Fake ID Charges in Oxford, MS:
What Ole Miss Students and Parents Need to Know
It usually starts the same way: a doorman on the Square keeps the card, or an officer asks for ID and the night ends with a citation. But not every fake ID charge is the same. Mississippi has several different statutes that reach this conduct, and the exact document involved and the statute written on the citation control everything that follows: the penalties, how the case gets resolved, and how the record gets cleaned up afterward. The first thing we do in any fake ID case is read the citation.
Four Situations That Get Called a “Fake ID”
A counterfeit or altered driver’s license. The classic case: a fabricated license, or a real one with the birthdate changed. Merely possessing or displaying it is an offense, whether or not it ever worked.
Using someone else’s real license. Borrowing an older friend’s or sibling’s genuine ID and presenting it as your own is its own offense, separate from any alcohol charge.
Lending your license to someone else. The friend who hands over a real license is committing a violation too. Both students can end up cited from the same transaction.
A fake non-driver identification card. State ID cards that are fictitious, altered, or not yours fall under a separate statute with its own penalties.
The Statutes and the Penalties
Miss. Code § 63-1-60: driver’s licenses. The main statute in most Oxford fake ID cases, because the document involved is almost always a driver’s license. It makes it a misdemeanor to possess or display a fictitious, fraudulently altered, or fraudulently obtained license, or to represent someone else’s license as your own, punishable by a fine of up to $500, up to 30 days in jail, or both. A companion statute, § 63-1-65, separately covers lending or borrowing a license.
Miss. Code § 45-35-13: identification cards. The parallel statute for non-driver state ID cards, with the same penalties, plus its own provision making it an offense to lend your card to someone else.
Miss. Code § 67-3-70(2): false age or document involving beer, light wine, or light spirit products. A person under 21 who claims to be of age, or presents a document saying so, to obtain these beverages commits a misdemeanor punishable by a $200 to $500 fine and up to 30 days of community service.
Miss. Code § 67-1-81(2): false age or document used to purchase liquor. The parallel provision for other alcoholic beverages, with the same $200 to $500 fine and community service exposure.
Miss. Code § 97-9-79: false information to law enforcement. Giving a false name, birthdate, or other identifying information to an officer with intent to mislead, which can include presenting a fake or borrowed ID during a stop, is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $5,000, up to one year in jail, or both. It is by far the most serious charge on this list, and it is the one a student can avoid in the moment: when an officer asks, be truthful about who you are.
Making, selling, or distributing fake IDs is a different matter entirely: a stiffer misdemeanor for someone under 21, and a felony carrying a $5,000 minimum fine and up to three years for anyone 21 or older. If manufacturing is any part of the situation, involve a lawyer immediately.
Fake ID and MIP: Separate Charges That Often Travel Together
A fake ID charge does not require an alcohol charge. Possessing or displaying the document is independently chargeable even if no drink was ever purchased. And an MIP does not automatically bring a fake ID count with it. But when a fake ID is used at a bar or store and alcohol ends up in hand, the two charges frequently arrive together, and resolving them together, with one strategy, usually serves the student better than treating them as unrelated problems. If your student is also facing an MIP, start with our guide to MIP charges in Oxford.
What Matters After a Card Is Confiscated
When a family calls after an ID has been taken, these are the questions that shape the case: What kind of document was it, a real license belonging to someone else or a counterfeit? Was it merely in a wallet, or actually displayed to a doorman, clerk, or officer? Was alcohol purchased or possessed? What did the student say when questioned, and was the false ID or a false name given to the officer himself, which can draw the separate and more serious § 97-9-79 charge? And was a citation issued on the spot, or did the card simply disappear into a drawer behind the bar?
Sometimes a confiscated card leads to a citation days later; sometimes nothing follows. Either way, the practical advice is the same: keep the citation safe and note the court date if one was issued, do not replace the card or borrow another, stay off social media about it, and do not plead guilty at the arraignment just to end it before understanding what the plea does to the record.
The Court, and the University
Venue works the same as in other student cases: Oxford police citations inside the city limits are typically heard in Oxford Municipal Court, while citations issued on campus or in the county go to Lafayette County Justice Court. The first date is an arraignment; a student without a lawyer is expected to appear in person, and once counsel is retained, the lawyer can typically enter a not guilty plea on the student’s behalf without a court appearance. The full walkthrough of how these cases move through Oxford’s courts is in our MIP guide.
The University may also open its own conduct process regardless of what happens in court. Our Ole Miss student defense page explains the two-track problem and why the criminal and university sides need one coordinated strategy.
Resolutions and Clearing the Record
The goal in a first-offense student case is a disposition that avoids a conviction: dismissal where the facts support it, or a negotiated resolution with conditions that ends without one. A conviction for an offense involving a false document reads as dishonesty to employers, graduate programs, and licensing boards, which is why the record is worth more than the fine in these cases.
The cleanup path afterward depends on the statute. Charges under § 67-3-70(2) carry that statute’s own provision allowing expungement one year after the case concludes. Dismissed charges are generally expungeable right away under Mississippi’s general expungement law, § 99-19-71. For convictions, § 99-19-71 covers qualifying first-offense misdemeanors other than traffic violations. Because § 63-1-60 sits in the motor vehicle code, whether a conviction under it qualifies is a question we analyze carefully rather than assume; charges under § 45-35-13 and the alcohol statutes sit outside the traffic code, where the first-offender path is generally cleaner. This is exactly why the statute on the citation is the first thing we read: it tells us not just the penalty, but the exit. Our expungement page covers the mechanics.
Common Questions from Parents
Is using a friend’s real license still illegal?
Yes. Representing a license not issued to you as your own violates § 63-1-60, and lending or borrowing a license is separately covered by § 63-1-65. The document being genuine does not make it legal to use.
Can the friend who lent the license be charged too?
Yes. Lending a license or ID card is its own violation, and both students can be cited over the same transaction. If your student lent the card, take it as seriously as if they had used one.
Is possession enough, even if the ID was never used?
Yes. § 63-1-60 makes simply possessing a fictitious or altered driver’s license an offense, and § 45-35-13 does the same for state ID cards. Whether it was ever displayed affects the strength and posture of the case, but possession alone can be charged.
The bar kept the ID. Is that the end of it?
Not necessarily. A confiscated card sometimes leads to a citation later, and sometimes does not. If a charge follows, treat it with the same care as one issued on the spot. If nothing follows, the lesson is free; do not repeat the experiment.
When does a fake ID become a felony?
When someone 21 or older makes, sells, distributes, or reproduces one. For a person under 21, manufacturing is a misdemeanor with stiffer penalties than possession, and a second offense within five years is stiffer still.
Can someone who is already 21 violate the fake ID statutes?
Yes. Age matters to the alcohol statutes, but § 63-1-60 and § 45-35-13 apply to everyone: lending a license, possessing a counterfeit, or using another person’s ID is chargeable at any age, and manufacturing at 21 or older is the felony version.
Talk to an Oxford Criminal Defense Attorney
Tollison & Webb P.A. is located on the Square in Oxford, blocks from the courthouse and minutes from campus. We have represented students and their families in criminal matters in Oxford’s courts for decades, including representation of Ole Miss students in both criminal and university proceedings. Initial consultations are free: call (662) 234-7070 or contact us online, and we will help you understand exactly which statute your student is facing and what it means.