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Having HIV is not itself a crime. Florida criminalizes specified conduct under several HIV-related provisions. Section 384.24(2) concerns sexual intercourse, knowledge and notice, and a partner’s informed consent; §384.34(5) sets felony penalties. Other provisions address sex work, donation and certain later offenses after testing. Historical enforcement research documents their use. Read the specific statute rather than assuming one rule covers every situation.[1][2][5]
The statutes, and what each one actually covers
§ 384.24(2) makes it unlawful for a person who has HIV, “when such person knows he or she is infected with this disease and when such person has been informed that he or she may communicate this disease to another person through sexual intercourse, to have sexual intercourse with any other person, unless such other person has been informed of the presence of the sexually transmissible disease and has consented”[1]. Read the scope carefully: this provision covers sexual intercourse only. It contains no needle-sharing provision — a detail frequently reported wrong. Under § 384.34(5), a violation is a third-degree felony, and multiple violations are a first-degree felony[2].
The double standard is on the face of the statute. § 384.24(1) applies the same structure to nine other sexually transmissible infections — chancroid, gonorrhea, granuloma inguinale, lymphogranuloma venereum, genital herpes simplex, chlamydia, nongonococcal urethritis, pelvic inflammatory disease, and syphilis — and under § 384.34(1) that is a first-degree misdemeanor[2]. Same conduct, same chapter; HIV alone gets a felony.
The three other HIV-specific offenses Florida keeps
Section 796.08(5) applies after a positive HIV test when a person knows or has been informed of the result. It separately describes committing or offering to commit prostitution, and procuring another for prostitution by sexual activity in a manner likely to transmit HIV. The HIV-related offense is a third-degree felony and may be separately sentenced from the underlying prostitution offense. Do not assume the procurement branch’s wording is an element of every branch.[3]
Section 775.0877 has prerequisites: specified convictions or pleas involving transmission of body fluids trigger testing rules; disclosed positive results followed by a later offense listed in subsection (1)(a)–(n) can trigger a separate third-degree felony. Actual HIV transmission is not required. The consent defense in subsection (6) applies only where consent may be a defense to the underlying listed offense and the person knowingly and voluntarily consented as specified. Florida also has a separate donation offense under §381.0041(11)(b); its elements must be checked independently.[4][5]
No intent required. No transmission required.
The Williams Institute’s 2018 analysis found that the reviewed HIV-specific offenses did not require intent to transmit or actual HIV transmission. That does not mean no elements must be proved: knowledge, notice, the conduct involved and other prerequisites depend on the provision. A third-degree felony ordinarily carries a maximum prison term of five years and a maximum fine of $5,000; sentencing in a particular case requires legal advice.[5]
Set that beside the science Florida's statutes do not acknowledge: HIV.gov states that a person who takes HIV medicine as prescribed and keeps an undetectable viral load will not transmit HIV to sexual partners[11]. CHLP's Florida profile records that the state holds all four categories CHLP tracks at once — an HIV-specific exposure and transmission offense, an HIV-specific donation offense, a sex work penalty enhancement, and a general criminal law penalty enhancement[7]. Sero Project's national campaign against exactly this kind of statute is where Floridians can plug into organized advocacy[12].
Who Florida has actually arrested and imprisoned
The Williams Institute's October 2018 report covers 1986 through the end of 2017: 756 people arrested for an HIV- or other STD-specific incident, 614 arrested specifically for an HIV-related offense, across 874 HIV-related incidents and 1,084 incidents overall. Enforcement was negligible before 1993; after that it averaged about 36 HIV-related arrests a year, peaking in 2003[5].
The distribution is the argument. Arrests occurred in 47 of Florida's 67 counties, but 76% of HIV-specific incidents came from eight: Duval 23%, Hillsborough 16%, Pinellas 14%, Orange 9%, Miami-Dade 4%, Palm Beach 4%, Broward 3%, Escambia 3%. Duval alone produced 202 arrests involving 120 people while housing roughly 5–6% of Florida's people living with HIV; Miami-Dade and Broward together are home to over 40% of Florida's people living with HIV and accounted for 4% and 3% of arrests[5].
Among people arrested in that period: 43% of people arrested under an HIV-related offense were Black, and 56% were women — against 27% of Florida's people living with HIV being women in 2017. Median sentence length for HIV exposure convictions specifically was 36 months (mean 46.2), while the median across all HIV-related convictions was 12 months. Average age at first HIV-related arrest was 36[5].
A separate Williams Institute study examined incarceration through the end of 2020: at least 154 people imprisoned in Florida for HIV-related offenses between 1997 and 2020, carrying 205 convictions that produced a prison sentence, six in ten connected to sex work. Black people were 45% of Florida's people living with HIV in 2018 but 56% of those with prison sentences for HIV-related crimes; women were 27% of people living with HIV but 51%. The median prison sentence was 2.5 years, and the estimated cost reached $15.2 million including jails[6].
Keep the units and dates separate: 614 is the number of people in the 1986–2017 HIV-related arrest cohort, associated with 874 arrest incidents. The later incarceration study covers 1997–2020. Arrests, people, convictions and prison sentences are not interchangeable measures, and neither study supplies a live statewide total.
Florida has been asked to fix this, repeatedly
In the 2017–2018 sessions, SB 546 (Sen. René García) and identical HB 719 (Rep. Nick Duran) would have folded HIV into § 384.24 alongside other STIs and required intent to transmit, conduct posing a “substantial risk of transmission,” and actual transmission; protected people acting in good faith on a treatment regimen; and reduced the donation and repeat-offense penalties. García's similar 2017 bill “died in the Health Policy Committee in May 2017”[8].
