Certificate-of-need laws are regulatory laws that aim to control the number of healthcare resources in a specific geographic area.
CON laws can vary greatly by state, with several states actively reviewing legislation that could shift CON in the 2026 legislative session.
On Dec. 12, 2025, the National Academy for State Health Policy updated its database of CON laws across all 50 states. Here’s a list of states that do and do not have CON laws in 2026.
CON states:
Alabama
Alaska
Arkansas
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kentucky
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
Washington, D.C.
West Virginia
Non-CON states
Arizona
California
Colorado
Idaho
Kansas
Louisiana
New Hampshire
New Mexico
North Dakota
Pennsylvania
South Dakota
Texas
Utah
Wisconsin
Wyoming
You can read more about each state’s specific CON laws here.
