Nursing Home Camera Laws by State (2026): Granny Cam Rights
At least 18 states give a nursing home or long-term care resident a legal right to install a camera in their own room, sometimes called a "granny cam" law. In roughly 32 states, no such statute exists, and a facility's own policy controls. Two states often listed as granny-cam states, New Jersey and Arizona, are not among the 18.
Information last verified on 2026-08-13. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.
This page covers the 18 states with an enacted electronic-monitoring statute for nursing home or long-term care residents, the states most often mistaken for having one, the practical reality in a state with no statute, and the evidence value of camera footage in an abuse or neglect claim. It does not cover recording a caregiver in a private home; see Nanny Cam Laws for that.
Which States Have a Nursing Home Camera Law?
Eighteen states have passed a law or adopted an agency regulation specifically addressing a resident's right to operate an electronic monitoring device in their own room. Every one of these laws shares a similar structure: a resident or representative requests or authorizes the device, a roommate in a shared room generally has to consent separately, and the facility has to post some form of notice. The details, and how strictly each state enforces them, vary considerably.
| State | Statute | Who May Request Monitoring | Roommate Consent | Notice |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connecticut | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 19a-550b (Public Act 21-55, 2021; extended to residential care homes by 2026 HB 5142, eff. Oct. 1, 2026) | Resident, using technology of their own choosing | Written consent required, at least 7 days before installation under the 2026 amendment | Consent forms developed by the state's Long-Term Care Ombudsman program |
| Illinois | 210 ILCS 32 (Authorized Electronic Monitoring in Long-Term Care Facilities Act) | Resident | Required | Facility must post notice; a separate notice to visitors is also required |
| Kansas | K.S.A. § 39-981 | Resident, by notifying the adult care home | Required, on a secretary-prescribed form, for shared rooms | Conspicuous notice required at both the facility entrance and the resident's own room door |
| Louisiana | La. R.S. §§ 40:1193.1-1193.5 | Resident or roommate, at any time during residency | Required; if a roommate refuses, the facility must offer to move either resident to another shared room | Facility must notify the resident of the right at admission and keep a record of the resident's choice |
| Michigan | MCL § 333.21788 et seq. (2022 PA 187) | Resident or representative | Written consent required | Notice posted on the resident's door |
| Minnesota | Minn. Stat. § 144.6502 | Resident, or a representative in priority order (guardian, then health care agent, then a person the resident designated in writing) | Required in writing; a roommate may withdraw consent at any time | Facility must post notice at every entrance |
| Missouri | RSMo §§ 198.610-198.632 | Resident, guardian, or legal representative | Each roommate signs a consent form before installation | State consent-form process |
| Nevada | NRS § 449A.182, § 449A.184 ("Henry's Law") | Patient in a skilled nursing facility, or a guardian or power-of-attorney agent | Not detailed in the sources reviewed for this guide | Not detailed in the sources reviewed for this guide |
| New Mexico | NMSA 1978, ch. 24, art. 26 (Patient Care Monitoring Act) | Patient or legal surrogate | Required, with an accommodation procedure if a roommate refuses | Facility must be given notice of installation |
| North Dakota | N.D. Cent. Code ch. 50-10.2 | Not independently confirmed for this guide; contact the facility or the state's long-term care ombudsman for current procedure | Not independently confirmed | Not independently confirmed |
| Ohio | Ohio Rev. Code §§ 3721.60-3721.65 ("Esther's Law") | Resident or representative, on a facility-prescribed authorization form | Required | Posted notice required |
| Oklahoma | 63 O.S. §§ 1-1953.1 to 1-1953.7 | Resident or representative, on a state-prescribed consent form | Required on the same form; a roommate may condition consent on the camera pointing away from them | State-prescribed notice process |
| Rhode Island | R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-17.29 | Resident, on a RIDOH-prescribed consent form | Required | State-prescribed notice process |
| South Dakota | S.D. Codified Laws tit. 34, ch. 12I | Resident, through a consent-form process | Dedicated roommate-consent and refusal/relocation provisions | Dedicated notice-requirements section |
| Texas | Tex. Health & Safety Code ch. 242, subch. R | Resident or guardian/legal representative | Required, through the state's consent-form process | Facility must post notice |
| Utah | Utah Code § 26B-2-236 (assisted living facilities and secure memory care units only, see below) | Resident or legal representative | Required in writing, specifying the hours each roommate consents to monitoring | Signage is optional for the facility, not mandatory |
| Virginia | 12 VAC 5-371-191 (Dept. of Health regulation) | Resident, or a legal representative if the resident is adjudicated incompetent | Written consent required for visual recording | Notice posted at the resident's room entrance |
| Washington | WAC 388-97-0400 (Dept. of Social and Health Services regulation) | Resident, only after identifying a specific threat to health, safety, or property | Mandatory written consent; monitoring must stop immediately on objection | Facility must reevaluate the need in writing every quarter |
Washington's and Virginia's rules come from state agency regulations, not a bill passed by the legislature. Both function similarly to the other 16 states for a resident deciding whether to request a camera, but describing either as "the state legislature passed a granny-cam law" would be inaccurate.
