The Ohio Immunization Exemption Form: Types, Filing, and Childcare Rules

To file an Ohio immunization exemption form, submit a signed written statement to your child’s school or licensed childcare center that lists each vaccine you are declining and states your reason — either a conscience or religious objection (your signature alone is enough) or a medical contraindication (which must be certified in writing by a physician). You have 14 days from your child’s initial enrollment or the start of the school year to get the paperwork on file. Miss that window and the school can exclude the child until you comply.1Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 3313.671 – Proof of Required Immunizations – Exceptions

Which Exemption Applies to Your Child

Ohio Revised Code 3313.671 recognizes two main exemption categories, plus a narrow natural-immunity provision for three specific diseases. Pick the one that fits before you draft anything, because the required contents of the statement differ.

Conscience or Religious Objection

If you object to a vaccine for reasons of conscience, including religious conviction, a written statement from you is all the law requires. Ohio folds philosophical and religious objections into the same provision, and you do not have to justify or explain your beliefs. No notary. No online education module. No signature from a healthcare provider.1Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 3313.671 – Proof of Required Immunizations – Exceptions

Medical Contraindication

When a vaccine is medically contraindicated, a physician must certify that fact in writing. The certification is vaccine-specific: if only one immunization poses a risk, the exemption covers only that one and your child still needs the rest.1Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 3313.671 – Proof of Required Immunizations – Exceptions

Prior Natural Infection

For rubeola (measles), mumps, or chicken pox, a signed statement from the parent, guardian, or physician confirming the child already had the disease exempts the child from the corresponding vaccine. The statute does not require lab results. The provision applies only to those three diseases — it does not extend to polio, hepatitis B, or any other required immunization.1Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 3313.671 – Proof of Required Immunizations – Exceptions

What Your Written Statement Must Include

Ohio does not publish a single mandatory statewide form. The law requires a written statement meeting specific criteria, and that statement can appear on a form your district supplies or on a letter you write yourself. Either way, the content is what matters.

For a conscience or religious exemption, include:

  • Your child’s full legal name, date of birth, and the school or childcare center where the child is enrolling.
  • The specific vaccines being declined, named individually (for example, “MMR” and “Varicella”) rather than a blanket refusal.
  • A clear statement that you are declining those vaccines for reasons of conscience or religious conviction. One sentence is enough.
  • Your signature as parent or guardian, and the date.

For a medical exemption, you still provide the child’s identifying information, but the vaccine-specific portion comes from your physician. The physician’s certification needs to:

  • Identify the specific vaccine that is contraindicated and briefly state that it poses a medical risk to the child.
  • Carry the physician’s signature, printed name, and contact information.

Attach the physician’s certification to the same form or letter containing your child’s enrollment details. Some districts build a dedicated physician signature line into their standard form.1Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 3313.671 – Proof of Required Immunizations – Exceptions

For a prior-infection exemption, a signed statement from you or the physician identifying the disease the child had (measles, mumps, or chicken pox) is sufficient under the statute. A school may ask for additional documentation, but the law itself does not require it.1Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 3313.671 – Proof of Required Immunizations – Exceptions

When you list the vaccines you’re declining, use the names from the state’s required school immunization list: DTaP, hepatitis B, MMR, polio (IPV), varicella, Tdap, and meningococcal. You can decline all of them or only certain ones. Partial exemptions are fine; just name what you’re declining.2Ohio Department of Health. Ohio Immunization Summary for School Attendance

Where to Get a Form

Start with your child’s school. Many districts hand out their own exemption form at enrollment, often with checkboxes for each vaccine and a signature block. The Ohio Department of Health also publishes immunization resources at odh.ohio.gov. If neither option produces a form you want to use, draft your own letter addressed to the school principal or administrator. As long as it contains the elements above, it satisfies the statute.

Where and When to Submit It

Deliver the completed statement to the school office. The school nurse or principal’s office typically handles immunization records. For licensed childcare, give the paperwork to the center’s administrator during registration.

The deadline is strict. Ohio law gives students 14 days from initial entry or the start of each school year to present proof of immunization or a valid exemption. A student who hasn’t produced either by day 15 can be excluded from school.1Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 3313.671 – Proof of Required Immunizations – Exceptions The safest move is to submit the statement at enrollment or before the first day of class. For a mid-year transfer, file on the day of enrollment.

Keep a copy. The statute references “initial entry or at the beginning of each school year,” and some districts ask parents to reconfirm the exemption annually. Having your original on file prevents a last-minute scramble.

What Happens After You File

Once the school accepts the statement, it updates your child’s immunization record to reflect the exempted status, and the child attends school normally without the declined vaccines.

There is one situation where an accepted exemption still leads to exclusion. If the director of the Ohio Department of Health notifies a school’s principal that a chicken pox epidemic exists in the school’s population, the school may deny admission to students exempt from the varicella vaccine until the director declares the epidemic over. Schools using this exclusion must adopt a policy for preserving the excluded student’s academic standing during the absence. The statute names chicken pox specifically; it does not grant the same outbreak-exclusion authority for other diseases.1Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 3313.671 – Proof of Required Immunizations – Exceptions

If Your Child Is in Licensed Childcare

Children in licensed childcare centers fall under a separate statute, Ohio Revised Code 5104.014. The exemption categories mirror the school rules — a medical contraindication certified by a physician, or a parent’s written statement declining vaccines for conscience or religious reasons — and the childcare statute adds exemptions when a vaccine is not age-appropriate and when the seasonal influenza supply is unavailable.3Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 5104.014 – Medical Statement of Immunization The process is the same: sign the statement, identify the declined vaccines, and give it to the childcare administrator. Because younger children are often mid-series, ask the provider which vaccines are actually due for your child’s current age rather than exempting from the full K–12 list.