Data Disposal Laws

Personal identifying information is often collected by businesses and stored in various formats, both digital and traditional paper. With identity theft a growing problem in the country, many states have passed laws that require entities to destroy, dispose, or otherwise make personal information unreadable or undecipherable, in order to protect an individual’s privacy. At least 29 states, listed below, provide laws that govern the disposal of personal data held by businesses and/or government. See also Security Breach Notification Laws and Identify Theft Statutes.

Last update October 11, 2010

Alaska	Alaska Stat. §45.48.500
Arizona	Ariz. Rev. Stat. §44-7601
Arkansas	Ark. Code Ann. §4-110-104
California	Cal. Civ. Code §1798.81
Colorado	Colo. Rev. Stat. §6-1-713
Connecticut	Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. §42-471
Georgia	Ga. Code §10-15-2
Hawaii	Haw. Rev. Stat. §487R-2
Illinois	20 ILCS 450/20
Indiana	Ind. Code §§ 24-4-14-8, 24-4.9-3-3.5(c)
Kansas	Kan. Stat. Ann. §50-7a03
Kentucky	Ky. Rev. Stat. §365.725
Massachusetts	Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 93I, §2
Maryland	Md. Code, Comm. Law §14-3507
Michigan	MCL §445.72a
Missouri	Mo. Stat. §288.360
Montana	Mont. Code Ann. §30-14-1703
Nevada	Nev. Rev. Stat. §603A.200
New Jersey	N.J. Stat. §56:8-162
New York	N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law §399-H
North Carolina	N.C. Gen. Stat. §75-64
Oregon	Ore. Rev. Stat. §646A.622
Rhode Island	R.I. Gen. Laws §6-52-2
South Carolina	S.C. Code §37-20-190
Texas	Tex. Bus. & Com. Code. Ann. §72.004
Utah	Utah Code Ann. §13-44-201
Vermont	9 Vt. Stat. Ann. §2445
Washington	Wash. Rev. Code §19.215.020
Wisconsin	Wisc. Stat. §134.97

Compiled by Jonathan Griffin. NCSL contact for more information: Pam Greenberg, NCSL Denver, pam.greenberg@ncsl.org.



Related Documents Telecommunications & IT Information Technology & Management Privacy & Security
Issues & Resources Find the NCSLstaff member who handles the issue in which you are interested. NCSLprovides access to current state and federal legislation and a comprehensive list of state documents, including state statutes, constitutions, legislative audits and research reports. Members As legislators and legislative staff, you are part of the nation's largest, most influential and only bipartisan organization of state legislators and staff.Learn about the resources NCSL has for you. NCSL offers an array of services for legislative staff. Find out what's available.

Denver Office
Tel: 303-364-7700 | Fax: 303-364-7800 | 7700 East First Place | Denver, CO 80230

Washington Office
Tel: 202-624-5400 | Fax: 202-737-1069 | 444 North Capitol Street, N.W., Suite 515 | Washington, D.C. 20001

Data Disposal Laws

Related Documents

Issues & Resources

Members