Wyoming Identity Theft Laws: Penalties and the Factual Innocence Petition

Wyoming's identity theft statute, section 6-3-901, splits at a clean $1,000 line: gain nothing or under $1,000 and it is a misdemeanor, gain $1,000 or more and it is a felony with up to 10 years in prison. What makes Wyoming distinctive is not the penalty structure itself but a court process built specifically for victims whose stolen identity was used to commit a separate crime: a petition for a judicial declaration of factual innocence, backed by a statewide victim database the Attorney General's office is required by law to maintain. This page covers the penalty tiers, that factual-innocence process, and a real gap in Wyoming's freeze protections for minors.

This article addresses Wyoming state law, primarily Statutes section 6-3-901 and section 6-3-902 and Title 40, Chapter 12, Article 5, plus the federal layer that applies in every state.

Wyoming Statute 6-3-901: The Core Offense

Under section 6-3-901, a person is guilty of theft of identity if they willfully obtain another person's personal identifying information and use it for any unlawful purpose, including to obtain or attempt to obtain credit, goods, services, or medical information in that person's name without their consent. "Personal identifying information" means the person's name, or any of 14 enumerated data elements: address, phone number, Social Security number, driver's license number, an account, credit, or debit card number combined with a security code or password, a tribal identification card, a federal or state government identification card, shared secrets or security tokens used for data-based authentication, a username or email combined with a password or security question that permits access to an online account, a birth or marriage certificate, medical information, health insurance information, unique biometric data, or an individual taxpayer identification number. The definition is written in the alternative, so misuse of a bare Social Security number, driver's license number, biometric identifier, or taxpayer identification number falls inside the statute even when the victim's name is not used alongside it.

The $1,000 Penalty Split

Wyoming's penalty structure turns on a specific dollar figure. The offense is a misdemeanor, carrying up to 6 months imprisonment, a fine of up to $750, or both, if no economic benefit was gained or attempted to be gained at all, or if the economic benefit gained or attempted is less than $1,000. It becomes a felony, carrying up to 10 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $10,000, or both, if $1,000 or more in economic benefit was gained or attempted to be gained. It is worth stating this precisely: the misdemeanor tier is not limited to small-dollar cases, it also covers conduct where the offender gained nothing at all, meaning pure misuse of someone's identifying information with no financial gain still falls under the lower tier rather than escaping the statute entirely.

When a thief uses stolen identifying information to commit a separate crime and is convicted of that crime, section 6-3-901 requires the resulting court records to affirmatively reflect that the person whose identity was falsely used did not commit that crime, a built-in record-correction requirement tied directly to the conviction itself.

Online Impersonation: Statute 6-3-902

Article 9 of Title 6, Chapter 3 contains a second offense alongside 6-3-901. Section 6-3-902 makes it a misdemeanor to knowingly and without consent intentionally impersonate another person, or that person's personal or organizational digital identity, through or on an internet website or by other electronic means, including spoofing the name or phone number shown on caller identification. The impersonation has to be paired with one of three results: causing or attempting to cause harm, harassing or attempting to harass someone while using false self-identifying information tied to the person impersonated, or using that false information as an unauthorized deceptive means to facilitate contact with another person.

The penalty is worth reading against the 6-3-901 tiers. Section 6-3-902 carries imprisonment for up to 1 year and a fine of up to $1,000, a longer maximum jail term and a higher fine than the 6-3-901 misdemeanor tier of 6 months and $750. Online impersonation that produces no economic benefit at all is therefore not the lowest-exposure conduct in this article.

Section 6-3-902(c) also gives the victim a direct civil route: in addition to any other civil remedy available, a person who suffers damage or loss by reason of a violation may bring a civil action against the violator for compensatory damages and injunctive relief or other equitable relief.

Restitution

Section 6-3-901(d) allows a court, as part of a restitution plan ordered under Wyoming's general restitution statutes, to include payment for costs the victim incurred, including attorney's fees, the cost of clearing the victim's credit history or rating, and costs connected to any civil or administrative proceeding needed to satisfy a debt, lien, or other obligation arising from the defendant's conduct. This restitution is contingent on a conviction and a restitution plan actually being ordered, rather than a self-executing civil right, but its scope is broad, explicitly reaching attorney's fees and credit-repair costs. Where the conduct also violates the online impersonation statute, section 6-3-902(c) supplies a separate civil cause of action against the violator that does not depend on a criminal case at all. Section 6-3-901 itself contains no parallel civil-action subsection, so for identity misuse that falls outside 6-3-902, this restitution mechanism is the route Article 9 provides.

The Factual Innocence Petition

Wyoming's most distinctive victim protection is the process under section 40-12-509. A person who reasonably believes they are an identity theft victim under section 6-3-901, where the actual perpetrator was arrested, cited, or convicted under the victim's identity, or where the victim's identity was mistakenly connected to a criminal record, may petition a court for an expedited judicial determination of factual innocence. If the court grants the petition, it must issue a certifying order, may order the victim's name or information in public court records deleted, sealed, or labeled to show the data reflects an impersonation rather than the victim's own conduct, and must give the victim written documentation of the order. The Wyoming Supreme Court is required to maintain a standard form for this specific type of order.

