What can a police officer ask you for in an identity check in Peru?
An officer may ask you to show your DNI, or your identity or travel document if you are a foreigner, and verify who you are. They may not demand a different document instead of the DNI, and may not keep it. Since December 2024 the police may verify a foreigner's identity without a court order and collect biometrics.
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Reniec · El Peruano
Checked 13 Oct 2026Next review 12 Dec 2026
The rule for Peruvians
Two articles of Ley 26497, the organic law of Reniec, settle most of it:
- Article 27: use of the DNI is mandatory for all nationals. That is why an officer may ask to see it.
- Article 30: for identification purposes, no person, authority or official may demand a document other than the DNI, and the document may not be seized or retained, «bajo responsabilidad».
An identity check, then, is this: you show the DNI, the officer reads it and runs it, and gives it back. What the statute does not cover: demanding another document instead, keeping the card, or making its return conditional on anything.
The law sets no penalty for an officer who keeps a DNI. It says «bajo responsabilidad», which opens the disciplinary route (Inspectoría, Central Única de Denuncias) and a complaint to the Defensoría del Pueblo. Document retention in general, by businesses and by authorities, has its own page: Can they keep your ID card?.
The rule for foreigners
Decreto Legislativo 1350, the Immigration Act, as worded by Decreto Legislativo 1582 (2023), sets in article 10.1, letter a), a duty for Peruvians and foreigners alike to exhibit their identity or travel document, which in your case, as a foreigner, must prove your current migratory status, when Migraciones, the Policía Nacional or another Peruvian authority acting within its powers asks. The verb is «exhibir»: show. The text does not say you must surrender it, and it does not say either, in those words, that the officer may not keep it: we found no rule that forbids retaining a carné the way article 30 of Ley 26497 does for the DNI. That the officer must give it back after the check is our reading.
Since 15 December 2024, Ley 32192 has changed three things in that decree:
| What changed | Where | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Verification without a court order | Numeral 73.4 | The police may verify your identity «sin orden judicial», «incluido el registro de información biométrica». |
| Declaration of identity | Article 15-A | If you carry no valid means of identification, the officer takes a declaration of identity, records it in an acta, and collects your biometric data. Migraciones enters it in the Registro de Información Migratoria (RIM). |
| New expulsion ground | Letter j) of 58.1 | «Por incumplir con la obligación de identificarse ante la autoridad competente.» |
We present this as written. It is a real expansion of police powers over foreign nationals, and the consequence of refusing to identify yourself is no longer just a longer stop: it is an administrative ground for expulsion. How long the police may hold you to check your migratory status has its own page: How long can the police hold you?.
What an identity check is not
An identity check is not a detention. Being asked for your document does not make you a detainee or a suspect. If the encounter moves from «muéstreme su documento» to «acompáñeme a la comisaría», the rules change: the constitutional time limits and the rights in article 71 of the Código Procesal Penal apply. We explain those in Your rights when detained.
How to handle it
The advice is always the same: comply, record, complain afterwards. Show the document. Ask for it back, citing article 30. Note the badge number, the time and the place. Do not resist or pull away; an argument on the street only gives the officer a different reason to act. Everything that went wrong is raised through the channels in the steps above, and that complaint leaves a trace.
How to file
- Show the document and cooperateHand over your DNI or, as a foreigner, your current identity or travel document, so it can be read. Stay calm. The street is not the place to argue; a complaint afterwards is.
- Ask for it back, citing the article«Gracias, ¿me devuelve mi DNI? El artículo 30 de la Ley 26497 no permite retenerlo.» One sentence, no raised voice. Article 30 covers the DNI only: with a carné or a passport, ask for it back without citing that article.
- Write down what you canTime, place, the officer's badge number or name, the patrol car number. If someone is with you, have them note it. That record is what your complaint will rest on.
- If they kept your document or mistreated you, report it afterwardsThe Interior Ministry's Central Única de Denuncias takes complaints against police personnel. The Inspectoría General of the PNP is the internal disciplinary route.
- If a fundamental right was violatedThe Defensoría del Pueblo (Ombudsman) takes complaints from anyone, Peruvian or foreign, free of charge and without a lawyer.
