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Which states require or allow reporting of mental health records into the background check system?

44 states have adopted this policy

AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY

Mental Health Record Reporting

Alabama has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

Alaska has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

Arizona has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

Arkansas has not adopted this policy

Mental Health Record Reporting

California has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

Colorado has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Allowed

Mental Health Record Reporting

Connecticut has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

Delaware has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

Florida has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Allowed

Mental Health Record Reporting

Georgia has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

Hawaii has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

Idaho has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

Illinois has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

Indiana has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Allowed

Mental Health Record Reporting

Iowa has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

Kansas has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

Kentucky has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

Louisiana has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

Maine has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

Maryland has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

Massachusetts has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

Michigan has not adopted this policy

Mental Health Record Reporting

Minnesota has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

Mississippi has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Allowed

Mental Health Record Reporting

Missouri has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Allowed

Mental Health Record Reporting

Montana has not adopted this policy

Mental Health Record Reporting

Nebraska has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Allowed

Mental Health Record Reporting

Nevada has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

New Hampshire has not adopted this policy

Mental Health Record Reporting

New Jersey has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

New Mexico has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

New York has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

North Carolina has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

North Dakota has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

Ohio has not adopted this policy

Mental Health Record Reporting

Oklahoma has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

Oregon has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

Pennsylvania has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Allowed

Mental Health Record Reporting

Rhode Island has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

South Carolina has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

South Dakota has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

Tennessee has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

Texas has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

Utah has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

Vermont has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

Virginia has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

Washington has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

West Virginia has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Allowed

Mental Health Record Reporting

Wisconsin has adopted this policy

Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Required

Mental Health Record Reporting

Wyoming has not adopted this policy

What It Does

The background check system is only as strong as the records it contains—and any missing record of an illegal buyer can be a tragedy waiting to happen. In the years since the Virginia Tech shooter was able to buy a gun illegally because of missing information, many states have acted to put records into the federal databases when a person becomes prohibited due to mental health. The strongest policies require officials to report, rather than merely allowing them to do so. A full discussion of Mental Health Record Reporting is here. 

The Impact

In the decade after the Virginia Tech shooting, 35 states passed new record reporting laws—and the number of denied sales to prohibited gun buyers increased 11-fold.

Mental Health Record Reporting

Policy adopted? Are officials required to report, or merely allowed to do so?
Alabama Required
Alaska Required
Arizona Required
Arkansas —
California Required
Colorado Allowed
Connecticut Required
Delaware Required
Florida Allowed
Georgia Required
Hawaii Required
Idaho Required
Illinois Required
Indiana Allowed
Iowa Required
Kansas Required
Kentucky Required
Louisiana Required
Maine Required
Maryland Required
Massachusetts Required
Michigan —
Minnesota Required
Mississippi Allowed
Missouri Allowed
Montana —
Nebraska Allowed
Nevada Required
New Hampshire —
New Jersey Required
New Mexico Required
New York Required
North Carolina Required
North Dakota Required
Ohio —
Oklahoma Required
Oregon Required
Pennsylvania Allowed
Rhode Island Required
South Carolina Required
South Dakota Required
Tennessee Required
Texas Required
Utah Required
Vermont Required
Virginia Required
Washington Required
West Virginia Allowed
Wisconsin Required
Wyoming —
Show Citations and Footnotes 
Source: Ala. Code §§ 22-52-10.8, 22-52-10.9; Alaska Stat. §§ 44.41.045, 47.30.907; Ariz. Rev. Stat. §§ 13-609, 14-5304, 36-540; Cal. Penal Code § 28220; Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code §§ 8100—8108; Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 13-5-142, 13-9-123, 18-4-412; Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-36l(d)(2); Del. Code Ann. tit. 11,  §§ 8509, 1448A(m); Del. Code Ann. tit. 16, § 5161(b)(13)-(14); Del. Code Ann. tit. 29, § 9017(c); Fla. Stat. § 790.065; Ga. Code Ann. §§ 16-11-172, 35-3-34(e); Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 334-60.5(j), 560:5-311(d); Idaho Code §§ 66-356, 67-3003; 430 Ill. Comp. Stat. §§ 65/3.1(e)(2), 65/8.1(b); 405 Ill. Comp. Stat. § 5/6-103.1; 740 Ill. Comp. Stat. § 110/12 (b); Ind. Code  §§ 11-10-4-3(e), 12-26-6-8(g), 12-26-7-5(c), 33-24-6-3(a)(8), 35-36-2-4(e), 35-36-2-5(f), 35-36-3-1(c), 11-10-4-3(e); Iowa Code § 724.31; Kan. Stat. Ann. §§ 75-7c25(1), 59-2966, 59-29b66; Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 237.108(1); La. Rev. Stat. § 13:753; Me. Stat. tit. 34-B, § 3864(12); Me. Stat. tit. 25, § 1541(3)(C); Md. Code Ann., Pub. Safety § 5-133.2; Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 6, § 167A; Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 123, §§ 35, 36C; Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 215, § 56C; Minn. Stat. § 253B.24; Miss. Code Ann. §§ 45-9-103, 9-1-49; Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 630.140 (5), 552.030(7), 43.503(6)-(7); Neb. Rev. Stat. § 69-2409.01; Nev. Rev. Stat. §§ 174.035(9), 175.533(3), 175.539(4), 178.425(6), 433A.310, 159.0593(1), 179A.163(1); N.J. Stat. Ann. §§ 30:4-80.10, 30:4-24.3a; N.M. Stat. Ann. § 34-9-19; N.Y. Mental Hyg. Law §§ 7.09, 13.09, 31.11, 33.13; N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-409.43; N.D. Cent. Code § 62.1-02-01.2; Okla. Stat. tit. 21, § 1290.27(A); Or. Rev. Stat. § 181A.290; 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 6111.1(f)(3); 40.1 R.I. Gen. Laws § 40.1-5-8; S.C. Code Ann. § 23-31-1020; S.D. Codified Laws §§ 23-7-47, 23-7-48, 27A-10-24; Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 16-10-213, 16-11-206, 16-16-120, 33-3-115, 33-3-117; Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. §§ 411.052, 411.0521; Utah Code Ann. §§ 53-10-208.1, 53-10-213; Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 13, § 4824, Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 18,  § 7617a; Va. Code Ann. §§ 37.2-819, 19.2-390, 19.2-169.2; Wash. Rev. Code § 9.41.047; W. Va. Code §§ 61-7A-1—61-7A-5; Wis. Stat. §§ 175.35(2g)(d)(1), 51.20(13)(cv)(4), 51.45(13)(i)(1), 54.10(3)(f), 55.12(10).

Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund. (2018, July 2). Fatal gaps: How the Virginia Tech shooting prompted changes in state mental health records reporting. Everytown Research and Policy. Retrieved January 19, 2022 from https://everytownresearch.org/report/fatal-gaps/.

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