Minors’ Access to STI Testing and Treatment

June 1, 2026

This fact sheet was written by Kimya Forouzan. It was edited by Ian Lague.

All 50 states and Washington, DC allow minors to consent to sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing and treatment without parental consent. (By contrast, minors’ access to other types of reproductive health care, such as contraception and abortion, is strictly limited in many states.) Despite this relatively broad access across the United States, some states allow minors to consent to STI testing and treatment only if they are a certain age, and others allow health care providers to inform the minors’ parents or guardians about them accessing these services. In addition, some states require parental notification under specific circumstances, such as a positive HIV test, if the provider believes the minor is in danger, or if the minor has been the victim of a sexual assault.

Highlights

All 50 states and Washington, DC allow minors to consent to STI testing and treatment.
8 of those 50 states restrict which minors can consent to STI testing and treatment based on age.
16 states have parental notification provisions that either allow health care providers to inform a minor’s parents or guardians about STI testing or treatment or require such notification under specific circumstances.

Current Policy Status Table

Minors' Access to STI Services
Jurisdiction	Minor may consent to STI testing and treatment	Parental notification provisions (optional or required under certain circumstances)
Alabama	X (12 years and older)	X (providers may notify parents or guardians about STI testing and treatment)
Alaska	X
Arizona	X
Arkansas	X	X (providers may notify parents or guardians about STI testing and treatment)
California	X (12 years and older)
Colorado	X
Connecticut	X
Delaware	X (12 years and older)	X (providers may notify parents or guardians about STI testing and treatment)
District of Columbia	X
Florida	X
Georgia	X	X (providers may notify parents or guardians about STI testing and treatment)
Hawaii	X (14 years and older)
Idaho	X (14 years and older)^*
Illinois	X (12 years and older)
Indiana	X
Iowa	X	X (provider must notify parents or guardians, but only under specific circumstances^†)
Kansas	X	X (providers may notify parents or guardians about STI testing and treatment)
Kentucky	X	X (providers may notify parents or guardians about STI testing and treatment)
Louisiana	X	X (providers may notify parents or guardians about STI testing and treatment)
Maine	X	X (providers may notify parents or guardians about STI testing and treatment)
Maryland	X	X (providers may notify parents or guardians about STI testing and treatment)
Massachusetts	X	X (provider must notify parents or guardians, but only under specific circumstances^‡)
Michigan	X	X (providers may notify parents or guardians about STI testing and treatment)
Minnesota	X
Mississippi	X
Missouri	X	X (providers may notify parents or guardians about STI testing and treatment)
Montana	X	X (providers may notify parents or guardians about STI testing and treatment)
Nebraska	X
Nevada	X
New Hampshire	X
New Jersey	X (must be 13 or older to consent to testing and treatment for HIV)	X (provider may notify parents or guardians about STI testing/treatment and must notify them under specific circumstances^§)
New Mexico	X
New York	X
North Carolina	X
North Dakota	X (14 years and older)
Ohio	X
Oklahoma	X
Oregon	X	X (providers may notify parents or guardians about STI testing and treatment)
Pennsylvania	X
Rhode Island	X
South Carolina	X^**
South Dakota	X
Tennessee	X
Texas	X
Utah	X
Vermont	X
Virginia	X
Washington	X
West Virginia	X
Wisconsin	X
Wyoming	X
Totals	51 (8 states restrict based on age)	16

^*In 2024, Idaho Code § 32-1015 was enacted, which requires parental consent for health care provision to minors. There has not been any case law further clarifying how these two opposing laws function together.

^†Provider is required to inform minor’s legal guardians about a positive HIV test. Otherwise, Iowa law does not explicitly allow providers to inform parents about STI testing or treatment.

^‡Provider is required to inform parents or guardians if the provider believes the minor’s “life or limb” is endangered. Otherwise, Massachusetts law does not explicitly allow providers to inform parents about STI testing or treatment.

^§Provider must notify parents or guardians if the minor is the victim of a sexual assault, unless, in the provider’s opinion, it is in the minors’ best interest not to do so.

^**Relates to minors’ consent to health care generally.

Suggested citation: Guttmacher Institute, Minors’ access to STI testing and treatment, State Laws and Policies (as of June 2026), 2026, https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/minors-access-sti-services.