California HIV laws give people living with HIV some of the strongest protections in the country. Since 2017, criminal exposure statutes have treated HIV the same as any other communicable disease, and separate statutes protect testing consent, medical records, employment, housing, insurance access, and partner notification. Violations carry civil damages and administrative fines that can reach into six figures.
Criminal Exposure After SB 239
Intentionally transmitting HIV is a misdemeanor in California, not a felony. Senate Bill 239, signed in 2017, repealed the old Health and Safety Code 120291, which had punished undisclosed HIV-positive sexual contact with three, five, or eight years in state prison, and rewrote Section 120290 to cover HIV on the same terms as any other infectious or communicable disease.1California Legislative Information. Senate Bill 239
Under the current Section 120290, intentional transmission is a misdemeanor carrying up to six months in county jail. A conviction requires prosecutors to prove that the accused knew they were infected, acted with the specific intent to transmit the disease, engaged in conduct posing a substantial risk of transmission, and actually transmitted it. If the exposure happened during a voluntary interaction, prosecutors must also show that the other person did not know about the infection.2California Legislative Information. California Code Health and Safety Code 120290
Prosecution is still possible when no transmission occurs. Attempted intentional transmission is a misdemeanor with a 90-day maximum. Separately, disobeying a health officer’s direct instruction not to engage in conduct that risks transmission can carry up to six months, even without actual transmission.2California Legislative Information. California Code Health and Safety Code 120290 SB 239 also eliminated felony enhancements that had targeted sex workers living with HIV and repealed a separate felony for donating blood or tissue while HIV-positive.
Testing and Consent
Before ordering an HIV test, a provider must tell you the purpose of the test, what a positive result would mean, and that you have the right to decline. Consent can be verbal or written, but the provider must document it in your medical record either way.3California Legislative Information. California Code HSC 120990
Assembly Bill 682 replaced an older written informed consent requirement with this lighter framework because the earlier rule was discouraging routine screening.4California Department of Public Health. Frequently Asked Questions About HIV Testing by Medical Care Providers in Health Care Settings The change lets providers incorporate HIV testing into ordinary care visits.
Minors aged 12 and older can consent to HIV testing and treatment without a parent’s involvement. Family Code 6926 covers any minor who may have been exposed to a reportable infectious disease, and separately covers minors 12 and older seeking care to prevent a sexually transmitted disease. Parents are not liable for the cost of that care.5California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 6926
Prenatal Testing
Pregnant patients follow a slightly different framework. Health and Safety Code 125090 requires the prenatal provider to explain the intent to perform an HIV test, the routine nature of the test, the risk of passing HIV to the baby during pregnancy or delivery, and the availability of treatments that reduce that risk substantially. You can still decline.6California Legislative Information. California Code HSC 125090
If your prenatal chart lacks documentation of an HIV test during the final review of standard labs, the provider must draw blood for the missing test unless you decline after being informed. The lab must use a method that returns results as quickly as possible. When a result is positive, the provider must arrange counseling on what the result means for you and the infant, and refer you to a provider or institution specializing in prenatal care for HIV-positive patients whenever possible.6California Legislative Information. California Code HSC 125090
Medical Privacy
Two overlapping statutes protect HIV-related records. The Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, codified at Civil Code sections 56 through 56.37, restricts healthcare providers, health plans, and their contractors from disclosing individually identifiable medical information without your written authorization. It covers all medical information, and it applies with particular weight to HIV records because of the stigma unauthorized disclosure can cause.
Health and Safety Code 121025 governs public health records that contain HIV or AIDS information. Those records are confidential and cannot be disclosed except for public health purposes authorized by law, or with your written authorization. Limited sharing is allowed between public health agencies for surveillance and care coordination, and between health departments and providers connecting HIV-positive patients with treatment.7California Legislative Information. California Code HSC 1210258California Department of Public Health. Legal Authority for Provider and Local Public Health Department Staff to Share Patient HIV/AIDS Information for Case Management and Care Coordination
Employment
The Fair Employment and Housing Act treats HIV/AIDS as a physical disability, and Government Code 12926.1 lists it as a qualifying condition.9California Legislative Information. California Code Government Code 12926.1 Employers with five or more workers cannot refuse to hire you, fire you, or treat you differently because of your HIV status. They must also provide reasonable accommodations unless doing so would create an undue hardship.10California Legislative Information. California Code Government Code 12940 – Unlawful Practices, Generally
FEHA reaches beyond hiring and firing. It covers pay, promotions, training, and the general terms and conditions of employment. Requiring an HIV test as a condition of employment without a legitimate medical justification, or telling coworkers about an employee’s HIV status, could support both a FEHA discrimination claim and a CMIA privacy claim. Filing a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department is free.
