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CERTIFICATE OF MERIT BY STATE

27 of 51 jurisdictions require a filed certificate of merit. Here is the rule in each one.

Twenty-seven US jurisdictions require a merit document to be filed or served in a medical malpractice case. Ten require a pre-suit panel instead. Four require only notice or mediation, and ten require no pre-suit merit gate at all. Every row below carries its own statute or rule.

          Verified 23 August 2026·50 states and D.C.·Every row cites its own statute or rule
        

What each jurisdiction requires before you file

The category records the highest pre-suit gate, not every gate. A state in the last column may still require pre-suit notice, and every state still requires expert testimony to prove the standard of care at trial.

Affidavit or certificate

A merit document is filed or served

Panel or tribunal

A panel reviews the claim before suit

Notice or mediation

A pre-suit gate with no merit document

No merit filing

No pre-suit merit gate

Showing 51 jurisdictions

Jurisdiction	What is required	Authority	When it is due	The detail that catches people
Alabama	No merit filing	Ala. Code §6-5-551	No pre-suit merit filing	Not a merit affidavit. The complaint itself must plead each act with specificity, and §6-5-548 requires a similarly situated health care provider.
Alaska	Panel or tribunal	AS 09.55.536	Panel appointed within 20 days of the answer	A court-appointed panel of three experts reports in 30 days. Discovery is stayed while it sits.
Arizona	Affidavit or certificate	A.R.S. §12-2603	Served with Rule 26.1 initial disclosures	A preliminary expert opinion affidavit, required wherever the §12-2603(H) certification says expert testimony is necessary.
Arkansas	No merit filing	Ark. Code §16-114-209(b)(3)(A)	No pre-suit merit filing	Struck down in Summerville v. Thrower, 253 S.W.3d 415 (Ark. 2007) as conflicting with Ark. R. Civ. P. 3.
California	Notice or mediation	CCP §364; CCP §411.35	Notice at least 90 days before filing	Notice of intent to sue, with no expert certificate attached. §411.35 covers architects, engineers and land surveyors, not physicians.
Colorado	Affidavit or certificate	C.R.S. §13-20-602	Within 60 days of service	A certificate of review per licensed professional named. Extendable for good cause; the sanction is dismissal.
Connecticut	Affidavit or certificate	C.G.S. §52-190a	Attached to the complaint	A good faith certificate plus the signed written opinion of a similar health care provider. Buys a 90-day extension of the limitations period.
Delaware	Affidavit or certificate	18 Del. C. §6853	Filed with the complaint	Affidavit of merit plus the expert’s current CV, filed under seal. Without it the court will not docket the complaint.
District of Columbia	Notice or mediation	D.C. Code §16-2802; §16-2821	Notice at least 90 days before filing	Notice of intention to file suit, then court-ordered mediation before further litigation. No merit affidavit.
Florida	Affidavit or certificate	Fla. Stat. §766.203(2)	Served with the notice of intent	A verified written medical expert opinion. §766.203(3) puts the same duty on the defendant before it denies the claim.
Georgia	Affidavit or certificate	O.C.G.A. §9-11-9.1	Filed with the complaint	An expert affidavit setting out at least one negligent act and its factual basis. The 45-day grace in (b) applies only if the limitations period expires within 10 days.
Hawaii	Panel or tribunal	HRS §671-12	Before suit	A medical inquiry and conciliation panel is mandatory, and the inquiry must carry a certificate of consultation.
Idaho	Panel or tribunal	Idaho Code §6-1001	Before suit	A Board of Medicine prelitigation screening panel. Informal and non-binding, but a condition precedent to filing.
Illinois	Affidavit or certificate	735 ILCS 5/2-622	Filed with the complaint	An attorney affidavit plus a separate written health-professional report for each defendant. The reviewer must have practised or taught in the same area within 6 years.
Indiana	Panel or tribunal	Ind. Code 34-18-8	Before suit	A proposed complaint goes to the medical review panel through the Department of Insurance. Claims of $15,000 or less are excepted.
Iowa	Affidavit or certificate	Iowa Code §147.140	Within 60 days of the answer	Signed under oath by a §147.139 expert, one affidavit per defendant. Failure is dismissal with prejudice.
Kansas	No merit filing	K.S.A. 65-4901	No pre-suit merit filing	A screening panel exists but convenes only on a party’s request or the court’s motion. No certificate and no mandatory pre-filing notice.
Kentucky	Affidavit or certificate	KRS 411.167	Filed with the complaint	Effective 27 June 2019, replacing the Medical Review Panel Act struck down in Claycomb. The Kentucky Supreme Court reads it to require strict compliance.
Louisiana	Panel or tribunal	La. R.S. 40:1231.8	Before suit	A medical review panel is required against a qualified provider. The limitations period is suspended until 90 days after dismissal. Waivable by agreement.
Maine	Panel or tribunal	24 M.R.S. §2853; §2851	Notice of claim starts the case	The notice of claim is sworn, then a mandatory prelitigation screening and mediation panel reviews it. The parties can agree to skip the panel.
Maryland	Affidavit or certificate	Md. Cts. & Jud. Proc. §3-2A-04	Within 90 days	A certificate of a qualified expert plus the attesting expert’s report. That expert may not devote more than 25% of professional activities to testimony.
Massachusetts	Panel or tribunal	M.G.L. c.231 §60B	Tribunal within 15 days of the answer	A judge, a physician and an attorney hear an offer of proof. If it is insufficient the plaintiff must post a $6,000 bond to continue.
Michigan	Affidavit or certificate	MCL 600.2912d	Filed with the complaint	Affidavit of merit signed by a MCL 600.2169 expert; 28-day extension available. The MCL 600.2912b 182-day notice of intent does not itself toll the period.
Minnesota	Affidavit or certificate	Minn. Stat. §145.682	With the summons and complaint	An affidavit of expert review first, then an affidavit of expert identification within 180 days of the start of discovery.