For North Dakota and Nevada's post-2025-amendment rule, confirm the current consent and notice procedure directly with the facility or the relevant state agency before relying on the specifics; this guide's research could confirm the underlying statute exists but not every mechanic.
New Jersey and Arizona: Why They Are Not on This List
New Jersey and Arizona show up repeatedly in casual "states with granny cam laws" lists. Neither belongs there as of August 2026.
New Jersey has no enacted electronic-monitoring statute. What it has is the Division of Consumer Affairs' Safe Care Cam program, running since December 2016, which loans micro-surveillance cameras for 30 days (extendable) to a family that suspects abuse or neglect, originally for private in-home care and later expanded to nursing homes and other institutional settings. That is an administrative loan program, not a legal right to install a camera, and it does not create consent, notice, or roommate-consent rules the way the 18 states above do. Several bills that would have created a statutory right, most recently A805 (introduced January 2026), have not passed.
Arizona has no statute giving a resident or family the right to install a camera either. A bill that would have created that right, HB 2914, died in committee in the 2026 session; SB 1041 also failed. The bill that did pass, SB 1564, signed by Governor Hobbs in June 2026, only requires assisted living and skilled nursing facilities to disclose to the Arizona Department of Health Services whether they allow residents or families to install monitoring devices with consent. It does not create a right to do so; each facility still sets its own policy.
Two other states worth a caution rather than a table entry: Maryland has only 2003 Department of Health guidance directing non-binding electronic-monitoring guidelines, not a statutory resident right, and a separate pending bill package would mandate common-area surveillance for abuse detection, a different concept from an individual in-room camera right. Wisconsin has agency guidance and a temporary camera-loan program for suspected abuse, not a standing statutory right. North Carolina has only an introduced 2025 bill (H591).
Three Laws Worth a Closer Look
New Mexico's felony penalty. Under the Patient Care Monitoring Act, intentionally tampering with, obstructing, or destroying a monitoring device or its recordings is a fourth-degree felony. Every other state in this group treats interference as a civil, licensing, or administrative matter; New Mexico is the only one that reaches for a felony criminal charge.
Nevada's waiver-and-release model. Henry's Law does not use the consent-and-notice structure the other 17 states use. Instead, the person requesting a camera on a skilled nursing patient's behalf must affirmatively waive the patient's right to privacy and agree to release the facility from liability connected to the device's use. That shifts legal risk in a fundamentally different direction than a state that simply requires notice and roommate sign-off.
Utah's scope limit. Utah Code § 26B-2-236 applies only to an assisted living facility or a secure memory care unit inside a nursing care facility, not a general nursing-facility room. A family whose relative is in a standard nursing facility room in Utah, outside memory care, is not covered by this statute at all.
Enforcement: What Happens If a Facility Interferes With a Camera
Most of the 18 states enforce interference through a civil or licensing path rather than a criminal one. Minnesota's health commissioner can issue correction orders and impose fines up to $500 per violation for noncompliance with the law's notice, filing, accommodation, or signage requirements. Illinois's Authorized Electronic Monitoring in Long-Term Care Facilities Act includes a dedicated section addressing obstruction of monitoring devices and makes recordings admissible in abuse and neglect proceedings. South Dakota's chapter likewise includes a dedicated device-destruction section and an anti-retaliation prohibition.
New Mexico is the outlier described above: a fourth-degree felony for intentional tampering, obstruction, or destruction, the only criminal-felony penalty specifically for camera interference found among these 18 states. In Washington and Virginia, because the rule is an agency regulation rather than a statute, a facility that interferes routes through the state's licensing process and the Long-Term Care Ombudsman complaint channel rather than through a court.
If Your State Has No Camera Law
For the roughly 32 states without a specific statute, no federal law fills the gap either way. Federal nursing home regulations under 42 CFR Part 483 govern facility conduct, such as staffing levels and care planning, not a family's own recording equipment. In a no-statute state, most facilities set their own internal camera policy and can make written consent a condition of the admission agreement, or decline to allow a camera at all, since no state law overrides that discretion in either direction.
If a family installs a camera anyway, without a facility policy permitting it, exposure runs through the state's general wiretap and voyeurism law rather than a nursing-home-specific statute, the same one-party or all-party consent framework that governs a recording made in any other shared living space. See US Recording Laws by State for how that framework works state by state. A roommate's own privacy interest in a shared room is a real, live issue in a no-statute state, with no nursing-home-specific rule available to resolve it the way Kansas's, Louisiana's, or Utah's roommate-consent provisions do.
