RUFADAA Adoption Map 2026: Which States Have Adopted It
What the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act is in plain English, the full state-by-state adoption table, and the three steps that make it actually work for your executor.
As of mid-2026, 47 states and the District of Columbia have adopted RUFADAA, the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act. California uses a modified version covering deceased users only, Delaware kept the original 2014 act, and Oklahoma has adopted neither. Massachusetts was the most recent full adoption, in 2024.
This guide is general information for readers in the United States, not legal advice. State law changes and statute numbering shifts over time. Before you rely on anything here, confirm the current position with an estate attorney licensed in your state.
On this page
What RUFADAA is in plain English
The quick picture: full, modified and missing adoptions
The 50-state RUFADAA adoption table
What RUFADAA lets your executor do
What RUFADAA does not do
The 3 steps that make RUFADAA work for you
RUFADAA and your digital will
Frequently asked questions
What RUFADAA is in plain English
RUFADAA stands for the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act. It is a model law completed by the Uniform Law Commission in 2015 that tells online providers such as Google, Apple and Meta when they may, and when they must, give a fiduciary access to someone's digital accounts. A fiduciary here means the people the law already trusts to act for you: the executor of your estate, an agent under a power of attorney, a trustee, or a court-appointed guardian or conservator.
Before RUFADAA, even an executor holding a court order could hit a wall of terms-of-service agreements and federal privacy law. The Stored Communications Act of 1986 makes it legally risky for providers to hand over the content of communications without the user's consent, so most providers simply refused everyone. RUFADAA fixed this by writing consent into state law: it defines exactly whose instructions count, in what order of priority, and what a provider must release once the paperwork is in order.
Because it is a uniform act, each state passes its own version, usually close to word-for-word with small local edits. That is why adoption happened state by state between 2016 and 2024 rather than in one national moment, and why a state-by-state table is the honest way to answer the question.
The quick picture: who has what in 2026
Here is the national summary before the detail. The revised 2015 act is now close to universal.
Status | Jurisdictions | What it means |
|---|---|---|
Full RUFADAA (2015 revised act) | 47 states plus the District of Columbia | The standard three-tier consent system described below applies. |
Modified version | California (2016) | Covers provider disclosure for deceased users only; agents under a power of attorney and some other fiduciaries are not covered the way RUFADAA covers them. |
Original 2014 act (UFADAA) | Delaware (2014) | Adopted the broader original before the revision existed and has kept its own chapter. |
No uniform act | Oklahoma | Only an older 2010 statute giving executors limited control of email and social media accounts. |
Massachusetts was the final full adoption, signed in late 2024 after nearly a decade as the last major holdout. The U.S. Virgin Islands has enacted the act as well. If you live in California, Delaware or Oklahoma, the three steps later in this guide matter even more, because you cannot lean on the standard statute.
One practical note before the table: the legal authority below only helps if your executor also knows what exists and what you wanted. A governed digital legacy app is the simplest way to keep that side current. Start free: 50 memories, no card.
The 50-state RUFADAA adoption table
The table reflects public legislative records as of mid-2026. Year is the year of enactment. Citations point to where the act lives in each state's code. Code numbering shifts when legislatures reorganise, so treat each citation as a starting point and verify the current text on your legislature's website or with counsel before relying on it.
State | RUFADAA adopted? | Year | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|---|
Alabama | Yes | 2017 | Ala. Code § 19-5A-1 et seq. |
Alaska | Yes | 2017 | Alaska Stat. § 13.63.010 et seq. |
Arizona | Yes | 2016 | Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 14-13101 et seq. |
Arkansas | Yes | 2017 | Ark. Code § 28-75-101 et seq. |
California | Modified version | 2016 | Cal. Prob. Code §§ 870 to 884 (deceased users only) |
Colorado | Yes | 2016 | Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-1-1501 et seq. |
Connecticut | Yes | 2016 | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-334b et seq. |
Delaware | Original 2014 act | 2014 | 12 Del. C. § 5001 et seq. |
Florida | Yes | 2016 | Fla. Stat. ch. 740 |
Georgia | Yes | 2018 | Ga. Code § 53-13-1 et seq. |
Hawaii | Yes | 2016 | Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 556A |
Idaho | Yes | 2016 | Idaho Code § 15-14-101 et seq. |
Illinois | Yes | 2016 | 755 ILCS 70/1 et seq. |
Indiana | Yes | 2016 | Ind. Code § 32-39-1-1 et seq. |
Iowa | Yes | 2017 | Iowa Code ch. 638 |
Kansas | Yes | 2017 | Kan. Stat. § 58-4801 et seq. |
Kentucky | Yes | 2020 | Ky. Rev. Stat. ch. 395A |
Louisiana | Yes (adapted) | 2016 | Civil-law adaptation; verify current text with counsel |
Maine | Yes | 2018 | 18-C M.R.S. § 10-101 et seq. |
