AED laws by state: what changes at the state line

Every US state sets its own AED rules. A program can follow the same checklist in 10 states and still miss a registration rule in one of them. This article uses the CDC law fact sheet to show which parts of a program state law touches.

This article is general information, not legal advice. legal-approved disclaimer text this passage needs legal sign-off

OSHA publishes no standard that sets AED requirements. OSHA states that its standards do not address AEDs directly, and that first-aid hazards sit under general industry standard 29 CFR 1910.151. The CDC fact sheet points to state law as the place where AED program rules live.

The pattern has held for years. By 2010, all 50 states and the District of Columbia had enacted one or more AED laws. On 30 June 2017, every state had a public access defibrillation law in effect.

The CDC fact sheet lists 13 types of program intervention that state law can address. Seven of the 13 carry a best or promising evidence rating. The fact sheet records the law as of 30 June 2017, so make sure that you read the current text for each state.

The counts below come from the CDC fact sheet, with the law as of 30 June 2017. Each count answers a different question.

• Targeted placement. Thirty-eight states had laws that supported AED placement at specific locations. Twenty-five states required or authorized an AED in schools, 15 in health, fitness or athletic facilities, and 10 in state-owned or state-occupied facilities.
• Training for anticipated responders. Forty-five states included AED use training for the people likely to respond in a setting or a role.
• EMS coordination and registration. Forty states had laws on program coordination with EMS. Thirty-three states had an AED registry or a notification requirement when a unit was placed or removed.
• Response plans. Twenty-three states had laws on an emergency response plan for a cardiac arrest.
• Maintenance and testing. Forty-two states required or encouraged the maintenance and testing of AEDs. Immunity can depend on that maintenance.
• Medical oversight and quality review. Twenty states required or encouraged a licensed health care provider or another medical authority to oversee a program. Twelve states had quality improvement laws, and 19 states required clinical use reporting.
• Immunity. All states provide some form of civil immunity for AED users who act in good faith. Forty-eight states protect untrained lay rescuers.
• School training. Thirty states required or encouraged AED use training for students.

Four states authorized all seven evidence-informed interventions in the fact sheet. The rest authorized a combination. The mix changes as legislatures act, so a program that spans states needs its own comparison, not a national assumption.

Source: CDC Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) State Law Fact Sheet, with the law as of 30 June 2017. Last verified 24 September 2026. General information, not legal advice. legal-approved disclaimer text this passage needs legal sign-off

A comparison sheet ages. States change statutes, add registration rules and adjust immunity conditions. Put a review date on the sheet, and give one person the task.

Review the state legislature and the health department for each state in the comparison. Record the date of each review next to the rule it covers. A quarterly review suits a program with sites in several states. A single-state program can review once a year and after each legislative session.

The right cadence is the one the team will keep. A sheet with no review date invites a decision on old law.

1. List every state where a site operates.
2. Give each state a row for placement, registration, training, maintenance, oversight and immunity.
3. Mark each row required, encouraged or not addressed.
4. Make sure that the training records match the state's rule for anticipated responders.
5. Make sure that maintenance records exist for each unit, because immunity can depend on them.
6. Ask counsel to review the comparison before a policy or a page cites it.

The comparison belongs in the program file, next to the device list. A rule that lives in one person's memory leaves with that person.

Six columns carry the comparison:

1. State, and the statute that applies.
2. Placement rule, if one exists.
3. Registration or EMS notification rule.
4. Training rule for anticipated responders.
5. Maintenance and testing rule.
6. Immunity rule and its conditions.

A seventh column carries the review date. Keep the sheet with the device list, because the two documents answer the same audit question from different sides.

The method works for a single state too. One row still beats no row, because it puts the requirements in one place and shows the review date. A program that writes the row once spends less time relearning the rule each year.

Two questions sit outside the sheet. The first is insurance. A carrier can set its own conditions for coverage, and those conditions can sit above the state rule. Ask the insurer for the conditions in writing. The second is a local ordinance. A city or a county can add a rule for a building type, and a state sheet does not show it. Ask the local fire or building office about the sites in that area.

Both answers belong in the same program file. A state row with no insurance note and no local note is half a comparison.

State-law guidance is content and a service. ReadyAED shows no state-law screens in the product. ReadyAED does not give legal advice, and nothing on this page creates an attorney-client relationship. Compliance depends on your state and your program. legal-approved disclaimer text this passage needs legal sign-off

A state rule asks for a fact, and a record answers it. ReadyAED keeps the device record, the inspection history, the event history and the documents in one place. A failed checklist line adds a follow-up task, so the fix carries an owner.

• Compliance automation: inspection records, device history and an audit trail in one place.
• Expiry and consumables tracking: pads, batteries and rescue kits before the date passes.

ReadyAED exports a report, a CSV file and a device history. Records leave the platform in a format an auditor can read.

See the record path for your states. Book a demo, and bring the states where your units sit.

• How often should you inspect an AED?: the sources that set the inspection interval.
• How to prepare for an AED program audit: the records an auditor asks for, and the order to gather them in.
• The AED management blog: all five articles.