"\/uk\/authors\/\">Mark Dent<\/a> from official GOV.UK guidance, UK legislation and public reporting. We do not sell, issue or arrange any licence or document, and we are not part of DVLA, DVSA or any government body. See our <a href=\"\/uk\/editorial-policy\/\">editorial policy<\/a> or <a href=\"\/uk\/contact\/\">report a mistake<\/a>.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home \u203a Fake ID in the UK Reference Fake ID in the UK: what the law says Short answer: Yes. Under the Identity Documents Act 2010, having a false identity document with improper intention carries up to ten years, and having one without reasonable excuse up to two. Making or supplying one can fall under [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"truthdocuments-guide","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7302","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_hostinger_reach_plugin_has_subscription_block":false,"_hostinger_reach_plugin_is_elementor":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthdocuments.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthdocuments.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthdocuments.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthdocuments.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthdocuments.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7302"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/truthdocuments.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7302\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7940,"href":"https:\/\/truthdocuments.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7302\/revisions\/7940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthdocuments.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}