AB 2598 changes facility notification after a patient or resident death
Oct 4, 2026 edition · GC-2026-0082 · Published 2026-10-04 · Version 2 · Final
AB 2598 defines documented next-of-kin contact efforts within 72 hours for covered hospital and SNF deaths and sets conditional public-administrator notification duties. The five-business-day reference concerns penalty measurement; separate representative, written-preference and custody exceptions affect the workflow.
What happened
California enacted AB 2598 on September 27 to add Probate Code section 7600.4 and Health and Safety Code section 1280.7 and amend Probate Code section 7600.5. A general acute care hospital or skilled nursing facility licensee must make a reasonable attempt to notify known next of kin after a death; a hospital holding a body transferred after death also has a contact duty. A reasonable attempt is a documented good-faith effort within 72 hours, using available contact information, including a call or voicemail and, if available, a text or email. The requirement may also be met through notice to the designated resident representative or the person’s written predeath instruction not to notify known next of kin of their presence or death. The enactment is the event reported here; the applicable commencement of these provisions must be confirmed separately.
If the licensee cannot locate next of kin after the required effort, or the statutory alternative conditions are met, it must notify the county public administrator within two business days as section 7600.4 provides and supply available identifying information. Separate penalties of $200 per day, each capped at $50,000, address failures of next-of-kin and public-administrator notice. For the latter, measurement starts on the fifth business day after death; that is not the public-administrator notification deadline. The amended section preserves immediate public-administrator notice for other covered health or board-and-care facilities when no next of kin is known and excludes specified incarcerated-person deaths governed by separate statutes.
Scope and timing
- Authority status
- Final
- Applicability
- Potentially applicable
- Audience
- Health systems, Provider networks
- Jurisdiction
- California
Why it matters
Death-notification procedures need to distinguish contact efforts, documented preferences, representative notice and public-administrator escalation. The 72-hour, two-business-day and fifth-business-day references serve different purposes; combining them into one deadline could delay notice and obscure penalty exposure.
Recommended action
Confirm the applicable commencement before treating the new provisions as current duties. Prepare the following for implementation at that commencement: Prepare facility-specific contact and escalation procedures with documented attempts, available contact information and written-preference handling. Have Legal reconcile the conditional two-business-day administrator notice with the separate penalty rules and the immediate-notice provision for other facilities. Preserve the distinction for bodies transferred after death and covered custody exceptions.
Sources
- AB-2598 Health care facilities: notification of next of kin, bill historyOfficial · California Legislature · 2026-08-30 · Source review 2026-09-10
- AB-2598 Health care facilities: notification of next of kin, current bill text (09/03/26 - Enrolled)Official · California Legislature · 2026-09-03 · Source review 2026-09-10
- Governor Newsom issues legislative update 9.27.2026Official · Office of the Governor · 2026-09-27 · Source review 2026-10-04
- AB2598 enacted final textOfficial · California Legislature · 2026-09-27 · Source review 2026-10-05
Complete edition and supplemental material
This finding in the complete approved report →Regulatory horizons, CIA trends and implementation trackers remain in the full report.
Read the entire Compliance Sweep report →