Mississippi	Notice or mediation	Miss. Code §11-1-58	Consultation before filing	Counsel must still consult an expert, but the requirement to attach a certificate was struck as procedural in Wimley v. Reid, 991 So. 2d 135 (Miss. 2008).
Missouri	Affidavit or certificate	RSMo §538.225	Within 90 days of the petition	An affidavit of a legally qualified health care provider. Ninety more days for good cause; dismissal without prejudice on motion.
Montana	Panel or tribunal	MCA §27-6-701	Before suit	No claim may be filed until an application is made to the Montana Medical Legal Panel and its decision is rendered. The limitations period is tolled meanwhile.
Nebraska	No merit filing	Neb. Rev. Stat. §§44-2801 et seq.	No pre-suit merit filing	The Hospital-Medical Liability Act review panel is waivable by the claimant, so there is no mandatory gate and no certificate.
Nevada	Affidavit or certificate	NRS 41A.071	Filed with the complaint	An affidavit of a medical expert supporting the allegations. If it is absent the court shall dismiss without prejudice.
New Hampshire	Panel or tribunal	RSA 519-B	Before the case proceeds	A three-person screening panel is mandatory for all medical injury claims, though in practice it is often waived by agreement. No certificate of merit.
New Jersey	Affidavit or certificate	N.J.S.A. 2A:53A-27	Within 60 days of the answer	One 60-day extension for good cause. The Patients First Act (2A:53A-41) matches the affiant’s specialty; failure is treated as failure to state a cause of action.
New Mexico	Panel or tribunal	NMSA §41-5-15	Before suit, for independent providers	As amended effective 1 January 2022. Hospitals and outpatient facilities were removed from the commission on 1 July 2021. Not a jurisdictional prerequisite.
New York	Affidavit or certificate	CPLR 3012-a	Filed with the complaint	An attorney’s certificate of merit, with an alternative for three unsuccessful good faith attempts to consult. One per action regardless of defendant count.
North Carolina	Affidavit or certificate	N.C. R. Civ. P. 9(j)	Pleaded in the complaint itself	Counsel certifies that the records reasonably available were reviewed by a person reasonably expected to qualify and willing to testify. There is no discretion to excuse it.
North Dakota	Affidavit or certificate	N.D.C.C. §28-01-46	Within 3 months of commencement	An affidavit containing admissible expert opinion. Dismissal is without prejudice, but the two-year period often makes it effectively final.
Ohio	Affidavit or certificate	Ohio Civ. R. 10(D)(2)	Filed with the complaint	One affidavit relative to each defendant, and the affiant attests they reviewed the applicable medical records. Up to 90 more days on motion.
Oklahoma	No merit filing	12 O.S. §19.1	No pre-suit merit filing	Struck down in John v. Saint Francis Hospital, 2017 OK 81, as an unconstitutional court-access barrier and a special law. The third such statute to fail.
Oregon	No merit filing	ORS 31.300	No pre-suit merit filing	The pleading statute reaches construction design professionals, not physicians. Expert testimony is still required at the merits stage.
Pennsylvania	Affidavit or certificate	Pa. R.C.P. 1042.3	With the complaint or within 60 days	Three alternative forms in (a). Up to 60 more days for good cause; a defendant may praecipe for non pros under Rule 1042.7 after the Rule 1042.6 notice.
Rhode Island	No merit filing	—	No pre-suit merit filing	No certificate, affidavit, notice or panel statute. Expert testimony is still required to establish the standard of care and the breach.
South Carolina	Affidavit or certificate	S.C. Code §15-79-125; §15-36-100	Filed with the notice of intent	The expert affidavit is filed contemporaneously with the notice of intent, which tolls the limitations period. It must specify at least one negligent act and its basis.
South Dakota	No merit filing	—	No pre-suit merit filing	No certificate, affidavit or panel statute. Qualified expert testimony is still needed to establish the standard of care.
Tennessee	Affidavit or certificate	T.C.A. §29-26-122	Filed with the complaint	A certificate of good faith, alongside the §29-26-121 sixty-day pre-suit notice. Both are mandatory and neither is subject to substantial compliance.
Texas	Affidavit or certificate	Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §74.351	Within 120 days of each defendant’s answer	An expert report plus CV, carrying the three opinions named in (r)(6). A single 30-day cure only where a report was served but deficient. Dismissal is with prejudice, plus fees.
Utah	Affidavit or certificate	Utah Code §78B-3-423	Within 60 days of the panel opinion	Without the affidavit the Division may not issue a certificate of compliance, and the action is dismissed.
Vermont	Affidavit or certificate	12 V.S.A. §1042	Filed with the complaint	Applies to injuries on or after 1 February 2013, signed by a V.R.E. 702-qualified provider. Dismissal is without prejudice. Informed-consent-only claims are exempt.
Virginia	Affidavit or certificate	Va. Code §8.01-20.1	Held when service is requested	A written certification of expert opinion, produced on motion. §8.01-271.1 sanctions apply, and the court may dismiss with prejudice.
Washington	No merit filing	RCW 7.70.150	No pre-suit merit filing	Struck down in Putman v. Wenatchee Valley Medical Center, 166 Wn.2d 974 (2009), on court access and separation of powers grounds.
West Virginia	Affidavit or certificate	W. Va. Code §55-7B-6(b)	Served at least 30 days before filing	A screening certificate of merit accompanies the notice of claim. A statement of intent under (d)-(e) buys 60 days, or 120 for nursing homes and assisted living.
Wisconsin	Notice or mediation	Wis. Stat. §§655.44, 655.445	Before filing or within 15 days	Mediation is mandatory for every party and tolls the limitations period. There is no certificate of merit and no pre-litigation hearing.
Wyoming	No merit filing	2021 Wyo. Sess. Laws ch. 99 §2	No pre-suit merit filing	The medical review panel was repealed effective 1 July 2022. There is no certificate of merit and no pre-suit notice.