"Electronic monitoring devices, including security cameras and audio devices, may be present to record persons and activities." Notice language required at every facility entrance under Minnesota Statutes § 144.6502 (verified 2026-08-13)
Using Camera Footage as Evidence of Abuse or Neglect
Camera footage that appears to show abuse or neglect can support a report to the state's long-term care ombudsman or Adult Protective Services, and it can support a civil claim. Illinois's and Michigan's statutes specifically address using monitoring recordings in abuse or neglect proceedings, which is one reason lawmakers cite for these laws beyond a family's peace of mind. Footage on its own does not establish that a claim is viable; it is typically reviewed alongside the resident's medical and facility records, the care plan, staffing records, and billing history. For a broader look at how a nursing home abuse or neglect claim works, see Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect.
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Related Resources
- Surveillance Camera Laws by State covers the general legal framework for security cameras, hidden cameras, and audio consent that applies outside a nursing home setting.
- Nanny Cam Laws covers the closely related question of recording a caregiver inside a private home.
- Landlord Security Camera Laws covers what cameras a landlord may install in a shared or rented living space, a useful comparison for a facility's common-area cameras.
- Workplace Surveillance Camera Laws covers when a facility can record its own staff.
- Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect covers how an abuse or neglect claim works once evidence, including camera footage, is in hand.
- US Recording Laws by State covers the general one-party and all-party consent framework that applies in the roughly 32 states without a nursing-home-specific camera statute.
Last updated: 2026-08-13.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it legal to put a camera in a nursing home room?
In the 18 states with an electronic-monitoring statute, yes, generally at the resident's or representative's request, usually with roommate consent and posted notice. In the other states, the facility's own policy controls, and no state or federal law creates a right to install one.
Can a nursing home in New Jersey stop me from installing a camera?
New Jersey has no statute giving residents a right to a camera. The state's Safe Care Cam program lends micro-surveillance cameras to families who suspect abuse, but a facility that declines a camera outside that program is not violating a New Jersey statute.
Does Arizona let families put cameras in nursing home rooms?
No Arizona statute creates a right to install one. SB 1564, signed by Governor Hobbs in June 2026, only requires long-term care facilities to disclose to the state health department whether they allow monitoring devices; each facility still sets its own policy on whether to allow one.
What happens if my roommate refuses to consent to the camera?
It depends on the state. Louisiana and New Mexico require the facility to offer to move one of the residents to another shared room. Kansas lets the facility deactivate the device if a roommate withdraws consent and the resident does not remove it. Check the specific state's rule in the table above.
Can a nursing home retaliate against a resident for requesting a camera?
States with an enacted electronic-monitoring statute generally bar the facility from refusing admission, discharging, or otherwise retaliating against a resident over a monitoring request. That statutory protection does not exist in a state with no electronic-monitoring law.
Is it a crime to unplug or block a nursing home camera?
Only in New Mexico is intentionally tampering with, obstructing, or destroying a monitoring device a felony. Most other states with a statute handle interference through civil correction orders, fines, or a licensing complaint rather than a criminal charge.
Can nursing home camera footage be used as evidence in a lawsuit?
Footage can support an abuse or neglect investigation or claim, and a few states' statutes (Illinois, Michigan) specifically address using monitoring recordings in abuse and neglect proceedings. A recording alone does not establish that a claim is viable; it is evaluated alongside medical, staffing, and care-plan records.
Does my state have a nursing home camera law?
As of August 2026, 18 states do: Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Washington. See the table above for each state's specific consent, roommate-consent, and notice rules.
Updates
Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources
Sources and References
- Minnesota Statutes § 144.6502, Electronic Monitoring in Long-Term Care Facilities(revisor.mn.gov).gov
- Washington Administrative Code 388-97-0400, Electronic Monitoring(app.leg.wa.gov).gov
- Virginia Administrative Code 12 VAC 5-371-191, Electronic Monitoring(law.lis.virginia.gov).gov
- Missouri Revised Statutes § 198.610, Authorized Electronic Monitoring in Long-Term Care Facilities Act(revisor.mo.gov).gov
- Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 242, Subchapter R, Electronic Monitoring of Resident's Room(statutes.capitol.texas.gov).gov
- Illinois Department on Aging, Authorized Electronic Monitoring Brochure(ilaging.illinois.gov).gov
- Ohio Department of Aging, Esther's Law(aging.ohio.gov).gov
- Utah Code § 26B-2-236, Monitoring Devices in Assisted Living Facilities and Secure Memory Care Units(le.utah.gov).gov
- Connecticut Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, Resident Technology and Camera Use in Long Term Care(portal.ct.gov).gov
- New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, Safe Care Cam Program(njconsumeraffairs.gov).gov
- Arizona SB 1564 (2026), Electronic Monitoring; Long-Term Care(azleg.gov).gov
- New Mexico Patient Care Monitoring Act, NMSA 1978, Chapter 24, Article 26 (analysis)(pksdnm.com)
- Fox5 Las Vegas, New Nevada law allows cameras in assisted living facilities(fox5vegas.com)
- Connecticut Public, New CT law allows for cameras in residential care facilities(ctpublic.org)