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Vaccine Exemptions By State

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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