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Do I have to disclose my HIV status to a partner?

Answered in plain language, anchored to CDC, HIV.gov, and NIH.

Last reviewed:

Educational resource — General information for learning and support. Check the linked sources and organizations for current policies, services, and eligibility when relevant.
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The legal answer depends on the jurisdiction and conduct involved. U=U means that a person who maintains viral suppression on treatment does not transmit HIV through sex, but it does not automatically remove a legal disclosure requirement. Florida’s statute requires an informed, consenting partner and has no express viral-load or condom exception. Other states use different elements and defenses. Get advice from a lawyer licensed in the relevant state about your circumstances.[1][2][4][5][9]

This is general information about how U.S. laws are written — it is not legal advice, and it is not medical or ethical advice about your relationships. HIV disclosure laws differ dramatically from state to state and change often. If you have been threatened with prosecution, charged, or you are simply unsure what your state requires, talk to a criminal defense lawyer licensed in your state. CHLP's Sourcebook is the reference lawyers themselves use, and CHLP is also a route to legal referrals[10].

If disclosure could lead to violence, plan for safety with an advocate and a lawyer. DOJ’s 2014 reform guide recognizes that nondisclosure may be connected to intimate partner violence; it does not itself create a defense under state law. The National Domestic Violence Hotline offers 24/7 support at 800-799-7233, by texting START to 88788, or online. Use a safer device if your activity may be monitored; call 911 for immediate danger.[15][8]

How disclosure laws are actually written

HIV-related offenses vary: some address nondisclosure before specified sexual conduct, while others concern donation, sex work, exposure or transmission. Some require intent, recklessness or transmission; others do not. DOJ’s 2014 guide describes these categories, and the Williams Institute’s 2026 analysis reports that many laws do not reflect current prevention science. The elements of the particular offense matter.[8][6]

Florida §384.24(2) includes an exception when the partner has been informed of the infection and has consented to sexual intercourse. Questions about proving a conversation, the prosecution’s required elements and possible defenses need legal advice. The statute’s wording is not a reason to assume that every person accused must prove innocence.[1]

Where viral suppression is written into the law

NIH guidance states that maintaining a viral load below 200 copies/mL with ART prevents sexual HIV transmission. That medical conclusion and a state’s legal requirements must be considered separately. The examples below illustrate different statutory approaches; they are not a complete national list.[9]

Condoms, PrEP, and what most statutes refuse to count

Nevada’s NRS 441A.180 contains more than one route to a misdemeanor: subsection (3) addresses prohibited conduct after a health-authority warning, while subsection (4) requires specific intent, a high probability of transmission and actual transmission. Subsection (6) provides an affirmative defense for using or attempting to use scientifically supported means of prevention, which can include condoms. It is inaccurate to say that every offense under this section requires actual transmission.[5]

DOJ’s 2014 guidance urged reform because many laws then failed to account for ART, condoms or PrEP. It is historical guidance, not a current fifty-state legal opinion. Check CHLP’s Sourcebook and current state materials, then obtain advice on the law that applies to the conduct and location involved.[8][10]

What enforcement has actually looked like

Williams Institute researchers identified 756 people arrested in Florida for HIV- or other STD-related incidents between 1986 and 2017. Of these, 614 people were involved in 874 HIV-related incidents. About 35% of HIV-related arrests resulted in an HIV-related conviction, and 44% of HIV-related incidents resulted in no conviction. These are historical enforcement findings, not current case totals.[7]

Michigan’s study found at least 90 nondisclosure cases involving 79 people from 1991 through 2024, with 74 cases resulting in an HIV-related conviction. Since the 2019 change, researchers identified at least 11 cases and 30 charges under the revised law; ten charges ended in convictions, mostly misdemeanor reckless disregard, and none involved a conviction for actual transmission under the new law. There were nine cases in 2020–2024 versus 23 in 2014–2018. This before-and-after comparison describes a decline; it does not by itself prove that reform caused the entire change.[11]

Sero Project, which is led by people living with HIV, frames non-disclosure prosecutions as precisely the harm to be ended, not managed[12].

Florida: no viral-load exception, no condom exception, no intent requirement

Florida §384.24(2) applies when a person knows they have HIV, has been informed that it may be transmitted through sexual intercourse, and has intercourse without the other person being informed and consenting. It does not expressly require transmission or intent to transmit, or provide viral-load or condom exceptions. In Debaun v. State (2017), the Florida Supreme Court held that “sexual intercourse” includes oral and anal intercourse; readers should not interpret it as vaginal intercourse only.[14][1]

Florida’s penalty provision, §384.34(5), classifies a violation of §384.24(2) as a third-degree felony and provides a first-degree felony for multiple violations. A suppressed viral load does not appear as an express exception in this statute, although U=U remains the medical fact about sexual transmission. Ask a Florida criminal defense lawyer how the law and available defenses apply to your circumstances.[13][7][9]

Related questions

Is there a national law requiring HIV disclosure?

