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Mental Hygiene Law § 13.43 · Article 13. Office For People With Developmental Disabilities

Disabilities identification card

Verbatim from the official edition

Text — Law content up to date as of June 26, 2026, as published by the New York State Senate (Open Legislation)

* § 13.43 Disabilities identification card.

(a) The commissioner shall develop an identification card denoting that a person has been medically diagnosed with a developmental disability. Such identification card may be presented to law enforcement, firefighters and emergency medical services personnel as necessary.

(b) Upon the request of a person with developmental disabilities, or the guardian or caregiver of such person, the office shall issue such developmental disabilities identification card in accordance with eligibility and documentation criteria established by the office for a fee to be determined by the commissioner.

(c) The front of such card shall indicate that it has been issued by the office pursuant to this section and shall include:

(1) the card bearer's name;

(2) the card bearer's address;

(3) the card bearer's date of birth; and

(4) the following statement: "I HAVE A DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY. I MAY HAVE DIFFICULTY UNDERSTANDING AND FOLLOWING YOUR DIRECTIONS OR MAY BECOME UNABLE TO RESPOND. I MAY BECOME PHYSICALLY AGITATED IF YOU PROMPT ME VERBALLY OR TOUCH ME OR MOVE TOO CLOSE TO ME. A DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY IS NOT AN EXCUSE FOR ILLEGAL BEHAVIOR. I AM NOT INTENTIONALLY REFUSING TO COOPERATE. I MAY NEED YOUR ASSISTANCE. PLEASE SEE THE BACK OF THIS CARD."

(d) The back of such card shall include:

(1) at the card bearer's discretion, the name and phone number of an individual designated by such card bearer to be contacted in case of emergency; and

(2) a designated space where such card bearer may include any additional information.

* NB There are 2 § 13.43's

Source of truth

Edition
Law content up to date as of June 26, 2026, as published by the New York State Senate (Open Legislation)
Official file
https://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/laws/MHY13.43%2A2
Text hash
sha256 4083f5c76c9cd5934649c0f511cef3b4393c5a1f0d94acca74529f9076396838
Composed by
gen_ny_statutes.py 2026-11-10: the Senate's Open Legislation law tree (GET /api/3/laws/<ID>?full=true) read in document order; the Senate's PDF of the whole law (GET /pdf/laws/<ID>?full=true), read with PDFium, prints the same words in the same order
  • The Senate's note "There are 2 § 13.43's": the Legislature enacted more than one unit under that number; each is printed.
  • The Legislature enacted more than one section numbered 13.43; this is number 2 as the Senate prints them.

Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.