West Virginia

W. Va. Code § 49-2-803 — West Virginia mandatory-reporting statute

Clergy named as mandatory reporter?: Yes
Confessional exemption?: No

Statute: W. Va. Code § 49-2-803
Clergy named: Expressly
Pending: —

West Virginia is one of only three U.S. jurisdictions (with New Hampshire and Guam) whose statute both expressly names clergy as mandated reporters AND, on its face, denies the clergy-penitent privilege in child-abuse cases. W. Va. Code § 49-2-803(a) lists 'member of the clergy' in the reporter pool and sets a 24-hour reporting deadline to the Department of Human Services. § 49-2-811 abrogates professional-client privilege except attorney-client when child abuse or neglect is suspected. Read closely, though, that abrogation reaches only communications 'between any professional person and his or her patient or his or her client,' and a person confessing to clergy is arguably neither a patient nor a client. So the strongest-sounding text in the country carries one untested question: whether its 'patient or client' wording could be argued to exclude a penitent. A separate clergy testimonial privilege at § 57-3-9 still applies in court, and a second one at § 48-1-301 governs domestic-relations cases and by its own terms adds to, rather than derogates from, the other privileges recognized by law. No published West Virginia decision has resolved how these fit together. § 49-2-803 has been reopened in two recent sessions, SB312 in 2024 and HB5555 in 2026, and neither loosens the clergy posture. On paper West Virginia leads. What is missing is any visible follow-through, and language precise enough that the confessional question cannot be argued either way. This is the kind of state-level reform UCO is pushing to verify in every state.

Section 01What needs to change

What needs to change in West Virginia.

The current statute leaves a gap between what the law requires on paper and what survivor-protection demands in practice:

West Virginia's text closes the door other states leave open: clergy are named, and the privilege statute carries no confessional carveout, which is why West Virginia is one of only three U.S. jurisdictions with no clergy loophole on the books. Two things would still make it airtight. The privilege statute is written around a professional and a patient or client, and precise language would remove any argument that a person confessing to clergy is neither. A second clergy privilege sits in the family-law code, in a different chapter, so a clarifying bill should name it too. And no prosecution, audit, or ruling showing the strong law being used has surfaced, so the other half of the work is proof it is enforced.

Clergy expressly named at § 49-2-803(a)
The principal mandatory-reporting statute lists 'member of the clergy' alongside Christian Science practitioner and religious healer in subsection (a). Reports must reach the Department of Human Services immediately and no later than 24 hours after suspicion arises. For serious physical abuse, sexual abuse, or sexual assault, an additional immediate report to the State Police and any law-enforcement agency having jurisdiction is required.
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Privilege abrogated with no clergy carveout at § 49-2-811
Section 49-2-811 abrogates the privileged quality of communications between spouses and between any professional person and patient or client in situations involving suspected or known child abuse or neglect. The only privilege preserved is attorney-client. There is no clergy-penitent carveout in the text and no exemption for confessional or sacramental communications. West Virginia is one of three U.S. jurisdictions (with New Hampshire and Guam) that the HHS Children's Bureau identifies as both expressly listing clergy as mandated reporters and denying the clergy-penitent privilege in child-abuse cases.
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Two clergy privileges may survive the § 49-2-811 override by scope: § 57-3-9 and § 48-1-301
West Virginia recognizes a general clergy testimonial privilege at § 57-3-9 for confessions or communications made to clergy acting in a professional religious capacity, and a second clergy privilege at § 48-1-301 that governs domestic-relations actions. Section 49-2-811 abrogates privilege only 'between any professional person and his or her patient or his or her client,' and Chapter 49's definitions section, § 49-1-201, defines none of 'professional person,' 'patient,' or 'client.' Because a penitent is arguably neither a patient nor a client, the unsettled question is whether § 49-2-811's 'patient or client' wording reaches a penitential confession, and no published decision has answered it. Two features make a priority-only clarification insufficient. A rule declaring that § 49-2-811 'controls over' § 57-3-9 operates only where the two conflict, so it does nothing if a court reads § 49-2-811 never to have covered the confessional. And § 57-3-9 expressly cross-references § 48-1-301, a separate privilege in a different chapter that a bill amending only § 49-2-811 or § 57-3-9 would leave untouched unless it names it. Section 48-1-301(b) reinforces that clergy privileges stack rather than shrink, providing that it is 'in addition to and not in derogation of any other privileges recognized by law.'
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Penalty tier under § 49-2-812
A mandated reporter who knowingly fails to report under § 49-2-803 is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a fine of up to $5,000 for abuse or neglect cases. For cases involving sexual abuse, the penalty rises to up to 6 months in jail and a fine of up to $10,000. No prosecution under § 49-2-812 against clergy has surfaced in publicly available sources. That absence is the compliance question the strong text doesn't answer.
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Section 02What's needed

What it takes to close the gap.

From West Virginia's law as it stands today to the standard UCO is working toward, every adult who learns a child is being harmed has to report it:

W. Va. Code § 49-2-803(a) names clergy as mandated reporters, and § 49-2-811 abrogates privilege except attorney-client in child-abuse cases, with no confessional carveout. That puts West Virginia among the three strongest jurisdictions on the books. Two wording gaps would still be worth closing so the confessional cannot be argued back in. First, § 49-2-811 abrogates privilege only 'between any professional person and his or her patient or his or her client,' and precise language would remove any argument that a person confessing to clergy is neither. A bare priority clause declaring that § 49-2-811 'controls over' the clergy privilege at § 57-3-9 would not do that, because a priority rule operates only where two provisions actually conflict. The cleaner fix is to amend § 49-2-811 to abrogate privilege by scope: extend it beyond 'patient or client' to cover communications made to a member of the clergy in a spiritual, pastoral, penitential, or confessional capacity, and state that it expressly overrides both § 57-3-9 AND § 48-1-301. The second statute matters because § 48-1-301 is a separate clergy privilege in the domestic-relations code, the forum where abuse allegations often surface in custody disputes. It sits in a different chapter, so a bill that amends only § 49-2-811 or § 57-3-9 leaves it standing unless it is named. Its own text confirms that clergy privileges are meant to stack rather than shrink, providing that it is 'in addition to and not in derogation of any other privileges.' Alongside the statutory fix, the enforcement record needs proof: no prosecution under § 49-2-812 has surfaced in any publicly available source.

