# HIPAA (45 CFR Part 164) 164.512(f)(1) — Disclosures for law enforcement purposes - Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/hipaa/164-512-f-1-disclosures-for-law-enforcement-purposes - Section: [Compliance](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance) › [HIPAA Security, Privacy & Breach-Notification Rules](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/hipaa) › Privacy Rule — §164.512 - Last updated: 2026-06-05 - Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com) **HIPAA (45 CFR Part 164)**·§ `164.512(f)(1)`·medium·Component: **Privacy Rule** ## What this control requires > Standard: Disclosures for law enforcement purposes. A covered entity may disclose protected health information for a law enforcement purpose to a law enforcement official if the conditions in paragraphs (f)(1) through (f)(6) of this section are met, as applicable. (1) Permitted disclosures: Pursuant to process and as otherwise required by law. A covered entity may disclose protected health information: (i) As required by law including laws that require the reporting of certain types of wounds or other physical injuries, except for laws subject to paragraph (b)(1)(ii) or (c)(1)(i) of this section; or (ii) In compliance with and as limited by the relevant requirements of: (A) A court order or court-ordered warrant, or a subpoena or summons issued by a judicial officer; (B) A grand jury subpoena; or (C) An administrative request, including an administrative subpoena or summons, a civil or an authorized investigative demands, or similar process authorized under law, provided that: (1) The information sought is relevant and material to a legitimate law enforcement inquiry; (2) The request is specific and limited in scope to the extent reasonably practicable in light of the purpose for which the information is sought; and (3) De-identified information could not reasonably be used. > > — HIPAA (45 CFR Part 164), § 164.512(f)(1) ### In plain English Standard: Disclosures for law enforcement purposes. In practice, this means you can prove you information requirements-level controls on a defined cadence. ## Why it matters HIPAA non-compliance is a strict-liability matter: OCR civil monetary penalties are assessed per-record per-violation (up to USD 1.9 million per identical-violation calendar year as of 2024), and willful neglect can trigger criminal referral. ## What an auditor looks for HHS OCR investigators and SOC-2+HIPAA auditors look for the specific 45 CFR § citation, whether the safeguard is required vs addressable (and if addressable, the documented decision), the implementation specification, the workforce member responsible, and the records that show it runs. Within **Privacy Rule**, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (§ 164.512(f)(1)) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles. ## How to implement #### Policy Management **Docs.** Keep each policy in version-controlled Markdown alongside the code that implements it; ship a signed PDF snapshot at each annual review and link the SHA into the SoA. ### Operational checklist - **Information.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Other.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Requirements.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Policy.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Law.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Scope:** requirements, management, policy, i, section, law enforcement purposes, b, ii. ## Evidence to collect - **Policy Document.** A signed and version-controlled policy / standard / procedure document. Signed policy or standard documents the safeguard. Focus: Disclosures for law enforcement purposes. ## Common pitfalls - Policies that no engineer has read; the version in Confluence drifts from the version that's actually being enforced. ## How it maps to other frameworks Computed from shared tags, control component and key-operation subjects — handy when you are reconciling controls across an audit. - [**ISO/IEC 27001:2022 A.8.26** — Application security requirements](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-8-26-application-security-requirements) - [**NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 PT-3(2)** — Automation](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/pt-3-2-automation) ## Related controls in HIPAA (45 CFR Part 164) - [**§ 164.512(f)(3)** — Disclosures for law enforcement purposes- PHI of a possible victim of a crime](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/hipaa/164-512-f-3-disclosures-for-law-enforcement-purposes-phi-of-a-possible-victim-of-a-crime) - [**§ 164.512(f)(5)** — Disclosures for law enforcement purposes: crime on premises](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/hipaa/164-512-f-5-disclosures-for-law-enforcement-purposes-crime-on-premises) - [**§ 164.512(f)(6)** — Disclosures for law enforcement purposes](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/hipaa/164-512-f-6-disclosures-for-law-enforcement-purposes) - [**§ 164.512(f)(4)** — Disclosures for law enforcement purposes- an individual who has died as a result of suspected criminal conduct](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/hipaa/164-512-f-4-disclosures-for-law-enforcement-purposes-an-individual-who-has-died-as-a) - [**§ 164.520(e)** — Documentation](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/hipaa/164-520-e-documentation) - [**§ 164.530(e)(1)** — Sanctions](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/hipaa/164-530-e-1-sanctions) ## References - [U.S. HHS Office for Civil Rights — HIPAA (45 CFR Part 164)](https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/index.html) - Catalogue identifier: `§ 164.512(f)(1)` Topics: governance riskpolicy management ## Related compliance guidance - [HIPAA compliance for SaaS: a practical implementation guide](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/hipaa): Start with the full HIPAA implementation guide — scope, roadmap, evidence and how the assessment runs. - [SOC 2 compliance: a practical implementation guide for cloud-native SaaS teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria): Most covered-entity customers accept a SOC 2 Type II report as the independent evidence that your HIPAA controls operate, since no HIPAA attestation exists. - [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5: a practical implementation guide for cloud teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5): NIST publishes mappings of the Security Rule standards and implementation specifications to SP 800-53 Rev. 5 controls alongside SP 800-66 Rev. 2, so an 800-53 control set doubles as a HIPAA crosswalk.