Housing and Public Accommodations
FEHA also covers housing. A landlord cannot refuse to rent to you, impose different lease terms, or evict you because of HIV status, since Government Code 12926.1 makes HIV a qualifying disability for housing discrimination protections.9California Legislative Information. California Code Government Code 12926.1
Outside housing, the Unruh Civil Rights Act at Civil Code 51 guarantees full and equal access to business establishments regardless of disability, using the same FEHA disability definitions. Restaurants, hotels, retail stores, gyms, and other businesses open to the public cannot refuse service or treat someone differently because of HIV status.11California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code 51 A violation of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act also automatically counts as an Unruh Act violation.
Insurance
Health insurance protections come mostly from the federal Affordable Care Act, which prohibits denying coverage or charging higher premiums based on pre-existing conditions, HIV included. California’s Health and Safety Code 1365.5 separately bars health care service plans from discriminating on the basis of race, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, and other characteristics, and prohibits using HIV testing to establish a person’s sexual orientation.12California Legislative Information. California Code HSC 1365.5
Life and disability income insurance operate under different rules. The Equal Insurance HIV Act, enacted through Senate Bill 1255 and effective in 2023, prohibits life or disability income insurers from declining an application based solely on a positive HIV test result.13California Department of Insurance. The Equal Insurance HIV Act – Changes in Existing Law Insurers can still factor HIV status into underwriting, but only where pricing is grounded in sound actuarial data and reasonably anticipated experience. A positive test alone cannot serve as an automatic disqualifier.
When a life or disability insurer requests an HIV test, Insurance Code 799.03 requires written informed consent explaining the test’s purpose, the meaning of results, and the applicant’s right to confidentiality. A positive result must be communicated through the applicant’s designated physician, and the insurer cannot disclose results without authorization.14California Legislative Information. California Code INS 799.03
Partner Notification
California does not require you to disclose your HIV status to sexual or needle-sharing partners, and nondisclosure by itself is not a crime. The state uses a voluntary, confidentiality-centered system instead.
Under Health and Safety Code 121015, a physician holding a patient’s confirmed positive HIV result may notify a person the physician reasonably believes to be a spouse, sexual partner, or needle-sharing partner. Before doing so, the physician must discuss the result with the patient, offer counseling on transmission and prevention, attempt to obtain voluntary consent for notification, and inform the patient before making contact. The physician cannot reveal identifying information about the patient during notification.15California Department of Public Health. Local Health Officer Authority to Use HIV Surveillance Data for Partner Services
This authority is permissive, not mandatory. No California physician has a legal duty to notify partners. Local health officers can also alert people who may have been exposed, without identifying the source, and refer them to testing and care.
Penalties for Privacy Violations
Under the CMIA at Civil Code 56.36, a person whose medical information is negligently disclosed can recover $1,000 in nominal damages without proving actual harm, plus any actual damages. The responsible entity faces an administrative fine of up to $2,500 per violation.16California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 56.36
Knowing and willful violations cost more. A non-healthcare professional who deliberately obtains, discloses, or uses medical information in violation of the CMIA faces up to $25,000 per violation. Licensed healthcare professionals face a graduated scale: up to $2,500 for a first offense, $10,000 for a second, and $25,000 for a third or subsequent violation. When the CMIA is violated for financial gain, the cap rises to $250,000 per violation, plus disgorgement of any profits.16California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 56.36
Public health records carry their own penalty structure under Health and Safety Code 121025. Negligent disclosure of a confidential HIV-related public health record carries a civil penalty of up to $5,000 paid to the person whose record was disclosed. Willful or malicious disclosure raises the penalty to between $5,000 and $25,000, plus court costs.7California Legislative Information. California Code HSC 121025 These penalties are on top of any civil lawsuit the affected person might bring for compensatory and punitive damages.