Section 03How you can help

Concrete ways to support reform in West Virginia.

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Donations fund West Virginia compliance research, public-records work, and the slow project of turning strong text into observable enforcement.

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Section 04Timeline

How West Virginia got here.

2023
HHS classifies WV among three privilege-denied jurisdictions
The Child Welfare Information Gateway (HHS Children's Bureau) May 2023 national report identifies West Virginia, alongside New Hampshire and Guam, as the only U.S. jurisdictions that both expressly mandate clergy reporting under § 49-2-803 and deny the clergy-penitent privilege under § 49-2-811 in child-abuse cases.
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2024
SB312 dies in committee
Sen. Swope and four co-sponsors introduce SB312 in the 2024 Regular Session, which would amend § 49-2-803 to require CPS to interview mandatory reporters who submit screened-in referrals. The bill reopens the principal mandatory-reporter statute but is not a clergy-posture bill. Referred to Senate Judiciary; no record of advancement before sine die on March 9, 2024.
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2026-02
HB5555 introduced, then died in House Judiciary
Rep. Holstein introduces HB5555 in the 2026 Regular Session on February 16, 2026. The bill would have redirected the existing immediate law-enforcement report from the State Police and any agency with jurisdiction to local or county agencies, keeping 'member of the clergy' in the reporter list. It was referred to House Judiciary, never left committee, and died when the session adjourned sine die on March 14, 2026.
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Section 05Background

Public-record sources UCO is tracking.

Always verify against the underlying statute or filing before quoting.

West Virginia Legislature
W. Va. Code § 49-2-803 — Persons mandated to report suspected abuse and neglect; requirements
The principal mandatory-reporting statute. Subsection (a) expressly enumerates 'member of the clergy' alongside Christian Science practitioner and religious healer. Reports run to the Department of Human Services immediately and within 24 hours; serious physical abuse, sexual abuse, and sexual assault trigger an additional immediate report to the State Police and any law-enforcement agency having jurisdiction.
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West Virginia Legislature
W. Va. Code § 49-2-811 — Abrogation of privileged communications; exception
Companion provision that overrides the privilege. The privileged quality of communications between spouses and between any professional person and patient or client is abrogated in situations involving suspected or known child abuse or neglect. The only privilege preserved is attorney-client. There is no clergy-penitent carveout in the text.
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West Virginia Legislature
W. Va. Code § 57-3-9 — Communications to clergy privileged (general testimonial privilege)
The general clergy testimonial privilege, shielding confessions or communications made to clergy acting in a professional religious capacity, and expressly cross-referencing the separate § 48-1-301 privilege. It coexists with the § 49-2-811 child-abuse privilege override, and no published West Virginia decision has resolved how the two interact for a confessional communication.
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West Virginia Legislature
Senate Bill 312 — 2024 Regular Session (introduced text)
Introduced/proposed amendment to § 49-2-803 requiring CPS to interview mandatory reporters who submit screened-in referrals. It reopened the principal mandatory-reporter statute in 2024 but is not a clergy-posture bill; referred to Senate Judiciary with no record of advancement before sine die on March 9, 2024.
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West Virginia Legislature
W. Va. Code § 48-1-301 — Communications to clergy privileged (domestic relations)
A separate clergy privilege in the domestic-relations code, cross-referenced by § 57-3-9. Subsection (a) bars compelling a member of the clergy to testify about communications made in a spiritual-adviser capacity in a domestic-relations action; subsection (b) provides that the privilege is 'in addition to and not in derogation of any other privileges recognized by law.' Because it is a separate statute in a different chapter, an amendment to § 49-2-811 that does not name it leaves it intact. The Chapter 49 definitions section, § 49-1-201, defines none of 'professional person,' 'patient,' or 'client,' leaving § 49-2-811's reach into the confessional textually open.
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Child Welfare Information Gateway, U.S. HHS Children's Bureau· May 2023
Clergy as Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect — West Virginia
Federal state-statute summary citing W. Va. Code §§ 49-2-803 and 49-2-811. Independently confirms that West Virginia expressly names clergy as mandated reporters and abrogates the clergy-penitent privilege in child-abuse cases. The companion national report names WV alongside NH and Guam as the only U.S. jurisdictions in this combined posture.
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Church Law & Tax· Verified March 2023
Child Abuse Reporting Laws for West Virginia
Practitioner-oriented summary listing the § 49-2-803(a) reporter pool, the 24-hour reporting timeline, the § 49-2-811 privilege-abrogation language, and the § 49-2-812 penalty tier (up to 90 days / $5,000 for abuse-neglect; up to 6 months / $10,000 for sexual-abuse cases).
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West Virginia Legislature· 2026
House Bill 5555 — 2026 Regular Session
Bill history for HB5555. Introduced February 16, 2026 and referred to House Judiciary. Proposed to redirect the existing immediate law-enforcement report from the State Police and any agency with jurisdiction to local or county agencies, while retaining clergy in the mandated-reporter list.
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Last reviewed July 22, 2026 · by Unheard Child Org research teamHow we track this