There is no single answer across all U.S. jurisdictions. State laws, broader communicable-disease offenses and other applicable laws may differ. CHLP’s Sourcebook is a starting point; confirm current law and your circumstances with a lawyer licensed in the relevant state.[1][2][5][10]

If I am undetectable, do I still have to disclose?

U=U establishes that sustained viral suppression prevents sexual transmission. Legal disclosure requirements are a separate question. Michigan has a treatment-adherence and suppression provision addressing reckless disregard; Louisiana has transmission-risk limits and specified defenses; Florida has no express viral-load exception in its sexual nondisclosure provision.[1][2][4][9]

Does using a condom count as a defense?

Prevention can matter legally, but the effect depends on the statute and evidence. Nevada expressly recognizes using or attempting to use scientifically supported prevention. Michigan and Florida do not expressly name condoms in the cited provisions. Do not treat condom use as an automatic defense everywhere; ask a lawyer.[1][2][3][5]

What if disclosing would put me in danger?

If disclosure could lead to violence, seek safety planning from an advocate and advice from a lawyer. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is available at 800-799-7233, by texting START to 88788, or online. Use a safer device if needed. For immediate danger, call 911. Ask your HIV care team about safe partner-notification options.[8][15]

What is U=U?
Undetectable = Untransmittable, explained without jargon.
Is undetectable really untransmittable?
The studies behind the claim, and what sustained suppression means.
Is HIV a crime in Florida?
Every Florida HIV-specific provision, with the enforcement record.
How do I find legal help for HIV discrimination?
Where to turn when you need a lawyer, not a web page.
Find help near you
Testing, care, and support services you can reach today.
Last reviewed: September 2026 by the RiseUpToHIV team. Educational content only — not medical advice.

References & Sources

  1. Florida Statutes, 2026 — §384.24(2): knowledge, prior information about sexual transmission, intercourse and informed consent. Source. ↩↩↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
  2. Michigan Legislature — MCL § 333.5210. Subsection (4): a person adherent with an attending physician's treatment plan and medically suppressed per accepted medical standards is not acting with reckless disregard. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
  3. Michigan Attorney General — Public Health Law Benchbook, December 2025: MCL §333.5210 and its distinct mental-state requirements. Source. ↩ ↩
  4. Louisiana Legislature — R.S. 14:43.5, including Act 177 of 2026: transmission-risk elements and affirmative defenses. Source. ↩ ↩ ↩
  5. Nevada Legislature — NRS 441A.180: warning-based and intentional-transmission offenses, prevention defenses and medical evidence. Source. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
  6. Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law — HIV Criminalization and Black Americans (February 2026). Most HIV-related criminal laws require neither actual transmission nor intent to transmit, and some criminalize conduct that cannot transmit HIV while ignoring prevention strategies. ↩ ↩
  7. Williams Institute — HIV Criminalization in Florida (October 2018). Florida arrests 1986–2017: 756 people arrested overall, 614 for HIV-related offenses across 874 incidents; 35% conviction rate; 44% of incidents with no conviction; no provision for barrier protection, viral suppression, or intent. ↩ ↩
  8. U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division — Best Practices Guide to Reform HIV-Specific Criminal Laws (July 2014). The non-disclosure category of offenses; the request that states account for non-disclosure related to intimate partner violence; and the finding that most laws do not account for ART, condoms, or PrEP. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
  9. NIH — Antiretroviral Therapy to Prevent Sexual Transmission of HIV: sustained viral load below 200 copies/mL. Source. ↩↩ ↩ ↩
  10. Center for HIV Law and Policy — HIV Criminalization Sourcebook: jurisdiction-specific research to check against current statutes and decisions. Source. ↩↩ ↩
  11. Williams Institute — Enforcement of HIV Criminalization in Michigan, 1991–2024. At least 90 cases involving 79 people; 74 convictions; post-2019 outcomes overwhelmingly misdemeanor reckless-disregard convictions with none for actual transmission; case counts falling from 23 to nine. ↩
  12. Sero Project — About Us. PLHIV-led work to end inappropriate prosecutions for non-disclosure, potential or perceived exposure, and transmission. ↩
  13. Florida Statutes, 2026 — §384.34(5): penalties. Source. Checked September 21, 2026. ↩
  14. Florida Supreme Court — Debaun v. State, March 16, 2017. Source. Checked September 21, 2026. ↩
  15. National Domestic Violence Hotline — current support options and safety information. Source. Checked September 21, 2026. ↩ ↩

Community publications like POZ, Positively Aware, and TheBody inform framing and lived-experience context on RiseUpToHIV. Every clinical, epidemiological, or public-health claim above is anchored to a primary source.

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