Maryland | Yes | 2016 | Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 15-601 et seq. |
Massachusetts | Yes | 2024 | Enacted 2024; verify current codification with counsel |
Michigan | Yes | 2016 | 2016 Mich. Pub. Act 59; verify codification with counsel |
Minnesota | Yes | 2016 | Minn. Stat. ch. 521A |
Mississippi | Yes | 2017 | Miss. Code § 91-23-1 et seq. |
Missouri | Yes | 2018 | Mo. Rev. Stat. § 472.400 et seq. |
Montana | Yes | 2017 | Mont. Code § 72-31-401 et seq. |
Nebraska | Yes | 2017 | Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-501 et seq. |
Nevada | Yes | 2017 | Nev. Rev. Stat. ch. 722 |
New Hampshire | Yes | 2019 | N.H. Rev. Stat. ch. 554-A |
New Jersey | Yes | 2017 | N.J. Stat. § 3B:14-61.1 et seq. |
New Mexico | Yes | 2017 | N.M. Stat. § 46-13-1 et seq. |
New York | Yes | 2016 | N.Y. EPTL art. 13-A |
North Carolina | Yes | 2016 | N.C. Gen. Stat. ch. 36F |
North Dakota | Yes | 2017 | N.D. Cent. Code ch. 47-36 |
Ohio | Yes | 2017 | Ohio Rev. Code ch. 2137 |
Oklahoma | No | n/a | Older 2010 law only: 58 Okla. Stat. § 269 |
Oregon | Yes | 2016 | Or. Rev. Stat. § 119.002 et seq. |
Pennsylvania | Yes | 2020 | 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. ch. 39 (Act 72 of 2020) |
Rhode Island | Yes | 2019 | R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 33-27.1 |
South Carolina | Yes | 2016 | S.C. Code § 62-2-1010 et seq. |
South Dakota | Yes | 2017 | S.D. Codified Laws ch. 55-19 |
Tennessee | Yes | 2016 | Tenn. Code § 35-8-101 et seq. |
Texas | Yes | 2017 | Tex. Estates Code ch. 2001 |
Utah | Yes | 2017 | Utah Code § 75-11-101 et seq. |
Vermont | Yes | 2017 | Enacted 2017; verify codification with counsel |
Virginia | Yes | 2017 | Va. Code § 64.2-116 et seq. |
Washington | Yes | 2016 | Wash. Rev. Code ch. 11.120 |
West Virginia | Yes | 2018 | W. Va. Code § 44-5B-1 et seq. |
Wisconsin | Yes | 2016 | Wis. Stat. ch. 711 |
Wyoming | Yes | 2016 | Wyo. Stat. § 2-3-1001 et seq. |
District of Columbia | Yes | 2020 | D.C. Code § 21-2501 et seq. |
Two rows deserve a comment. Louisiana adapted the act to its civil-law system in 2016, so its text departs from the uniform wording more than most. And California's version, enacted as AB-691, only addresses disclosure for deceased users, which is why California practitioners still lean heavily on powers of attorney and provider tools for incapacity planning.
What RUFADAA actually lets your executor do
RUFADAA's core is a three-tier order of priority that decides whose instructions a provider must follow. Understanding it is the difference between a plan that works and one that gets politely refused.
Tier 1: the provider's online tool. If you used a tool the provider offers for exactly this purpose, such as Google's Inactive Account Manager, Apple's Legacy Contact or Facebook's legacy contact setting, that choice controls. It overrides everything, including your will.
Tier 2: your directions in an estate document. If you left no online-tool instruction, directions in your will, trust, power of attorney or another record govern, and they override the provider's terms of service.
Tier 3: the terms of service. Only if you left nothing at tiers 1 and 2 does the provider's boilerplate decide what your fiduciary can reach.
The user always beats the boilerplate: that is the act's big idea. But there is a second split that surprises families. RUFADAA divides your data into the catalogue of electronic communications (who you corresponded with and when, plus most other digital assets such as files and photos) and the content of communications (the actual bodies of emails and messages). A fiduciary with general authority can usually obtain the catalogue. Content may only be disclosed if you gave express consent, either in the online tool or in your estate documents. An executor armed with a standard will and no digital-assets clause typically gets the catalogue, not the content.
Who you choose matters as much as the paperwork. Our guide to appointing a digital executor covers how to pick and empower the person who will actually do this work.
What RUFADAA does not do
It does not make accounts inheritable. Much of what we "own" online is a personal, non-transferable licence. Purchased movie, music and ebook libraries typically end at death regardless of RUFADAA.
It does not hand over passwords. Providers grant access to, or copies of, digital assets. Logging into a dead person's account with a stored password is a different thing, and can breach terms of service and computer-access laws.
It does not cover work accounts. Assets of an employer used by an employee in the ordinary course of business are excluded.
It does not force one format or speed. Providers retain discretion over how they disclose, may charge reasonable costs, and can ask a court to resolve doubtful requests.
It does not solve the discovery problem. No statute tells your executor which of your 150-plus accounts exist. Without an inventory, authority has nothing to point at.
The 3 steps that make RUFADAA work for you
The act's hierarchy hands you the pen. Three deliberate moves turn a default outcome into your outcome.
Set the online tools first, and make them match your plan. Because tier 1 wins, a forgotten Inactive Account Manager setting from 2019 can override the will you signed last month. Set Google, Apple and Meta's tools deliberately, and revisit them when your wishes change. Our guide to what happens to Gmail when you die walks through the Google side in detail.
