Penal Code 530.5 PC: Identity Theft in California

Penal Code 530.5 makes it a crime to obtain someone else's personal identifying information and use it for any unlawful purpose without their consent, such as to get credit, goods, services or medical information. Using it is a wobbler, with up to 364 days in county jail or 16 months, two or three years, usually served in county jail. Possessing or selling the information with intent to defraud, and mail theft, are separate crimes.

What PC 530.5 means

Personal identifying information is defined broadly (PC 530.55): names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, Social Security, driver's license and passport numbers, bank and credit card account numbers, PINs and passwords, and fingerprints and other biometric data.

Using the information for any unlawful purpose is enough under PC 530.5(a). The prosecutor does not have to prove that you pretended to be the other person, that anyone lost money, or that you meant to defraud anyone. The other person can be living or dead, and can be a business.

Other parts of the law cover possessing someone's information with intent to defraud, even without using it (PC 530.5(c)), selling or transferring it (PC 530.5(d)), and mail theft (PC 530.5(e)). Giving a false name to police and impersonating someone are different crimes (PC 148.9, 529).

For using someone's information, the prosecutor must prove each of these beyond a reasonable doubt (CALCRIM 2040):

1. You willfully obtained someone else's personal identifying information
2. You willfully used that information for an unlawful purpose
3. You used it without the consent of the person whose information it was

PC 530.5 penalties

• Using someone's information (PC 530.5(a)): up to 364 days in county jail, a fine, or both, or 16 months, two or three years as a felony, usually served in county jail (PC 1170(h))
• Possessing it with intent to defraud (PC 530.5(c)(1)): a misdemeanor with up to 364 days in county jail, a fine, or both
• Possessing it with a prior identity theft conviction, or possessing the information of 10 or more people (PC 530.5(c)(2), (3)): up to 364 days in county jail or a felony
• Selling, transferring or conveying it with intent to defraud (PC 530.5(d)(1)): up to 364 days in county jail or a felony; doing so knowing it will be used for identity theft (PC 530.5(d)(2)): a fine, 16 months, two or three years, or both
• Mail theft (PC 530.5(e)): a misdemeanor with up to 364 days in county jail, a fine, or both

The court must also order full restitution, which for identity theft victims can include the cost of monitoring and repairing their credit (PC 1202.4). Identity theft can't be reduced to petty theft or shoplifting just because the amount was small, so how the case is negotiated matters.

Identity theft and Proposition 36

Under Proposition 36, passed in 2024, identity theft and mail theft convictions are among the priors that count: with two or more such priors, a later petty theft or shoplifting charge can be filed as a felony, even for convictions from before the law took effect (PC 666.1).

Federal identity theft charges

Identity theft often involves banks, the mail or the internet, so federal agencies may investigate and federal prosecutors may file charges instead. Federal law has a separate crime called aggravated identity theft (18 U.S.C. 1028A), which adds a mandatory two years in prison to certain other federal crimes.

Consequences beyond jail

• Work and licenses: identity theft is a crime of dishonesty, which matters to employers, landlords and licensing boards
• Immigration: for non-citizens, identity theft can be treated as a crime involving moral turpitude, and a fraud offense with losses over $10,000 can be an aggravated felony, which can lead to deportation
• Guns: a felony conviction brings a lifetime ban (PC 29800)

Common defenses to PC 530.5

It depends on the evidence. Common defenses include:

• You had the person's consent, for example a family member or business partner who let you use an account
• You did not use the information for an unlawful purpose
• You did not know the information was in your possession, or had no intent to defraud
• Someone else used your device, account or address
• The search of your phone, computer or home was unlawful, so the evidence can be thrown out (PC 1538.5)
• Insufficient evidence linking you to the accounts or transactions

We review bank and account records, IP and device data, the search warrant and any statements to find the weaknesses in the case.

Related charges

• PC 487 grand theft
• PC 484 theft and petty theft
• PC 470 forgery
• PC 529 false impersonation
• Identity Theft (practice page)
• Embezzlement and theft (practice page)

PC 530.5 cases in Riverside and San Bernardino counties

Identity theft cases in both counties are usually built from bank and account records, so they can take weeks or months to be filed after an investigation starts. Proposition 36 has made prior theft records count for more here. In 2025, Riverside County courts recorded 1,537 felony filings under PC 666.1, the new law for theft with two or more priors, and San Bernardino County courts 907, out of 15,508 statewide, according to the Judicial Council.

In San Bernardino County, cases from Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, Upland, Chino, Chino Hills, Montclair, Fontana and Rialto are heard at the West Valley courthouse in Rancho Cucamonga; cases from San Bernardino, Colton, Highland, Redlands, Loma Linda and Yucaipa at the San Bernardino Justice Center; and cases from Victorville, Hesperia and Apple Valley at the Victorville courthouse. In Riverside County, criminal cases are heard at five courthouses: the Riverside Hall of Justice, the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta, the Banning Justice Center, the Larson Justice Center in Indio and the Blythe courthouse. Our office is in Riverside, and Yvonne Todd began her career as a Public Defender in San Bernardino.

Read the official text of PC 530.5 on the California Legislative Information site.

This page is general information about California law, not legal advice about your case. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.