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Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) Laws by State
Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) Laws by State: compare 51 US states on 1 metric.
HealthLaw51 states · 1 metricUpdated Nov 15, 2025Original page
5 sources
- Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) Order Forms by State - eForms
- Arizona DNR Forms - Jackson White Attonerys at Law
- Rules Pertaining to the Implementation of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Directives by Emergency Medical Service Personnel - Colorado Advance Directives Consortium
- DNR – Do Not Resuscitate Orders/Bracelet - 211 of Connecticut
- Bill correcting error to allow EMS to follow DNR orders passes Ohio Senate - EMS1
Data
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51 states
 Alabama | The Alabama do not resuscitate (DNR or DNAR) order form allows a patient to avoid treatment should their heart or brain show no electrical activity. DNRs must be requested by the individual/patient (or by a health care proxy, surrogate, or attorney if they are incompetent) and… |
 Alaska | The Alaska do not resuscitate (DNR) order form is primarily used by individuals who are in the late stages of a terminal disease and do not want to be brought back to life if they die. The form may only be obtained from a licensed physician practicing in the State of Alaska. |
 Arizona | Arizona law A.R.S. 36-3251 authorizes the Prehospital Medical Care Directive, which is commonly referred to as the Do Not Resuscitate or "DNR" form. As the name indicates, the DNR instructs certain medical personnel to forgo resuscitation if the patient stops breathing or if t… |
 Arkansas | The Arkansas do not resuscitate (DNR) order form is a document used by an individual who does not wish to receive any resuscitation procedures in the event of a medical emergency. Typically, a DNR is ordered by people who are terminally ill, or who are against receiving life-p… |
 California | The California do not resuscitate order form (DNR) is a document that, when signed by a patient and their physician, will prevent EMTs, paramedics, and other emergency personnel from performing any medical procedures on an individual if their heart stops beating or they stop b… |
 Colorado | Colorado law recognizes the right of an individual to accept or refuse medical treatment, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation. An individual with decision-making capacity or his/her authorized agent may use a CPR Directive to exercise the right of informed refusal of cardi… |
 Connecticut | A valid DNR order can only be written by a Connecticut licensed physician. |
 Delaware | An individual/patient who does not wish to be resuscitated in the event of cardiac arrest has the right to make this decision, and for this reason, a DNR section is integrated within the DMOST form for this purpose. |
 District of Columbia | A Washington D.C. Medical Orders for Scope of Treatment (MOST) form is a legal document that allows people to work with physicians to make critical decisions about end-of-life care and ensure that their wishes are respected even if they are no longer conscious. The district on… |
 Florida | A Florida do not resuscitate order form (DNR or DNRO) is a document that is used by residents of Florida who suffer from incurable or irreversible medical conditions. This form states that the requester does not wish to be resuscitated in the event of respiratory or cardiac ar… |
 Georgia | The Georgia do not resuscitate (DNR) order form is a document requested by an individual who does not wish to have any resuscitation procedures performed on them in the event of cardiac or respiratory arrest. This form is reserved for patients who have a medical condition whic… |
 Hawaii | A Hawaii do not resuscitate (DNR) order is no longer its own form but a clause within Hawaii's Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) Form. The POLST form allows citizens of the State to have more control over the type of treatments and medical procedures they w… |
 Idaho | The Idaho do not resuscitate (DNR) order form has been integrated into a standardized form featuring a wider range of options concerning medical treatments and procedures for patients with terminal/serious illnesses. The POST form contains sections regarding medical interventi… |
 Illinois | An Illinois do not resuscitate (DNR) order form can be requested by residents of Illinois who wish to avoid CPR and other resuscitative procedures in the event that their heart or breathing stops. |
 Indiana | The patient's physician must approve of a DNR, confirming the patient's condition by signing the DNR form. Aside from the patient's and physician's signatures, two (2) witnesses are required to make a DNR order valid. Required to Sign Patient, physician and two (2) witnesses. |
 Iowa | The Iowa do not resuscitate (DNR) order form is a type of advance directive certified by a patient's physician alerting all medical personnel that resuscitative procedures are not to be used in the event that the patient's heart or breathing stops. |
 Kansas | A Kansas do not resuscitate (DNR) order form is a document stating a person's decision not to have any resuscitative procedures administered by medical personnel should their heart or breathing stop. Although a patient who requests a DNR will not be given CPR or other such pro… |
