Transmitting an STD in North Carolina

North Carolina has strict laws and regulations to control the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

Does North Carolina Make It a Crime to Transmit an STD?

While North Carolina doesn't have a law that specifically addresses criminal charges for knowingly spreading an STD, prosecutors can and have filed criminal charges for assault and battery in these cases. Assault and battery can involve any unlawful contact that causes or exposes another to physical injury, including infecting a person with a disease.

People living with HIV or another STD must also comply with strict regulations intended to control the spread of the disease. These regulations are discussed below. Noncompliance can result in criminal charges, even if transmission does not occur.

North Carolina's Laws on Preventing the Transmission of HIV

In North Carolina, public health officials have enacted strict regulations intended to control the spread of HIV. Anyone who doesn't follow these regulations could be prosecuted for a misdemeanor.

Control Measures for HIV

North Carolina regulations require people living with HIV to refrain from sexual intercourse except:

• when using condoms
• after having achieved viral suppression for 6 months under physician treatment, or
• when their partner is HIV positive or takes PrEP.

People living with HIV must also inform:

• future sexual partners of their HIV status before having sex (unless virally suppressed), as well as
• previous sexual or needle-sharing partners (or use contact-tracing services for these notifications).

Finally, the law prohibits people living with HIV from sharing needles or donating or selling blood, semen, eggs, tissue, or breast milk.

Penalties for a Violation

Failure to follow these regulations could result in misdemeanor charges. A conviction carries up to two years of imprisonment in a prison or correctional facility designed for the medical management of persons.

(N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 130A-25, 130A-144(f) (2025); 10A N.C. Admin. Code § 41A.0202 (2025).)

North Carolina's Laws on Preventing the Transmission of STDs

Regulations for preventing other STDs vary depending on the specific disease.

Control of Hepatisis B and C

North Carolina's regulations to prevent the transmission of Hepatitis B are similar to those for HIV. For Hepatitis C, the law prohibits infected persons from sharing needles or syringes or donating blood, plasma, or other blood products.

Control of Other STDs

For other STDs, the regulations require a person to:

• refrain from having sexual intercourse until completing treatment and all lesions heal
• be tested, treated, and reevaluated in accordance with U.S. guidelines, and
• notify sexual partners (and sometimes family members) using timing guidelines found in the regulations (or use contract-tracing services).

The STDs listed in North Carolina's regulations include syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, nongonococcal urethritis, mucopurulent cervicitis, chancroid, lymphogranuloma venereum, and granuloma inguinale.

Penalties for a Violation

Failure to follow these regulations could result in misdemeanor charges. A conviction carries up to two years of imprisonment in a prison or correctional facility designed for the medical management of persons.

(N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 130A-25, 130A-144(f) (2025); 10A N.C. Admin. Code §§ 41A.0203, 41A.0204, 41A.0214 (2025).)

Getting Legal Advice

If you face charges for transmitting or exposing another to HIV or another STD, contact a criminal defense attorney or public defender. On top of criminal penalties, North Carolina regulations permit health officials to isolate or quarantine the individual and impose other control measures.

For more questions on North Carolina's STD laws, check out state resources from the Center for HIV Law and Policy.