Privacy Law Library

Genetic Testing; Express Consent; Confidentiality (DNA analysis)

Florida Genetic Privacy Law

Genetic

Requires express consent before anyone performs DNA analysis on a person, and makes the results the tested person's exclusive property, confidential, and not disclosable without express consent. Anyone who performs the analysis or receives results must tell the person and say whether the results were used in insurance, employment, lending, credit, or education decisions.

Where
Florida
Citation
Fla. Stat. 760.40
Status
In force
Last amended
2021-10-01
Enforced by
State attorneys (criminal penalties under s. 817.5655)
People can sue
No
Penalties
No penalty in s. 760.40 itself; willful collection, analysis, disclosure, or sale without express consent is criminalized by s. 817.5655.
Applies to
  • Any person or entity that performs DNA analysis or receives DNA analysis results, public or private (760.40(2)-(3))
  • Exceptions in s. 817.5655(7): criminal investigations, court orders, federal law compliance, clinical care in defined cases, newborn screening, paternity, DNA database activity, and research conducted under federal human-subjects or HIPAA rules

What a privacy notice must say

  • Tell the tested person that analysis was performed or results were received, that results are available to the person's physician on request, and whether they were used in any insurance, employment, mortgage, loan, credit, or educational decision.Fla. Stat. 760.40(3)

Practices it requires

  • Perform DNA analysis only with express consent, meaning an affirmative, intentional authorization given after a clear and prominent disclosure of how the sample and results will be collected, used, retained, and disclosed.Fla. Stat. 760.40(1)(d), (2)
  • Treat DNA analysis results as the tested person's exclusive property and confidential; do not disclose them without express consent.Fla. Stat. 760.40(2)
  • If results contributed to a denial, repeat the analysis to verify accuracy and review the denial if the first result was wrong.Fla. Stat. 760.40(3) · Only if: Only where results were used in a decision resulting in denial

Sources

Checked against these sources on 2026-09-25 by research agent (Claude), primary sources.

Unverified: No 2025 or 2026 amendment to s. 760.40 appears in the 2026 statute history (last: ch. 2021-216). The 2025 genetic-related change was ch. 2025-96, which amended s. 381.0202 (lab sequencing software); see the separate entry. | Original enactment date (ch. 92-101) not confirmed, so effective_date is null.

Research reference, not legal advice.