 Kentucky | It is the full responsibility of the patient, or their authorized representative, to request a DNR order; a physician is not required to provide confirmation of their patient's health status. Required to Sign- patient and a notary public or two (2) witnesses not related to the… |
 Louisiana | A Louisiana Do Not Resuscitate (DNR or DNAR) order form instructs any medical professional dealing with a patient not to resuscitate them in the event that they enter cardiac arrest. This document is issued by the patient's doctor after consulting with the patient or their aut… |
 Maine | The Maine do not resuscitate (DNR or DNAR) order form is a document which doctors provide to patients who do not want to be resuscitated in the event that their breathing or heartbeat stops. Once the patient has filled out the document and both they and the doctor have signed … |
 Maryland | A Maryland do not resuscitate (DNR or DNAR) order form is a document used by a patient to provide instructions not to resuscitate in the event of a cardiac or respiratory arrest. This document may be obtained from the patient's doctor or upon entry to a hospital. |
 Massachusetts | A Massachusetts do not resuscitate (DNR or DNAR) order form is a document that patients may obtain from their doctors if, for personal or health-related reasons, they do not wish to be resuscitated. This document, which may be signed on behalf of the patient by an authorized r… |
 Michigan | A Michigan do not resuscitate (DNR or DNAR) order form is a document issued by an individual in order to alert medical staff that, in the event of a cardiac arrest, they do not want to be resuscitated by CPR or other means. |
 Minnesota | The Minnesota do not resuscitate (DNR or DNAR) order form translates the wishes outlined in an individual's health care directive into a medical order. A DNR order specifically orders that if the subject's heartbeat or breathing stops, CPR should not be administered. Once issu… |
 Mississippi | A Mississippi do not resuscitate (DNR) order is used by a patient upon being admitted to any hospital in the State. This document directs the attending medical professionals to not resuscitate the patient if they have a cardiac or pulmonary arrest. The DNR order will be provid… |
 Missouri | The Missouri do not resuscitate (DNR) order form is a document that a patient fills out if they do not want life-saving procedures to be implemented in the event that they have a cardiac or respiratory arrest. The DNR order form, once completed, will be placed as the first pag… |
 Montana | The Montana do not resuscitate (DNR) order has been replaced by the Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST). A DNR order is a document that is inserted into a patient's file declaring that said patient wishes that no cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is applied… |
 Nebraska | A Nebraska do not resuscitate (DNR) order form is placed into a patient's medical record when the patient does not wish to be resuscitated in the event of a cardiac or respiratory arrest. Such orders must be filled out by the patient and signed by at least one (1) witness and … |
 Nevada | A Nevada do not resuscitate (DNR) order form is a document that instructs medical personnel not to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to the patient if their heartbeat and/or breathing stops. To issue a DNR order, the subject, or their authorized health agent, must… |
 New Hampshire | The New Hampshire do not resuscitate (DNR or DNAR) order form is a document used by a patient to record their wishes regarding resuscitation in the event of cardiac or respiratory arrest. This document will be printed on pink paper and put in their medical record. A DNR order … |
 New Jersey | A New Jersey do not resuscitate (DNR or DNAR) order form is issued by a physician by the request of a patient who is in their care. If the patient is unable to communicate or to understand the repercussions of a DNR order, a person authorized to make healthcare decisions on th… |
 New Mexico | A New Mexico do not resuscitate (DNR or DNAR) order form is issued by a physician on behalf of an adult resident (18 years of age or older) after they have properly explained its significance to the patient. One (1) signed copy of a DNR order should be kept by the patient and … |
 New York | The New York Medical Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) helps to specify a patient's wishes regarding life-sustaining treatments and is often used by those who are in the critical stages of an illness or old age. If a MOLST is indicated in the patient's medical recor… |
 North Carolina | The North Carolina do not resuscitate (DNR or DNAR) order form serves residents who wish to order medical personnel not to administer CPR on them if they have a cardiac or respiratory arrest. In accordance with the Right to Die a Natural Death Act (Article 23), a declaration t… |
 North Dakota | A North Dakota do not resuscitate (DNR) order form is used to inform medical personnel that a patient does not wish to receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). This type of order is often requested by patients suffering from end-stage medical conditions that, at the time t… |
