Why Trump is not expected to have a mug shot taken.

When former president Donald J. Trump is formally arrested in Manhattan on Tuesday, he will in some respects be treated like any other criminal defendant: He will have his fingerprints taken and will be assigned a New York State Identification Number to track his criminal history.

But Mr. Trump is not expected to be handcuffed, and he will likely not have a mug shot taken, according to several people with knowledge of the matter.

Under New York State law, the authorities must take the fingerprints of anyone charged with a felony. But law enforcement officials have discretion over whether they take a mug shot.

Mug shots are meant to help the authorities identify a defendant and find them if they flee; in such instances, the photographs are distributed to law enforcement agencies and sometimes the media in order to help apprehend the fugitive.

But Mr. Trump is not considered a significant flight risk, and as he is a former president who hosted a widely popular reality television show after spending decades as a fixture of the tabloids, photographs of him are more than readily available.

Several officials also said there was concern that a mug shot of Mr. Trump, which would be provided to the New York Police Department and other agencies, would be leaked. That would be a violation of law and could prompt an investigation and a political firestorm.

Taking Mr. Trump’s mug shot would also be complicated for logistical reasons, one law enforcement official said. He is expected to surrender to the authorities at the Manhattan Criminal Courts Building. The official said that facility does not have the equipment necessary to take Mr. Trump’s mug shot.

That means doing so would require that he be taken to either the Police Department’s Central Booking facility or to the Manhattan Detention Complex, which would entail more movements for the former president. Mr. Trump’s surrender and arraignment has already been highly choreographed by the Secret Service, the Police Department and court security to reduce the possible security risk to Mr. Trump.