Cal. CIV § 56.109
This is the official text of Cal. CIV § 56.109, part of California’s Civil Code — covers contracts, property ownership, personal rights, and other general civil obligations between private parties.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Official statutory text
(a) Notwithstanding subdivision (b) of Section 56.10, a provider of health care, health care service plan, or contractor shall not release medical information related to a person seeking or obtaining gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care or a person or entity allowing a child to receive gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care in response to any subpoena or request, including a foreign subpoena, based on another state’s law that interferes with an individual’s right to seek or obtain gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care or authorizes a person to bring a civil or criminal action against a person or entity that allows a child to receive gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section 56.10, a provider of health care, health care service plan, or contractor shall not release medical information to persons or entities who have requested that information and who are authorized by law to receive that information pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 56.10, if the information is related to an individual seeking or obtaining gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care or to a person or entity allowing a child to receive gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care, and the information is being requested pursuant to another state’s law that authorizes a person to bring a civil or criminal action against a person or entity that provides, seeks, obtains, or receives gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care or who allows a child to receive gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 56.10 or subdivision (c) of Section 56.20, a provider of health care, health care service plan, contractor, or employer shall not cooperate with any inquiry or investigation by, or provide medical information to, any individual, agency, or department from another state or, to the extent permitted by federal law, to a federal law enforcement agency that would identify an individual and that is related to an individual seeking or obtaining gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care that is lawful under the laws of this state.
(d) This section does not prohibit compliance with the investigation of activity that is punishable as a crime under the laws of this state.
(e) This section does not prohibit compliance with an audit or investigation of activity that is unlawful under the laws of this state or federal law, or with an audit, review, or investigation conducted for purposes of licensure, registration, accreditation, or certification under the laws of this state or federal law or pursuant to an accrediting organization recognized by the State Department of Public Health or the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
(f) This section does not prohibit the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from disclosing medical information of an individual to a health care facility that is run by an agency or department from another state, or to a federal law enforcement agency, for treatment purposes and direct medical care for the specified individual and is narrowly limited to the request.
(g) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1) “Gender-affirming health care” and “gender-affirming mental health care” shall have the same meanings as provided in Section 16010.2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(2) “Person” means an individual or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section 56.10, a provider of health care, health care service plan, or contractor shall not release medical information to persons or entities who have requested that information and who are authorized by law to receive that information pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 56.10, if the information is related to an individual seeking or obtaining gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care or to a person or entity allowing a child to receive gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care, and the information is being requested pursuant to another state’s law that authorizes a person to bring a civil or criminal action against a person or entity that provides, seeks, obtains, or receives gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care or who allows a child to receive gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 56.10 or subdivision (c) of Section 56.20, a provider of health care, health care service plan, contractor, or employer shall not cooperate with any inquiry or investigation by, or provide medical information to, any individual, agency, or department from another state or, to the extent permitted by federal law, to a federal law enforcement agency that would identify an individual and that is related to an individual seeking or obtaining gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care that is lawful under the laws of this state.
(d) This section does not prohibit compliance with the investigation of activity that is punishable as a crime under the laws of this state.
(e) This section does not prohibit compliance with an audit or investigation of activity that is unlawful under the laws of this state or federal law, or with an audit, review, or investigation conducted for purposes of licensure, registration, accreditation, or certification under the laws of this state or federal law or pursuant to an accrediting organization recognized by the State Department of Public Health or the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
(f) This section does not prohibit the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from disclosing medical information of an individual to a health care facility that is run by an agency or department from another state, or to a federal law enforcement agency, for treatment purposes and direct medical care for the specified individual and is narrowly limited to the request.
(g) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1) “Gender-affirming health care” and “gender-affirming mental health care” shall have the same meanings as provided in Section 16010.2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(2) “Person” means an individual or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in California?
Find a California lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.