Quick Facts and Resources for Ohio Residents
Quick Fact: A pupil who presents a written statement of the pupil's parent or guardian in which the parent or guardian declines to have the pupil immunized for reasons of conscience, including religious convictions, is not required to be immunized. Medical exemptions are also allowed.
Other Resources: Many vaccination and exemption information links are date specific. If the links below have expired, click on the state's department of health, or immunization program link provided below, as they are likely to provide links to updated information. The General Information link leads to the overview page provided by the state at the time of this webpage's update and may also be helpful. Please email NVIC with broken link information.
- State Healthcare Worker and Patient Vaccination Laws
- State of Ohio Legislature – see applicable statutes and their hyperlinks below. Visit NVIC’s Advocacy Portalfor information on legislation introduced impacting vaccine exemption rights.
- State of Ohio Department of Health
- State of Ohio Immunization Program
- State of Ohio Vaccine Tracking System – You may also wish to contact your state’s vaccine tracking registry to determine if the ability to opt out is available.
- State of Ohio Vaccine Tracking System Opt Out Form
- State of Ohio Proposed Rule-Making – View your state’s registry to learn about proposed rule-making.
TITLE XXXIII [33] EDUCATION
CHAPTER 3313: BOARDS OF EDUCATION
[SCHOOL YEAR]
ORC Ann. § 3313.67 Immunization of pupils; records, reports.
(A)
(1) Except as provided in division (A)(2) of this section, the board of education of each city, exempted village, or local school district may make and enforce such rules to secure the immunization of, and to prevent the spread of communicable diseases among the pupils attending or eligible to attend the schools of the district, as in its opinion the safety and interest of the public require.
(2) A board of education shall not adopt rules under division (A)(1) of this section that are inconsistent with divisions (B) and (C) of section 3313.671 of the Revised Code.
(B) Boards of health, legislative authorities of municipal corporations, and boards of township trustees, on application of the board of education of the district, at the public expense, without delay, shall provide the means of immunization to pupils who are not so provided by their parents or guardians.
(C) The board of education shall keep an immunization record for each pupil, available in writing to the pupil's parent or guardian upon request, which shall include:
(1) Immunizations against the diseases mentioned in division (A) of section 3313.671 of the Revised Code;
(2) Any tuberculin tests given pursuant to section 3313.71 of the Revised Code;
(3) Any other immunizations required by the board pursuant to division (A) of this section.
(D) Annually by the fifteenth day of October, the board shall report a summary, by school, of the immunization records of all initial entry pupils in the district to the director of health, on forms prescribed by the director.
ORC Ann. § 3313.671 Proof of required immunizations - exceptions.
(A)
(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (B) of this section, no pupil, at the time of initial entry or at the beginning of each school year, to an elementary or high school for which the state board of education prescribes minimum standards pursuant to division (D) of section 3301.07 of the Revised Code, shall be permitted to remain in school for more than fourteen days unless the pupil presents written evidence satisfactory to the person in charge of admission, that the pupil has been immunized by a method of immunization approved by the department of health pursuant to section 3701.13 of the Revised Code against mumps, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, rubeola, and rubella or is in the process of being immunized.
(2) Except as provided in division (B) of this section, no pupil who begins kindergarten at an elementary school subject to the state board of education's minimum standards shall be permitted to remain in school for more than fourteen days unless the pupil presents written evidence satisfactory to the person in charge of admission that the pupil has been immunized by a department of health-approved method of immunization or is in the process of being immunized against both of the following:
(a) During or after the school year beginning in 1999, hepatitis B;
(b) During or after the school year beginning in 2006, chicken pox.
(3) Except as provided in division (B) of this section, during and after the school year beginning in 2016, no pupil who is the age or older than the age at which immunization against meningococcal disease is recommended by the state department of health shall be permitted to remain in a school subject to the state board of education's minimum standards for more than fourteen days unless the pupil presents written evidence satisfactory to the person in charge of admission that the pupil has been immunized by a department of health-approved method of immunization, or is in the process of being immunized, against meningococcal disease.
(4) As used in divisions (A)(1) , (2), and (3) of this section, "in the process of being immunized" means the pupil has been immunized against mumps, rubeola, rubella, and chicken pox, and if the pupil has not been immunized against poliomyelitis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B, and meningococcal disease, the pupil has received at least the first dose of the immunization sequence, and presents written evidence to the pupil's building principal or chief administrative officer of each subsequent dose required to obtain immunization at the intervals prescribed by the director of health. Any student previously admitted under the "in process of being immunized" provision and who has not complied with the immunization intervals prescribed by the director of health shall be excluded from school on the fifteenth day of the following school year. Any student so excluded shall be readmitted upon showing evidence to the student's building principal or chief administrative officer of progress on the director of health's interval schedule.
