Part 2 law-enforcement-requested diagnosis exception

Editorial approval scope: The team checked current source fidelity, scope boundaries, dates, arithmetic, reader usefulness, practical workflow, and general-information limitations.

Current rule checkpoint

The live exception in 42 CFR 2.12(e)(4)(i) excludes a diagnosis from the diagnosis-coverage explanation when it is made on behalf of and at the request of a law-enforcement agency or official or a court of competent jurisdiction solely to provide evidence. Each condition matters. eCFR displays the section as current through August 20, 2026 and last amended August 13, 2026. The HHS fact sheet confirms the February 16, 2026 compliance date for the amended framework.

Sole purpose is a demanding gate

The current diagnosis provision uses a narrow evidence-purpose condition. Record the written request, issuing authority, jurisdiction, legal basis, question, patient, evaluator, scope, purpose, service, date, report, recipient, and any treatment or referral activity.

Mixed purposes need careful classification

A forensic evaluation can lead to safety action, clinical advice, treatment, referral, or another use. Qualified counsel and the responsible clinician should classify mixed work, role changes, informed-consent duties, privilege, state law, court rules, and record boundaries.

The exception does not answer every disclosure question

Verify whether source materials include Part 2 records, how they were obtained, criminal-use restrictions, consent, court-order requirements, redisclosure notices, testimony limits, retention, access, correction, and security.

Verify the engagement before evaluation

Retain the written request, issuing agency, official or court, jurisdiction, authority, patient, evaluator, question, sole evidence purpose, scope, recipient, dates, payment, and report terms. Authenticate the requester independently and confirm that the court is competent for the matter. A party's attorney, employer, probation contact, insurer, or informal officer request may present different facts.

Give the patient an accurate explanation of evaluator role, confidentiality limits, intended recipient, mandatory reporting, emergency response, records, and whether treatment is offered, consistent with law and professional standards. Avoid presenting a forensic evaluator as a treating clinician.

Protect the sole-purpose boundary

Create a change-control rule for treatment advice, referral, medication action, safety intervention, crisis response, or a new recipient. If the engagement acquires another purpose, pause and reclassify the work with qualified clinical and legal owners. Do not preserve the exception by describing mixed work as evidence only.

Separate the forensic report from treatment records, scheduling, billing, patient portal, and clinical decision support as appropriate. Restrict access to the supported team and purpose. Preserve the questions asked, information considered, methods, conclusions, limitations, and version delivered.

Review source records and later uses independently

Source materials obtained from a Part 2 program or another lawful holder may carry their own restrictions. Document consent or order, notice, acquisition route, use limits, storage, return, destruction, and testimony conditions. The requested-diagnosis exception does not automatically authorize disclosure of those sources.

Route subpoenas, testimony, redisclosure, appeals, corrections, records requests, and secondary analysis through new reviews. Track the actual report, recipient, transmission, receipt, retention, legal holds, and closure.

Example

Nine requested evaluations are assessed. Six have a competent requester, sole evidence purpose, defined scope, evaluator role, recipient, and no treatment activity; three mix treatment recommendations into the engagement. Completeness is 6 of 9 evaluations.

Record the engagement decision

Classify each evaluation as meeting every narrow condition, outside the diagnosis exception, or unresolved. State requester, authority, jurisdiction, sole purpose, evaluator, patient, scope, source records, recipient, dates, and reviewer. An unresolved engagement should not proceed under the exception while a mixed purpose remains.

Before delivery, compare the report with the engagement and remove or resolve unsupported material. After delivery, verify recipient, transmission, receipt, permitted use, testimony plan, retention, and closure. A supplemental question or new recipient begins another review.

Audit a sample of completed engagements for treatment activity, referrals, source-record authority, disclosure scope, and actual later use. Document exceptions, corrective owner, and follow-up evidence.

Retain the audit date, sample basis, reviewer, findings, and verified closure record.

Law-enforcement-requested diagnosis checklist

• retain the authenticated request, competent authority, question, scope, and dates;
• document that the diagnosis is made on behalf of the requester solely as evidence;
• explain evaluator role, confidentiality limits, recipient, and emergency boundaries;
• stop and reclassify if treatment, referral, or another purpose enters the work;
• govern Part 2 source records and later testimony or disclosure separately; and
• preserve the final report, transmission, receipt, retention, and closure evidence.

This narrow exception does not authorize every forensic evaluation, source-record disclosure, or proceeding use. Requester, jurisdiction, sole purpose, evaluator role, current Part 2, court rules, state law, and later activity require qualified review.