Are Clergy Mandated Reporters in Your State?

In most of the United States, clergy are mandated reporters of suspected child abuse and neglect. At least 30 states and Guam name clergy specifically in their reporting statutes, and several more require every adult to report regardless of profession.¹² If you serve as a religious leader and you suspect a child is being harmed, the odds are overwhelming that the law requires you to say so.

States That Name Clergy Specifically

A 2023 compilation by the federal Children’s Bureau identifies 29 states that list clergy among their mandated reporters: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Guam also names clergy.¹

Washington joined the list in May 2025, when the governor signed SB 5375 designating clergy as mandatory reporters of child sexual and physical abuse.³ That brings the total to at least 30 states.

In these states, the duty is triggered by suspicion, not proof. Ohio’s statute applies to any cleric or church-designated leader acting in an official capacity who “knows, or has reasonable cause to believe” a child has suffered or faces a threat of abuse or neglect.⁴ Pennsylvania’s law reaches priests, ministers, rabbis, Christian Science practitioners, religious healers, and spiritual leaders of any regularly established church or religious organization.⁵ California uses similarly broad language covering any priest, minister, rabbi, religious practitioner, or similar functionary of a church, temple, or recognized denomination or organization.⁶ South Carolina extends the duty to Christian Science practitioners, religious healers, and nonclerical religious counselors who charge for services.⁷

If your state’s statute uses broad language like “religious practitioner” or “spiritual leader,” the duty likely reaches you even if your title isn’t minister, priest, or rabbi.

States Where Everyone Must Report

Not being on the clergy list doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. Four states — Indiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Wyoming — require all persons to report suspected child abuse without singling out any profession. Another 13 states name specific professions but also impose a universal reporting duty on everyone.² In those roughly 17 jurisdictions, clergy are covered by the “any person” mandate whether or not they appear on any named list.

Between the 30 states that name clergy and the states with universal mandates, very few places leave clergy without any reporting obligation.

How the Clergy-Penitent Privilege Fits In

Most states recognize some form of clergy-penitent privilege protecting confidential communications made during spiritual counsel or confession. When that privilege meets a mandatory reporting law, states resolve the conflict in three different ways, and the answer determines whether a confession you hear must be reported.

States That Override the Privilege

Some states strip the privilege entirely in child abuse cases. New Hampshire’s statute provides that privileged communication between a priest, minister, or rabbi and a congregant “shall not apply to proceedings instituted” under the child protection chapter and “shall not constitute grounds for failure to report.”⁸ West Virginia takes the same position.⁹ Washington’s 2025 law also designates clergy as mandatory reporters, though a legal settlement preserved certain aspects of religious practice.³

States That Preserve the Privilege

Other states keep the privilege as an exception to reporting, but only for communications that fit a narrow legal definition. California is the most-cited example. A clergy member who learns of suspected abuse during a “penitential communication” is not required to report it. California defines that as a communication “intended to be in confidence, including but not limited to a sacramental confession, made to a clergy member who in the course of the discipline or practice of their church, denomination, or organization is authorized to hear or is accustomed to hearing those communications and has a duty to keep those communications secret.”⁶ Alabama, Arkansas, and Illinois also provide exceptions for confidential religious communications.⁹

The California exception is narrow in an important way. It does not excuse clergy who learn of abuse in some other role. If you serve as a counselor, teacher, or youth group leader and the disclosure comes to you in that capacity, the penitential communication exception does not apply.⁶

States That Split the Difference

South Carolina takes a middle path. Clergy must report suspected abuse, but the duty doesn’t apply when the information comes from the alleged perpetrator during a communication protected by the clergy-penitent privilege. If the same information comes from anyone else, such as the child, a parent, or a bystander, the privilege offers no shield and a report is required.⁷

One practical point often surprises clergy: the privilege generally applies only to one-on-one communications. Courts have held that the presence of a third party may waive the privilege, so disclosures in a group setting are far less likely to qualify as protected.

Penalties for Not Reporting

Failing to report is a crime in every state with a mandated reporting law. Most classify it as a misdemeanor. In California, a mandated reporter who fails to report known or suspected child abuse faces a fine of up to $1,000, up to six months in county jail, or both. If the failure is willful and the child suffers death or great bodily injury, the penalty rises to a fine of up to $5,000, up to one year in jail, or both.¹⁰ New York treats failure to report as a Class A misdemeanor and also allows mandated reporters to be sued for monetary damages caused by their failure to file.¹¹

Clergy who hold separate professional licenses, such as a counseling license or teaching certificate, may also face suspension or revocation of those credentials for failing to comply.

You’re Protected When You Report in Good Faith

If the fear of getting it wrong is what holds you back, the law is stacked in your favor. Every state provides civil immunity for mandated reporters who file a report in good faith, even if the investigation ultimately finds no abuse.¹² Many states extend that immunity to criminal charges as well. Good faith means you had a genuine reason to believe a child was being harmed. It does not require certainty.

The federal Victims of Child Abuse Act creates a statutory presumption that anyone who provides information or assists in a child abuse case is acting in good faith, shifting the burden to anyone who would challenge the report.¹² States also protect the identity of reporters, disclosing it only with the reporter’s consent or through judicial process.

How to Make the Report

Most states require an immediate oral report, typically by phone, to the local child protective services agency or law enforcement. Several then require a written follow-up within 24 to 48 hours.¹³ Make the call first; the paperwork follows.

You are not expected to investigate. Gather what you know — what happened, when, where, and who was involved — and pass it along. The agency handles the rest. Reasonable suspicion is all the law asks of you.

If you’re not sure where to call in your state, the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 800-422-4453 can route you to the correct local agency. The Child Welfare Information Gateway maintains a state-by-state directory of reporting numbers.¹³

1
Child Welfare Information Gateway. Clergy as Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect
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Child Welfare Information Gateway. Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect
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Washington State Office of the Attorney General. Washington State Reaches Agreement to Preserve Key Portions of Law Requiring Clergy
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Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2151.421 – Reporting Child Abuse or Neglect
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Child Welfare Information Gateway. Clergy as Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect – Pennsylvania
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Child Welfare Information Gateway. Clergy as Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect – California
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South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws – Title 63, Chapter 7
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Child Welfare Information Gateway. Clergy as Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect – New Hampshire
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Children’s Bureau/ACYF/ACF/HHS. Clergy as Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect
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Child Welfare Information Gateway. Penalties for Failure to Report and False Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect – California
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New York State Office of Children and Family Services. Summary Guide for Mandated Reporters in New York State
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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. Report to Congress on Immunity from Prosecution for Mandated Reporters
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Child Welfare Information Gateway. How to Report Child Abuse and Neglect