Twenty-four U.S. states have HIV-specific laws requiring people who know they are HIV-positive to disclose their status to sexual partners. Fourteen of those states also require disclosure to needle-sharing partners. The legal landscape is shifting, though. Several states have repealed or modernized these laws in recent years, and the specifics of what triggers a legal obligation, what defenses are available, and what penalties apply vary widely.
States That Require Disclosure to Sexual Partners
The following 24 states have laws on the books requiring a person aware of their HIV-positive status to disclose before sexual contact: Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Virginia.
Most of these laws specifically cover vaginal sex, anal sex, and oral sex. A few use broader language like “sexual contact” or “sexual conduct” that has been interpreted to include all three. In practical terms, if you live in one of these states and know you are HIV-positive, the law expects you to tell a sexual partner before any of these acts.
It’s worth noting that Illinois fully repealed its HIV criminal laws in 2021, removing any specific mention of HIV from its criminal code. New Jersey followed in 2022 as the third state to repeal its felony HIV-specific and STI-specific criminal laws. So while these states appear on older lists, their legal landscape has changed significantly.
States That Require Disclosure to Needle-Sharing Partners
Fourteen states extend the disclosure obligation beyond sex to needle sharing: Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Tennessee. In these states, sharing injection equipment without telling your partner you are HIV-positive can carry criminal consequences similar to non-disclosure before sex.
Felony vs. Misdemeanor Penalties
The consequences for non-disclosure range from minor to severe. Twenty-two states classify violations of their HIV exposure laws as felonies, while 20 states treat them as misdemeanors (some states have both, depending on the circumstances). Maximum sentences span an enormous range: as low as 30 days in South Carolina and West Virginia, and as high as life imprisonment in Washington state for intentionally transmitting HIV to a child or vulnerable adult.
In most states, the severity of the charge depends on factors like whether transmission actually occurred, whether the person intended to transmit, and whether the partner was considered a vulnerable individual. Some states treat non-disclosure during sex as a standalone crime regardless of whether HIV was actually passed on. Others require proof that the person acted with intent to infect.
How Undetectable Viral Load Affects the Law
Modern medicine has established that a person on effective HIV treatment who maintains an undetectable viral load cannot sexually transmit the virus. This principle, known as U=U (Undetectable = Untransmittable), is recognized by every major public health organization. But most state criminal laws were written decades before this science was settled, and only a handful have caught up.
Michigan offers one clear example of reform. Under Michigan law, a person who maintains an undetectable viral load and does not have intent to transmit is not required to disclose their HIV status. Other states have moved in similar directions through legislative updates or prosecutorial guidance, but most of the 24 disclosure states have not formally written viral load exceptions into their statutes. This means that in many jurisdictions, non-disclosure remains technically illegal even when transmission is medically impossible.
Laws Covering Spitting and Biting
Some states go further than criminalizing sexual contact or needle sharing. Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Texas either explicitly criminalize spitting by an HIV-positive person or have used existing assault laws to prosecute it. This is notable because HIV cannot be transmitted through saliva, a fact that has been established for decades.
These laws have led to real prosecutions. In Mississippi in 2014, an HIV-positive man was charged with “exposing another to HIV” for spitting on a police officer. In Georgia in 2008, a woman received three years in prison for spitting on a neighbor. A man in Maryland got five years for spitting on an officer in 2010. These cases illustrate how broadly some states interpret their HIV exposure statutes, even when no medical risk of transmission exists.
Proving Disclosure Happened
One of the practical challenges with disclosure laws is that sex and conversations about HIV status typically happen in private. If a former partner accuses you of not disclosing, it often comes down to one person’s word against another’s. There is no state that requires written consent or a witness to count as valid disclosure.
The legal burden, however, generally falls on the prosecution rather than the defendant. Under Michigan’s statute, for example, non-disclosure is an element of the crime, meaning the prosecutor must prove the HIV-positive person did not disclose. The defendant does not have to prove they did. That said, research with people living with HIV shows that many feel anxious about this ambiguity and worry they could not defend themselves if falsely accused. Some advocates recommend documenting disclosure through text messages or other written communication, though no state legally requires this.
States Without HIV-Specific Disclosure Laws
Roughly half of U.S. states do not have HIV-specific criminal statutes. This does not necessarily mean there are zero legal consequences for knowingly exposing someone to HIV in those states. General criminal laws covering assault, reckless endangerment, or battery can sometimes be applied. But without an HIV-specific statute, prosecutors in these states would typically need to prove intent to harm or actual transmission rather than simple non-disclosure.
The trend in recent years has been toward modernization and repeal. Illinois eliminated its HIV criminal laws entirely in 2021. New Jersey repealed its felony HIV and STI criminal laws in 2022. Several other states have reduced penalties from felonies to misdemeanors or added exceptions for people using condoms, on treatment, or with an undetectable viral load. Public health organizations, including the CDC and the Department of Justice, have raised concerns that criminalization discourages HIV testing (since the laws only apply to people who know their status) and does not reflect current science about transmission risk.