The most recent attempt is the HIV Prevention Justice Act: SB 764, filed December 4, 2025 by Sen. Shevrin Jones, with companion HB 1223. It would have defined “substantial risk of transmission” as “a reasonable probability of disease transmission as proven by competent medical evidence,” provided that failure to follow a treatment regimen or behavioral recommendations “is not, by itself, sufficient to establish intent to transmit a disease,” and reduced the donation offense from a third-degree felony to a first-degree misdemeanor, effective July 1, 2026[9]. Equality Florida's 2026 legislative slate records the outcome: it “did not move — received public bipartisan support, but did not receive a committee hearing”[10].
As of this September 28, 2026 review, SB 764 and HB 1223 had not become law. Their legislative histories record committee deaths on March 13, 2026. The existing statutes remain the relevant starting point.
If you are in Florida and worried about this
This page is general legal information, not legal advice. If you have been threatened with prosecution, questioned by police, or charged, talk to a Florida criminal defense lawyer before you talk to anyone else, and do not try to resolve it through the other person directly.
The statutes have distinct conditions. Section 384.24(2) requires that the partner be informed and consent to intercourse. Section 775.0877(6) provides an affirmative defense only where consent may be raised for the underlying listed offense and its additional knowledge and voluntary-consent conditions are met. Sections 384.24 and 384.34 have different amendment histories. Bring the current statutes and CHLP’s Florida materials to a lawyer; this page cannot resolve a particular accusation.[1][4][1][2][7]
Fair treatment beyond an undetectable result
U=U is important evidence, but rights must not depend on a lab result. CHLP, SERO and partner organizations warn that reform limited to people who can document suppression leaves others behind. Unequal access to care is part of that concern.[13]
A lawyer may use relevant medical evidence in an individual defense. That is different from making suppression the condition for fair treatment in the law. Read about the viral divide and barriers to care, including housing, costs, mental health and substance use. These circumstances do not establish anyone’s viral load or intent.
Related questions
Is not disclosing HIV a felony in Florida?
A violation of §384.24(2) is a felony under §384.34(5). The law concerns intercourse when a person knows they have HIV and has been informed about possible transmission, unless the partner is informed and consents. Multiple violations have a different felony classification; consult a lawyer about the facts and potential penalties.
Does Florida law cover sharing needles?
Not under § 384.24. That provision reaches sexual intercourse only and contains no needle-sharing offense — a point often reported incorrectly. Florida's separate HIV-specific donation offense is § 381.0041(11)(b), covering blood, plasma, organs, skin, or other tissue.
Does being undetectable protect me in Florida?
Florida §384.24(2) contains no express viral-suppression exemption. That is different from saying medical evidence can never matter to a defense. U=U prevents sexual transmission; the legal significance of evidence depends on the statute and facts. Qualified legal advice is essential.
Did Florida's 2026 reform bill pass?
No. The official histories show that SB 764 and HB 1223 died in committee on March 13, 2026. Their proposed changes did not become law through those bills.
Related from RiseUpToHIV
References & Sources
- Florida Senate. 2026 Florida Statutes, §384.24. Read the subsection-specific elements and conditions in the official text. ↩↩↩↩
- Florida Senate. 2026 Florida Statutes, §384.34. Read the subsection-specific elements and conditions in the official text. ↩↩↩↩
- Florida Senate. 2026 Florida Statutes, §796.08. Read the subsection-specific elements and conditions in the official text. ↩
- Florida Senate. 2026 Florida Statutes, §775.0877. Read the subsection-specific elements and conditions in the official text. ↩↩
- Williams Institute. HIV Criminalization in Florida (October 2018). 1986–2017 data: 874 HIV-related arrest incidents involving 614 people; not 614 arrests. ↩↩↩↩↩↩
- Williams Institute — HIV Criminalization in Florida: Length and Costs of Incarceration (data through 2020). At least 154 people incarcerated 1997–2020 across 205 convictions producing prison sentences; six in ten tied to sex work; 56% Black and 51% women among those sentenced; 2.5-year median; $15.2 million estimated cost including jails. ↩
- CHLP — Florida state profile. Florida holds all four tracked categories at once, and CHLP's Florida materials are the reference set for counsel. ↩ ↩
- CHLP — A Closer Look at Proposed Legislation to Change HIV Criminal Laws in Florida. Contents of SB 546 (Sen. García) and HB 719 (Rep. Duran) in the 2017–2018 sessions, and the death of García's earlier bill in the Health Policy Committee in May 2017. ↩
- Florida Senate. SB 764 (2026); HB 1223 (2026). Proposed legislation; both died in committee March 13, 2026. The proposed effective date did not make the provisions law. ↩
- Equality Florida — 2026 Legislative Slate. Records HB 1223 / SB 764 and its outcome: did not move, received public bipartisan support, but did not receive a committee hearing. ↩
- HIV.gov — HIV Treatment as Prevention (updated September 18, 2025). Sustained undetectable viral load means HIV is not transmitted to sexual partners — the science Florida's statutes do not recognize. ↩
- Sero Project — About Us. The PLHIV-led national organization working to end HIV criminalization and inappropriate prosecutions, and the main entry point for organized advocacy. ↩
- CHLP, SERO and partners. Call to Action for Racial Justice in HIV Criminal Law Reform (2018); CHLP, Treatment as Prevention in Criminal Law Reform: FAQ (2017), question 9. ↩
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.