Seventeen states currently allow philosophical vaccine exemptions by state law, letting parents decline some or all required school immunizations based on personal or moral beliefs rather than a medical condition or religious doctrine. The states are Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.1National Conference of State Legislatures. State Non-Medical Exemptions From School Immunization Requirements Every other state limits non-medical exemptions to religious belief, or allows no non-medical exemption at all.
Caveats Inside the List
The seventeen-state list is accurate but flat, and a few states carry conditions that matter before you file.
Washington removed its personal belief exemption for the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine in 2019. The exemption remains available for every other required vaccine, but not that one.
Pennsylvania sets a higher threshold than most. A parent has to assert a “strong moral or ethical conviction similar to a religious belief,” not a general preference against vaccination.2Pennsylvania Department of Education. Basic Education Circulars – School Immunization Requirements
West Virginia is the newest addition, following a 2025 executive order that authorized non-medical exemptions where none had previously existed.
States Where the Exemption No Longer Exists
If you’re moving or comparing states, know where the door is closed. Four states prohibit all non-medical exemptions from school immunization requirements: California (2015), Maine (2019), New York (2019), and Connecticut (2021).1National Conference of State Legislatures. State Non-Medical Exemptions From School Immunization Requirements Maine and Connecticut grandfathered students who already held exemptions before the cutoff, so some students in those states still attend under older filings. A philosophical exemption issued in a state that allows them does not transfer into one of these four. Parents moving into California, Maine, New York, or Connecticut should expect to vaccinate or obtain a medical exemption from a physician.
What You Actually File
The core document in most states is a written statement or state-issued form that identifies the student, names the specific vaccines being declined, and states the parent’s objection. Beyond that, the process ranges from almost casual to notarized and bureaucratic. Rejected exemptions are usually rejected for small paperwork problems: a missing field, the wrong form, vague language, no signature in the right place. Administrators have little room to overlook any of it.
Texas is on the demanding end. The state requires an official affidavit, formally titled the “Affidavit Exemption from School or Child-Care Immunizations for Reasons of Conscience,” which must be notarized before it goes to the child’s school or childcare facility.3Texas Department of State Health Services. Texas Immunization Exemptions Parents can download the blank form from the DSHS website or request a printed copy by mail. Texas caps the notary fee at $10 for the first signature.4State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 161 – Public Health Provisions Notary fees elsewhere run from about $2 to $25, with most states falling between $5 and $15.
Ohio is on the simple end. A parent or guardian submits a written statement declining immunization for reasons of conscience, and the student is excused.5Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 3313.671 – Proof of Required Immunizations – Exceptions No notary, no state-issued form, though the statement has to be on file with the school.
Once filed, ask for a date-stamped copy or written receipt. If the exemption hasn’t been entered into the school’s system by the first day of class, the receipt proves you submitted on time.
States That Require Vaccine Education First
Several states have added an education step that has to be completed before the exemption is valid. This is where the timeline stretches, and parents who start the process in August often miss the start of school.
Colorado gives parents two routes: an online immunization education module from the state, or a consultation with a qualified healthcare provider who will sign the Certificate of Nonmedical Exemption. Providers are not required to sign, so parents whose doctors decline can use the online module.6Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Certificate of Nonmedical Exemption
Oregon requires parents to complete an internet-based vaccine education module from the state’s Public Health Division. The module covers the benefits and risks of each vaccine being declined, consistent with CDC information. A certificate of completion is generated at the end and must be submitted with the exemption form.7Legal Information Institute. Oregon Administrative Code 333-050-0410 – Vaccine Education Module
Michigan requires the education to happen in person. Parents receive information about vaccine benefits and disease risks from a county health department, which then issues a certified nonmedical waiver form.8Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Immunization Waiver Information for Local Health Departments The school cannot process it alone. During summer enrollment season, scheduling that county appointment is often the bottleneck.
Renewal
A filed exemption is not always permanent. Colorado’s Certificate of Nonmedical Exemption expires every year on June 30 for K-12 students, so parents repeat the process annually.6Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Certificate of Nonmedical Exemption Other states require a fresh filing at school transitions, like entering kindergarten, middle school, or college. Some states accept one filing for the full duration of enrollment at a single school and only require a new one on transfer.
Keep both paper and digital copies of every filed exemption and every education module certificate. Schools audit immunization records, and being able to produce documentation quickly matters.
The Exemption Can Be Suspended in an Outbreak
A philosophical exemption does not guarantee uninterrupted attendance. State laws authorize health officials to exclude unvaccinated students from school during an outbreak or threatened outbreak of a vaccine-preventable disease.9Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. State School Immunization Requirements and Vaccine Exemption Laws Several states require parents to acknowledge this on the exemption form itself. Arkansas requires a signed statement acknowledging that an unimmunized child may be removed from school during an outbreak at the health department’s discretion.
Exclusion lasts until the local health officer decides the student is no longer at risk, which means there is no fixed return date. In areas with low vaccination rates, where outbreaks are more likely, parents should have a backup plan for keeping schoolwork going.
Private Schools and Colleges Are a Separate Question
In states that ban all non-medical exemptions, the ban applies to private and public schools alike. In the seventeen states that still allow philosophical exemptions, the picture is less clear. Some state statutes apply exemption rules to all schools; others are ambiguous enough that a private school may require full vaccination as a condition of enrollment even when the public school down the street would have to accept the exemption. Ask the private school directly rather than assuming state law carries over.
At the college level, at least 34 states and the District of Columbia require some form of vaccination for college students, and at least 22 states specifically require meningococcal vaccination for students in on-campus housing.10National Conference of State Legislatures. State Vaccine Requirements for College Entry Most of these states permit the same non-medical exemptions as K-12, but not all. Indiana offers only a religious exemption for campus housing residents. Ohio requires students in campus housing to disclose their meningococcal and hepatitis B vaccination status but does not mandate the vaccines themselves. Beyond state law, individual colleges set their own policies, and those can exceed what the state requires. A valid state exemption may not satisfy a particular university’s health services or housing policy.
When Separated Parents Disagree
Philosophical exemptions get legally complicated when parents share legal custody and disagree on vaccination. Shared legal custody usually means both parents hold the right to make major medical decisions, so neither can unilaterally file an exemption or compel vaccination over the other’s objection.
Disputes that can’t be resolved privately end up in family court. A parent can petition to modify custody or request a specific decision-making carve-out for vaccination. Courts apply the best-interest-of-the-child standard and weigh the circumstances individually. There is no default rule favoring either vaccination or exemption; the outcome turns on the facts of the case and the judge’s analysis.