Vaccine Exemptions By State

October 8, 2020April 20, 2021

Medical professionals will tell you that your child needs to be fully vaccinated for school requirements, but what they may not tell you is that every State in the Union has exemptions to vaccination. Some more than others.

All 50 states have ‘medical exemptions’ to vaccination. However, what qualifies as a medical exemption can be unreasonably strict and narrow, as is the case in California.

There are 45 states plus Washington D.C. that grant ‘religious exemptions’ for people who have religious objections to vaccinations.

Currently, 15 states allow ‘philosophical exemptions’ for those who object to immunizations because of personal, moral or other beliefs.

It is important to advocate for your State to keep its religious or philosophical exemption, because once gone it’s close to impossible to get it back.

* The existing statute in Minnesota and Louisiana does not explicitly recognize religion as a reason for claiming an exemption, however, the non-medical exemption may encompass religious beliefs.

**In Virginia, parents can receive a personal exemption only for the HPV vaccine. But there is still a religious exemption.

***Missouri’s personal belief exemption does not apply to public schools, only child care facilities. But there is still a religious exemption.

****Washington has philosophical exemption for every vaccine except MMR.

Vaccine Exemption Information
State	Exemption Info	Religious Exemption	Philosophical Exemption
Alabama	Exemption Info	Yes	No
Alaska	Exemption Form	Yes	No
Arizona	Exemption Form	Yes	Yes
Arkansas	Exemption Info	Yes	Yes
California	Cal. Health & Safety Code § 120325 et seq.	No	No
Colorado	Exemption Forms	Yes	Yes
Connecticut	Exemption Forms	Yes	No
Delaware	Exemption Info	Yes	No
Washington, DC	Exemption Info	Yes	No
Florida	Exemption Info	Yes	No
Georgia	Exemption Info	Yes	No
Hawaii	Exemption Form	Yes	No
Idaho	Exemption Form	Yes	Yes
Illinois	Exemption Form	Yes	No
Indiana	Exemption Form	Yes	No
Iowa	Exemption Form	Yes	No
Kansas	Exemption Form	Yes	No
Kentucky	Exemption Info	Yes	No
Louisiana	Exemption Info	Yes	Yes
Maine	Only Medical	No	No
Maryland	Religious Exemption	Yes	No
Massachusetts	Exemption Info	Yes	No
Michigan	Exemption Info	Yes	Yes
Minnesota	Exemption Info	Yes	Yes
Mississippi	Only Medical	No	No
Missouri	Exemption Info	Yes	Yes*
Montana	Exemption Form	Yes	No
Nebraska	Exemption Info	Yes	No
Nevada	Exemption Info	Yes	No
New Hampshire	Exemption Form	Yes	No
New Jersey	Exemption Info and Forms	Yes	No
New Mexico	Exemption Form	Yes	No
New York	Medical Exemption	No	No
North Carolina	Exemption Info	Yes	No
North Dakota	Exemption Form	Yes	Yes
Ohio	Exemption Info	Yes	Yes
Oklahoma	Exemption Form	Yes	Yes
Oregon	Exemption Info	Yes	Yes
Pennsylvania	Exemption Info	Yes	Yes
Rhode Island	Exemption Form	Yes	No
South Carolina	Exemption Info	Yes	No
South Dakota	Exemption Info	Yes	No
Tennessee	Exemption Form Sample	Yes	No
Texas	Exemptions	Yes	Yes
Utah	Exemption Form	Yes	Yes
Vermont	Religious Exemption Form	Yes	No
Virginia	Exemption Info	Yes	No
Washington	Certificate of Exemption	Yes	Yes****
West Virginia	W. Va. Code § 16-3-4	No	No
Wisconsin	Exemption Info	Yes	Yes
Wyoming	Exemption Form	Yes	No

Religious exemption indicates that there is a provision in the statute that allows parents to exempt their children from vaccination if it contradicts their sincere religious beliefs.

Philosophical exemption indicates that the statutory language does not restrict the exemption to purely religious or spiritual beliefs. For example, Maine allows restrictions based on “moral, philosophical or other personal beliefs,” and Minnesota allows objections based on “conscientiously held beliefs of the parent or guardian.”

For more detailed instructions on how to get an exemption in your state, please see NVIC.org’s State Exemptions page. Often it’s just a letter written by you. Some States may have more specific forms.

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