Put express digital-asset language in your will, power of attorney and any trust. Name the fiduciary, grant authority over digital assets, and state expressly whether they may access the content of your communications. This is the consent RUFADAA looks for at tier 2, and it is exactly what a generic template will often misses. See digital assets in a will for the clauses that matter.
Keep a living inventory and instructions your executor can find. List the accounts that matter, what you want done with each, and where the legal documents live. Review it yearly. Statutory authority is useless against accounts nobody knows exist, which is why digital estate planning treats the inventory as the foundation, not an afterthought.
RUFADAA and your digital will
People searching for RUFADAA usually arrive from the same worry: will my family be locked out? The statute is half the answer. The other half is what estate planners loosely call a digital will: not a separate legal instrument in most states, but the combination of digital-asset clauses in your ordinary will, a maintained inventory, and written wishes for each account. RUFADAA supplies the authority; the digital will supplies the map and the intent.
If you have not put either in place, start with our plain-English guide to making a digital will in the USA, which covers the clauses, the state wrinkles and the mistakes that get requests refused. The legal documents stay with your attorney. The living layer, your accounts, wishes, stories and voice, needs a home that keeps up with your life.
Where Afterlife AI™ fits
Afterlife AI™ is not a law firm and does not grant anyone authority under RUFADAA. What it does is solve the half the statute ignores: making sure the people you trust know what exists, what you wanted, and who you were. You build a Persona in your own words, attach your wishes and account knowledge, and govern exactly what your loved ones can reach later. Our Executor Lock™ feature seals those choices, so access never drifts beyond what you agreed to. It works alongside your will, not instead of it.
You can start building your Persona for free: 50 memories, no card and no time limit, with one Trusted Contact and Executor Lock™ setup included and kept. Paid plans (Legacy at $14.99 per month and Eternal at $29.99 per month) are on the pricing page if you want more.
Frequently asked questions
The answers below are general information, not legal advice. Confirm the current position in your state with a licensed estate attorney.
What does RUFADAA stand for and what does it do?
RUFADAA is the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, a model law completed by the Uniform Law Commission in 2015. It tells online providers when they may, and when they must, give a fiduciary (an executor, agent under a power of attorney, trustee or guardian) access to a person's digital accounts and files. Each state enacts its own version, which is why adoption happened state by state between 2016 and 2024.
Which states have not adopted RUFADAA?
As of mid-2026, three states sit outside the standard act. California enacted a modified version in 2016 that covers disclosure for deceased users only. Delaware kept the broader original 2014 act (UFADAA) it adopted before the revision existed. Oklahoma has adopted neither, relying on an older 2010 statute that gives executors limited control of email and social media accounts. Massachusetts, long the last holdout, enacted RUFADAA in 2024.
Can my executor read my emails under RUFADAA?
Only if you gave express consent. RUFADAA splits data into the catalogue of communications (who you corresponded with and when, plus most other digital assets) and the content of communications (the actual message bodies). An executor with general authority can usually obtain the catalogue, but providers may only disclose content if you consented in an online tool or expressly in your will, trust or power of attorney. A standard will with no digital-assets clause usually gets catalogue, not content.
Does Google's Inactive Account Manager override my will?
Yes. RUFADAA puts a provider's own online tool at the top of its order of priority, so whatever you set in Google's Inactive Account Manager, Apple's Legacy Contact or Facebook's legacy contact settings controls, even if your will says something different. That makes the online tools powerful, and dangerous if they contradict your estate plan. Set them deliberately and keep them consistent with your documents.
What is the difference between UFADAA and RUFADAA?
UFADAA was the Uniform Law Commission's original 2014 act, which gave fiduciaries broad default access to digital assets, including content. Providers and privacy groups objected, so the Commission revised it in 2015. The revised act, RUFADAA, requires express consent before content of communications is disclosed and gives top priority to provider online tools. Only Delaware enacted the 2014 original; essentially every other adopting state used the 2015 revision.
Do I still need a digital will if my state has RUFADAA?
Yes. RUFADAA supplies legal authority, not instructions. It lets a properly empowered fiduciary request access, but it does not tell anyone what accounts exist, where they are, what you want kept, deleted or passed on, or who should do the work. A digital will (in practice, digital-asset clauses in your estate documents plus a maintained inventory and wishes) is what turns the statute's authority into an outcome your family can actually use.
Is there a free way to start organising my digital legacy?
Yes. You can start free with Afterlife AI: 50 memories to build your Persona, no card required and no time limit, with one Trusted Contact and Executor Lock™ setup included and kept. It is a one-time build budget, not a trial. Afterlife AI is not a law firm and does not grant legal authority under RUFADAA; it sits alongside your estate documents as the place your wishes, account knowledge and memories stay organised and governed.
Sources
Uniform Law Commission: Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, Revised (2015)
California AB-691 (Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, 2016)
Delaware Code, Title 12, Chapter 50: Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets and Digital Accounts
New York EPTL Article 13-A: Administration of Digital Assets
Texas Estates Code, Chapter 2001: Texas Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act