This chart is a research starting point, not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for reading the current statute in your jurisdiction. Deadlines and qualifying language change.

WHY THE OTHER CHARTS DISAGREE

The most-linked chart on this subject is eleven years old.

It marks North Carolina and Virginia as having no requirement. Rule 9(j) has required a pleaded certification in North Carolina since 1995, and Va. Code §8.01-20.1 has required a written certification since 2005. It also cites the wrong Texas statute for the expert report.

Three things have moved since it was published. Oklahoma’s statute was struck down in 2017. Kentucky’s Medical Review Panel Act was struck down in 2018 and replaced by a certificate of merit in 2019. Wyoming repealed its medical review panel effective 1 July 2022.

Every row above was checked against the statute, the rule, or the opinion that struck it, on 23 August 2026. We re-verify quarterly and date the page when we do.

WHAT THE DEADLINE IS ACTUALLY MEASURING

Sixty days is a reading deadline wearing a filing deadline’s clothes.

In 27 jurisdictions the merit document is written by, or on the strength of, a licensed professional who has read the chart. Ohio Civ. R. 10(D)(2)(a) says so on its face: the affiant attests that they reviewed the applicable medical records. North Carolina’s Rule 9(j) says the records reasonably available were reviewed. The extension provisions in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Missouri all exist for the same reason, and none of them buy more expert time. They buy reading time.

Medrecords AI reads the file the reviewer has to read. Every fact in the output carries the page it came from, duplicates are collapsed, and wrong-patient material is quarantined rather than summarised. The review costs 10¢ a page and starts in minutes from upload, because you already hold the records.

WHERE THE LINE IS

We do not screen merit. We do not give standard-of-care or causation opinions. We do not sign the affidavit, the certificate or the report, and we do not decide whether a case should be filed. Those are the licensed professional’s judgment and counsel’s filing. We prepare the page-cited record review they read first.

Ten states in detail

Each page carries the state’s own rulebook, the referee who reads the filing, the deadline, and what the record review produces before it goes to the signer.