What most people believe — and what the law says
As a foreigner, the police can't check my identity without a court order.
Not any more. Ley 32192 added numeral 73.4 to Decreto Legislativo 1350: the police may verify a foreigner's identity «sin orden judicial», including by recording biometric data.
I only have to show my passport if I feel like it.
Article 10.1 a) of the Immigration Act requires you to *exhibit* your identity or travel document, which for a foreigner must prove current migratory status, whenever Migraciones, the police or another competent Peruvian authority asks. Since 2024, failing to identify yourself to the competent authority is a ground for expulsion (58.1 j).
The officer can hold on to my DNI or carné while he checks me.
For the DNI, article 30 of Ley 26497 forbids seizing or retaining the document «bajo responsabilidad». For the carné de extranjería we found no rule that says this in those words: article 10.1 a) of the Immigration Act gives you the duty to «exhibir» (exhibit) it when an authority asks, and says nothing about the authority keeping it. That the officer must hand it back after the check is our reading, not a quoted prohibition.
They can demand my driving licence or a photocopy as ID.
For identification, no authority may demand a document other than the DNI. For foreigners, the document is the identity or travel document that proves your migratory status — *carné de extranjería*, passport or equivalent.
An identity check means I'm under arrest.
It does not. Being asked for your document is not a detention. If the officer takes you to the station, different rules start: the constitutional time limits and the rights in article 71 of the Código Procesal Penal.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I file a complaint if an officer won't give my DNI back or mistreats me?
You can file a complaint with the Interior Ministry's Central Única de Denuncias, which takes complaints against police personnel, or go to the PNP's Inspectoría General for the disciplinary route. The law sets no specific penalty for an officer who keeps a DNI, but it says «bajo responsabilidad», which opens these channels.
If I'm a foreigner and I'm not carrying any identification, what happens?
Since Ley 32192, if you carry no valid means of identification, the officer takes a declaration of identity, records it in an acta, and collects your biometric data. Migraciones enters that information into the Registro de Información Migratoria (RIM).
What happens if I argue or resist during the check?
It does not help. Arguing or resisting in the street just gives the officer a different reason to intervene. The recommendation is to show the document, ask for it back citing Article 30, note the details (time, place, badge number), and complain afterward through the official channels, which do leave a record.
Can I complain to the Defensoría del Pueblo even as a foreigner without a lawyer?
Yes. The Defensoría del Pueblo (Ombudsman) takes complaints from anyone, Peruvian or foreign, without needing a lawyer and free of charge. It is the right channel if you believe a fundamental right was violated during the check.
The exact law
Ley N.º 26497Article 27read
Organic Law of Reniec — use of the DNI is mandatory for nationals
«El uso del Documento Nacional de Identidad (DNI) es obligatorio para todos los nacionales.»
↳Article 30read
Organic Law of Reniec — no one may demand another document or retain the DNI
«Para efectos identificatorios ninguna persona, autoridad o funcionario podrá exigir, bajo modalidad alguna, la presentación de documento distinto al Documento Nacional de Identidad (DNI). Tampoco podrá requisarse o retenerse el documento bajo responsabilidad.»
Decreto Legislativo N.º 1350, as amended by Decreto Legislativo N.º 1582Article 10, item 10.1, letter a)read
Immigration Act — the duty of Peruvians and foreigners to exhibit their identity or travel document to Migraciones, the police and other authorities
«Las personas nacionales y extranjeras tienen los siguientes deberes: a. Exhibir el documento de identidad o viaje, que en el caso de personas extranjeras acredite su situación migratoria vigente, cuando le sean requeridos por MIGRACIONES, la Policía Nacional del Perú, y demás autoridades peruanas, en el ámbito de sus competencias.»
Ley N.º 32192Amendments to D. Leg. 1350: article 15-A, numeral 73.4 and letter j) of numeral 58.1read
Law making identification of foreign nationals mandatory
«La Policía Nacional del Perú, sin orden judicial, puede verificar la identidad de la persona extranjera a través de los medios de verificación habilitados, incluido el registro de información biométrica»
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