Under fake ID laws in Massachusetts, using, making, altering, or carrying a false identification card is a misdemeanor under General Laws Chapter 138, Section 34B, punishable by a fine of up to $200 or up to three months in jail. The statute treats minors and adults the same, and a conviction can also cost you your driver’s license for six months and leave a criminal record that follows you through college applications, financial aid reviews, and job background checks.
What You Can Be Charged With Under Section 34B
Section 34B is written into the state’s alcohol licensing scheme, and it creates two separate offenses that cover almost every fake ID case.
The first applies when an agent of the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission or a local licensing authority asks for your name, age, or address on licensed premises and you lie or refuse to answer. That alone is a misdemeanor carrying a fine of up to $500.1General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 138, Section 34B
The second is the fake ID offense itself. It covers altering a real ID, making or carrying a false one, selling or distributing counterfeits, using someone else’s legitimate ID, or lying on an application for an identification card. The penalty is a fine of up to $200 or imprisonment for up to three months.1General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 138, Section 34B
The statute reads as fine or jail, not both. First-time offenders rarely see jail time. The real problem is the conviction itself.
One thing to understand up front: Section 34B does not give minors a lighter penalty. A 19-year-old with a fake at a liquor store and a 25-year-old handing a forged license to a bouncer face the same statutory maximum.
The License Suspension Most People Don’t Expect
A fake ID conviction can cost you your driver’s license. Courts routinely notify the Registry of Motor Vehicles after a Section 34B conviction, and the RMV can suspend driving privileges for 180 days. This happens whether or not you were driving when the offense occurred.
For a college student who needs a car to get to class, work, or an internship, losing a license for six months is often more disruptive than the fine. Factor it in when you’re deciding how to handle the case.
When the Charge Becomes Something Worse
Section 34B covers the typical fake ID scenario. Two other statutes can take a case into much more serious territory, and it’s worth knowing where those lines are.
Identity Fraud
If a fake ID uses another real person’s identifying information with intent to obtain money, credit, goods, or services, prosecutors can charge identity fraud under General Laws Chapter 266, Section 37E. That carries a fine of up to $5,000, imprisonment of up to two and a half years, or both.2General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 266, Section 37E
The dividing line is intent. Borrowing your older sibling’s license to get into a bar is a Section 34B issue. Using someone else’s personal information to open accounts or get credit cards is identity fraud. Even possessing tools designed to access another person’s financial account information can support a Section 37E conviction when the circumstances suggest criminal intent.2General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 266, Section 37E
Federal Charges
Most fake ID cases stay in state court. Federal law under 18 U.S.C. ยง 1028 reaches cases involving federally issued documents, interstate activity, or production and transfer of false driver’s licenses and birth certificates. Producing or transferring a counterfeit driver’s license carries up to 15 years in prison. Other uses of false identification documents carry up to five years. A connection to drug trafficking or a violent crime pushes the maximum to 20 years, and terrorism-related use to 30.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1028 – Fraud and Related Activity in Connection With Identification Documents
Federal prosecution is unlikely for a student caught with a fake at a bar. These statutes come into play when someone is running an operation, forging government documents, or using fake IDs to commit financial crimes.
The Clerk Magistrate Hearing Comes First
Many Massachusetts fake ID cases are won before a formal criminal complaint ever issues, and most people have never heard of the hearing where it happens.
If you were not arrested at the scene, your case typically starts with a clerk magistrate hearing rather than an arraignment. The complainant, usually a police officer, presents evidence of probable cause. You and your attorney can respond, challenge that evidence, and argue that no complaint should issue. The clerk magistrate can issue a formal complaint, decline to issue one, or hold the matter without a complaint subject to conditions.
If the clerk magistrate declines to issue a complaint, nothing appears on your criminal record. That is the single best outcome short of never being charged, and it is far more achievable with a lawyer who regularly handles these hearings and knows what mitigation clerk magistrates respond to.
Pretrial Diversion for 18-to-22-Year-Olds
Massachusetts has a pretrial diversion track under Chapter 276A that fits the typical fake ID defendant almost perfectly: a young person with no record who made a bad decision.
To qualify, you must be between 18 and 22, have no prior criminal convictions after turning 18 (minor traffic violations aside), have no outstanding warrants or pending cases, and receive a recommendation that the program would benefit you. The charge has to be a misdemeanor within district court jurisdiction, which Section 34B is.
Diversion focuses on education rather than punishment. Complete the program successfully and you avoid a criminal conviction. For a college student, this is often the single most important option on the table, and eligibility is worth raising with an attorney at the earliest possible stage.
Defenses Worth Raising
The most effective defense in most fake ID cases attacks intent. Section 34B requires knowing possession or use of a fraudulent document. If you did not know the ID was fake, say because someone handed it to you or you were given a card without realizing it had been altered, the prosecution’s case weakens.
How the evidence was obtained matters too. Massachusetts courts take unlawful searches seriously, and the Supreme Judicial Court has suppressed evidence from investigatory stops that were not supported by reasonable suspicion based on specific, articulable facts.4Justia Law. Commonwealth v. Martel Mubdi, 456 Mass. 385 If the stop or search that turned up the fake ID was unconstitutional, the evidence can be excluded.
Other weak points to look for: whether the ID was actually fraudulent or just unusual, whether the officer followed proper questioning procedures on licensed premises, and whether the witness testimony identifying you as the user is reliable.
Sealing the Record If You’re Convicted
A conviction is not necessarily permanent. Under Chapter 276, Section 100A, you can petition to seal a misdemeanor conviction three years after the court disposition, provided you have not been convicted of another criminal offense or imprisoned during that window.5General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 276, Section 100A
Sealed records do not appear on standard background checks, which removes the biggest obstacle to employment and licensing. The petition goes to the Commissioner of Probation, and filing fees are generally modest. The catch is the waiting period: a conviction at age 20 shows up on every background check until at least age 23.
What a Conviction Really Costs
The statutory fine is a few hundred dollars at most. The collateral consequences last years.
Colleges and universities treat criminal charges as conduct violations. A fake ID conviction can trigger disciplinary hearings leading to academic probation, suspension, or loss of campus housing. Merit scholarships and financial aid awards with good-conduct conditions can be pulled.
In the job market, a misdemeanor for fraud or dishonesty is a flag for employers in any field involving trust or fiduciary responsibility. Finance, healthcare, education, and law enforcement all screen for it. Professional licensing boards examine criminal history during the application process, and convictions involving dishonesty are among the harder ones to explain on a licensing application.
Graduate and professional school applications almost universally ask about criminal convictions. Even if your record is eventually sealed, the conviction may need to be disclosed during the three-year window before sealing is available. For anyone planning to apply to law school, medical school, or another professional program within that window, the timing can be especially damaging, which is another reason to fight hard at the clerk magistrate stage and to ask about diversion if a complaint does issue.