This is a court petition process, not a mandatory police-report requirement. A prior police report is not textually required to file the petition itself, though a police report or case number does specifically unlock the fee waiver on security freezes described below. Wyoming law also requires the Attorney General's office to maintain a database of certified victims, entered using the court order, a full fingerprint set, and other prescribed information verified against DMV records, along with a toll-free number for accessing that database. That statutory mandate is confirmed, but the specific public-facing number or webpage for the database was not locatable on the Attorney General's website during this article's research; contact the office's Consumer Protection and Antitrust Unit directly for current access details.

No Minor or Protected Consumer Freeze Law

Wyoming does not appear to have its own protected consumer or minor credit-freeze statute. The state's complete and only security-freeze law, Title 40, Chapter 12, Article 5, defines "consumer" simply as any person utilizing or seeking credit, with no minor sub-definition and no operative section creating an age threshold or a parent-or-guardian-initiated freeze mechanism. This means Wyoming minors rely entirely on the federal minor-freeze right under 15 U.S.C. section 1681c-1(j), added in 2018, rather than any additional state-law protection. On the adult side, Wyoming Statute 40-12-506 lets a consumer reporting agency charge a reasonable fee of up to $10 for each placing, temporary lifting, or removing of a freeze, and bars any fee for an identity theft victim who provides a valid copy of a police report or a police case number. For the three nationwide bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, federal law now controls: since September 21, 2018, 15 U.S.C. section 1681c-1(i) has required them to place and remove a security freeze free of charge, including a temporary removal, so no freeze fee applies there.

Reporting Identity Theft in Wyoming

The Wyoming Attorney General's Consumer Protection and Antitrust Unit serves as the general consumer-facing intake for identity-theft-adjacent complaints, though there is no separate, dedicated identity-theft page or hotline on the Attorney General's site as currently published. The office accepts written complaints about misrepresentations or deceptive and unfair trade practices, and is explicit that it represents the State of Wyoming and cannot act as a private attorney or provide individual legal advice; residents needing individualized legal help are directed to the Wyoming State Bar referral line.

The Federal Layer

Every Wyoming identity theft victim can also draw on federal protections that apply regardless of state. The Fair Credit Reporting Act's section 605b lets a victim submit a police report or FTC Identity Theft Report to block fraudulent information from appearing on their credit file. IdentityTheft.gov, run by the Federal Trade Commission, remains the fastest way to generate the initial recovery plan most other steps build on.

Staying Current

Wyoming's current compiled statutes for section 6-3-901, section 6-3-902 and Title 40, Chapter 12, Article 5 show no repeal, renumbering, or amendment markers connected to the dollar breakpoint or the felony and misdemeanor structure described above. The Wyoming Legislature's own bill-tracking site could not be directly checked during this article's research, so this should be read as reflecting the current statute text rather than a confirmed check of the 2025-26 legislative sessions specifically.

Information last verified on 2026-08-13. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Related Resources

• Identity Theft Laws: Federal Rules and State Penalties
• How to Report Identity Theft
• Credit Freeze vs. Fraud Alert

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Last updated: 2026-08-13.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the penalty for identity theft in Wyoming?

It splits at $1,000. If no economic benefit was gained or attempted, or the amount is under $1,000, it is a misdemeanor with up to 6 months imprisonment and up to a $750 fine. If $1,000 or more was gained or attempted, it is a felony with up to 10 years imprisonment and up to a $10,000 fine.

Does Wyoming's identity theft misdemeanor tier only cover small amounts?

No. It covers both cases where the offender gained no economic benefit at all and cases where the benefit gained or attempted was under $1,000.

Does Wyoming's identity theft law require the victim's name to be used?

No. Statute 6-3-901(b) defines personal identifying information as the name or any of 14 listed data elements, written in the alternative, so willful unlawful use of a bare Social Security number, driver's license number, biometric identifier, or taxpayer identification number is covered even without the victim's name.

Is online impersonation a separate crime in Wyoming?

Yes. Statute 6-3-902 makes it a misdemeanor to knowingly and without consent impersonate another person or their personal or organizational digital identity online or by spoofing, when it causes or attempts harm, harasses, or is used as a deceptive means to facilitate contact. It carries up to 1 year imprisonment and a fine of up to $1,000, and subsection (c) lets the victim sue for compensatory damages and injunctive or other equitable relief.

What is Wyoming's factual innocence petition?

It is a court process under Statute 40-12-509 for a person whose stolen identity was used to commit a separate crime. A judge can issue a certifying order and order public court records sealed, deleted, or labeled to reflect the impersonation, using a standard form the Wyoming Supreme Court is required to maintain.

Does a Wyoming identity theft victim need a police report to file the factual innocence petition?

The petition itself is a court process and is not textually conditioned on a prior police report, though a police report or case number specifically unlocks a fee waiver on security freezes under a separate provision of Wyoming law. Federal law already makes freezes at Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion free for everyone.

Does Wyoming have a credit freeze law for minors?

No. Wyoming's security freeze law applies generally to any consumer seeking credit, with no minor or protected-consumer category. Wyoming minors rely on the federal minor-freeze right instead.

Where should a Wyoming resident report identity theft?

File a report at IdentityTheft.gov for a federal recovery plan, file a police report with local law enforcement, and contact the Wyoming Attorney General's Consumer Protection and Antitrust Unit for state-level complaints.