(B)
(1) A pupil who has had natural rubeola, and presents a signed statement from the pupil's parent, guardian, or physician to that effect, is not required to be immunized against rubeola.
(2) A pupil who has had natural mumps, and presents a signed statement from the pupil's parent, guardian, or physician to that effect, is not required to be immunized against mumps.
(3) A pupil who has had natural chicken pox, and presents a signed statement from the pupil's parent, guardian, or physician to that effect, is not required to be immunized against chicken pox.
(4) A pupil who presents a written statement of the pupil's parent or guardian in which the parent or guardian declines to have the pupil immunized for reasons of conscience, including religious convictions, is not required to be immunized.
(5) A child whose physician certifies in writing that such immunization against any disease is medically contraindicated is not required to be immunized against that disease.
(C) As used in this division, "chicken pox epidemic" means the occurrence of cases of chicken pox in numbers greater than expected in the school's population or for a particular period of time.
Notwithstanding division (B) of this section, a school may deny admission to a pupil otherwise exempted from the chicken pox immunization requirement if the director of the state department of health notifies the school's principal or chief administrative officer that a chicken pox epidemic exists in the school's population. The denial of admission shall cease when the director notifies the principal or officer that the epidemic no longer exists.
The board of education or governing body of each school subject to this section shall adopt a policy that prescribes methods whereby the academic standing of a pupil who is denied admission during a chicken pox epidemic may be preserved.
(D) Boards of health, legislative authorities of municipal corporations, and boards of township trustees on application of the board of education of the district or proper authority of any school affected by this section, shall provide at the public expense, without delay, the means of immunization against mumps, poliomyelitis, rubeola, rubella, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, and hepatitis B to pupils who are not so provided by their parents or guardians.
(E) The department of health shall specify the age at which immunization against meningococcal disease, as required by division (A)(3) of this section, is recommended, and approve a method of immunization against meningococcal disease.
TITLE XVII [17] CORPORATIONS-PARTNERSHIP
CHAPTER 1713: EDUCATIONAL CORPORATIONS
ORC Ann. § 1713.55 Meningitis and hepatitis B vaccination.
(A) As used in this section:
(1) "Nonprofit institution of higher education" or "institution" means a nonprofit college, university, or other institution that offers instruction in the arts and sciences, business administration, engineering, philosophy, literature, fine arts, law, medicine, nursing, social work, theology, and other recognized academic and professional fields of study, and awards degrees for fulfilling requirements of academic work beyond high school.
(2) "On-campus student housing" means a dormitory or other student residence that is owned or operated by or located on the campus of a nonprofit institution of higher education.
(3) "Parent" means either parent, except that if one parent has sole custody, "parent" means the parent with custody. "Parent" also includes a guardian or, in the absence of a parent or guardian, another person who has accepted responsibility for the care of the student.
(B) Beginning with the academic year that commences on or after July 1, 2005, a nonprofit institution of higher education shall not permit a student to reside in on-campus student housing unless the student, or, if the student is younger than eighteen years of age, the student's parent, discloses to the institution whether the student has been vaccinated against meningococcal meningitis and hepatitis B by submitting to the institution the meningitis and hepatitis B vaccination status statement described in div ision (B) of section 3701.133 of the Revised Code or a meningitis status statement form provided by the institution that meets the requirements of division (B) of section 3701.133 of the Revised Code. The statement may be submitted in written form or, if the institution has a secure web site, in electronic form.
(C) On receipt of an application for residence in on-campus student housing, a nonprofit institution of higher education shall do both of the following:
(1) Inform the student of the disclosure requirement;
(2) Provide the student in either written or, if the school has a secure web site, electronic form the meningitis and hepatitis B vaccination status statement described in division (B) of section 3701.133 of the Revised Code or a meningitis status statement form provided by the institution that meets the requirements of division (B) of section 3701.133 of the Revised Code.
(D) This section does not require an institution to provide or pay for a meningococcal meningitis or hepatitis B vaccination for any student.
TITLE XXXVII [37] HEALTH-SAFETY-MORALS
CHAPTER 3701: Meningococcal meningitis and hepatitis B information.
ORC Ann. § 3701.133 Meningococcal meningitis and hepatitis B information.