 Ohio | An Ohio Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) Order Form tells emergency medical service providers and other health care professionals that a patient does not wish to receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in the event of cardiac or respiratory arrest. A patient with a DNR order in pl… |
 Oklahoma | The Oklahoma do not resuscitate (DNR) order form specifies a person's choice to reject cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in the event of cardiac or respiratory arrest. A patient who voluntarily executes a DNR form, or who has an authorized representative complete the documen… |
 Oregon | An Oregon do not resuscitate (DNR) order form is used to notify medical staff that a patient does not wish to receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) when experiencing a medical emergency in which no pulse or breathing is reported. Without a DNR order in place, health care… |
 Pennsylvania | A Pennsylvania do not resuscitate (DNR) order form provides an individual with the ability to avoid life-saving treatments in the event that they experience cardiac or respiratory arrest. The DNR is valid once signed by the patient (or authorized representative) and the patien… |
 Rhode Island | A Rhode Island medical order for life-sustaining treatment (MOLST) alerts health care professionals that a patient does not wish to be brought back to life through the administration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). This type of medical order will only be effective duri… |
 South Carolina | The South Carolina do not resuscitate (DNR) order form is a notice informing emergency medical service providers that no resuscitative measures shall be administered to a patient in the event they experience cardiopulmonary arrest. A DNR order may be requested by the patient o… |
 South Dakota | The South Dakota do not resuscitate (DNR) order form instructs emergency medical personnel to withhold the administration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to a patient whose heart or breathing has stopped. This type of medical order is often requested by individuals who … |
 Tennessee | The Tennessee do not resuscitate (DNR) order form informs emergency medical service providers that no cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) should be initiated on a patient. An applicant for a Tennessee DNR order must be diagnosed with a terminally ill condition in order for the… |
 Texas | A Texas do not resuscitate (DNR) order form can be used by a patient to willfully decline life-saving treatments when their heart or lungs cease to function. The order informs emergency medical personnel that the individual does not wish to receive cardiopulmonary resuscitatio… |
 Utah | A Utah do not resuscitate (DNR) order form tells emergency medical personnel not to attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on a patient who is experiencing cardiac or respiratory failure. The patient can verbally request a DNR order from their physician, or they can make … |
 Vermont | The Vermont do not resuscitate (DNR) order form is a document completed by the patient and their physician indicating that the patient does not wish to receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in the event of cardiac or respiratory arrest. The DNR order may also be issued b… |
 Virginia | The Virginia do not resuscitate (DNR) order form is a document that allows an individual to indicate that they do not wish to receive CPR in the event of cardiac or respiratory arrest. This document may be requested from the patient's physician or from another authorized medic… |
 Washington | A Washington DNR order form informs medical personnel that the patient does not wish to receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in the event of cardiac or respiratory arrest. A patient may execute a DNR order on their own behalf or through a legally authorized representati… |
 West Virginia | A West Virginia do not resuscitate (DNR) order form informs medical personnel that CPR should not be initiated in the event that a patient suffers cardiac or respiratory arrest. A DNR order may be requested by the patient or by an authorized representative. All DNR orders must… |
 Wisconsin | A Wisconsin do not resuscitate (DNR) order form, known as the DNR Bracelet or DNR Identification, informs health care providers that a patient does not wish to have cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) attempted. A patient may also indicate their wishes through an advance direc… |
 Wyoming | The Wyoming do not resuscitate (DNR) order form tells emergency medical personnel that the patient does not wish to receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in the event of cardiac or respiratory arrest. DNR orders may be executed by the patient, by a legally authorized rep… |
Quick answers
- Where does this do not resuscitate (dnr) laws by state data come from?
- Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) Order Forms by State - eForms; Arizona DNR Forms - Jackson White Attonerys at Law; Rules Pertaining to the Implementation of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Directives by Emergency Medical Service Personnel - Colorado Advance Directives Consortium; DNR – Do Not Resuscitate Orders/Bracelet - 211 of Connecticut.