(A) The department of health shall make available on its web site information about the risks associated with meningococcal meningitis and hepatitis B, the availability of vaccines, and the effectiveness of the vaccines. The department shall provide written notice of the availability of meningococcal meningitis and hepatitis B information on the web site to all of the following:
(1) Each city, local, exempted village, or joint vocational school district, as defined in Chapter 3311. of the Revised Code;
(2) Each nonpublic school, whether chartered, nonchartered, or nontax supported, that enrolls students in ninth grade or the equivalent educational level;
(3) Each community school created under section 3314.01 of the Revised Code, that enrolls students in ninth grade or the equivalent educational level;
(4) Each state institution of higher education, as defined in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code;
(5) Each nonprofit institution of higher education, as defined in section 1713.55 of the Revised Code;
(6) Each private career school, as defined in section 3332.01 of the Revised Code.
(B) In addition to the information provided for in division (A) of this section, the department of health shall make available on its web site, in a format suitable for downloading, a meningitis and hepatitis B vaccination status statement form for a student or, if the student is younger than eighteen years of age, the student's parent, to complete to disclose whether the student has been vaccinated against meningococcal meningitis and hepatitis B. The form shall include all of the following:
(1) The information described in division (A) of this section and a means for the student or the student's parent to acknowledge having received and read the information;
(2) A space for the student or the student's parent to indicate one of the following:
(a) The student has been vaccinated against meningococcal meningitis, and the year the vaccination was given.
(b) The student has not been vaccinated against meningococcal meningitis.
(3) A space for the student or the student's parent to indicate one of the following:
(a) The student has been vaccinated against hepatitis B, and the year the vaccination was given.
(b) The student has not been vaccinated against hepatitis B.
TITLE LI [51] PUBLIC WELFARE
CHAPTER 1713: CHILD DAY-CARE
ORC Ann. § 5104.014 Medical statement of immunization.
(A) As used in this section:
(1) "Child" includes both of the following:
(a) An infant, toddler, or preschool age child;
(b) A school-age child who is not enrolled in a public or nonpublic school but is enrolled in a child day-care center, type A family day-care home, or licensed type B family day-care home or receives child care from a certified in-home aide.
(2) "In the process of being immunized" means having received at least the first dose of an immunization sequence and complying with the immunization intervals or catch-up schedule prescribed by the director of health.
(B) Except as provided in division (C) of this section, not later than thirty days after enrollment in a child day-care center, type A family day-care home, or licensed type B family day-care home and every thirteen months thereafter while enrolled in the center or home and not later than thirty days after beginning to receive child care from a certified in-home aide and every thirteen months thereafter while continuing to receive child care from the aide, each child's caretaker parent shall provide to the center, home, or in-home aide a medical statement, as described in division (D) of this section, indicating that the child has been immunized against or is in the process of being immunized against all of the following diseases:
(1) Chicken pox;
(2) Diphtheria;
(3) Haemophilus influenzae type b;
(4) Hepatitis A;
(5) Hepatitis B;
(6) Influenza;
(7) Measles;
(8) Mumps;
(9) Pertussis;
(10) Pneumococcal disease;
(11) Poliomyelitis;
(12) Rotavirus;
(13) Rubella;
(14) Tetanus.
(C)
(1) A child is not required to be immunized against a disease specified in division (B) of this section if any of the following is the case:
(a) Immunization against the disease is medically contraindicated for the child;
(b) The child's parent or guardian has declined to have the child immunized against the disease for reasons of conscience, including religious convictions;
(c) Immunization against the disease is not medically appropriate for the child's age
(2) In the case of influenza, a child is not required to be immunized against the disease if the seasonal vaccine is not available.
(D)
(1) The medical statement shall include all of the following information:
(a) The dates that a child received immunizations against each of the diseases specified in division (B) of this section;
(b) Whether a child is subject to any of the exceptions specified in division (C) of this section.
(2) The medical statement shall include a component where a parent or guardian may indicate that the parent or guardian has declined to have the child immunized.
Below are state statutes relating to minor consent for this state; however, there may be additional statutes NVIC is unaware of, and readers may need to do additional research and/or obtain additional legal advice. NVIC doesn't provide legal advice and provides the below for informational purposes only. NVIC provides additional resource information in our FAQ on Vaccination in School-Based Health Clinics, should readers have concerns about the vaccination of their child without parental knowledge or consent this school setting.
Ohio Revised Code
Title 31 Domestic Relations – Children
Chapter 3109
All persons of the age of eighteen years or more, who are under no legal disability, are capable of contracting and are of full age for all purposes.