Conn. Gen. Stat. » Title 17a — SOCIAL AND HUMAN SERVICES AND RESOURCES · Chapter 319i — Persons with Psychiatric Disabilities
Connecticut General Statutes

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 17a-502 (2026)

(Formerly Sec. 17-183). Commitment under emergency certificate. Examination of patient. Explanation of rights. Hearing. Private hospitals' notification to commissioner. Immediate discharge of patient. Notification of next of kin. Prohibited commitments to chronic disease hospitals

✓ current as of May 2026
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(a) Any person who a physician concludes has psychiatric disabilities and is dangerous to himself or others or gravely disabled, and is in need of immediate care and treatment in a hospital for psychiatric disabilities, may be confined in such a hospital, either public or private, under an emergency certificate as hereinafter provided for not more than fifteen days without order of any court, unless a written application for commitment of such person has been filed in a probate court prior to the expiration of the fifteen days, in which event such commitment is continued under the emergency certificate for an additional fifteen days or until the completion of probate proceedings, whichever occurs first. In no event shall such person be admitted to or detained at any hospital, either public or private, for more than fifteen days after the execution of the original emergency certificate, on the basis of a new emergency certificate executed at any time during the person's confinement pursuant to the original emergency certificate; and in no event shall more than one subsequent emergency certificate be issued within fifteen days of the execution of the original certificate. If at the expiration of the fifteen days a written application for commitment of such person has not been filed, such person shall be discharged from the hospital. At the time of delivery of such person to such hospital, there shall be left, with the person in charge thereof, a certificate, signed by a physician licensed to practice medicine or surgery in Connecticut and dated not more than three days prior to its delivery to the person in charge of the hospital. Such certificate shall state the date of personal examination of the person to be confined, which shall be not more than three days prior to the date of signature of the certificate, shall state the findings of the physician relative to the physical and mental condition of the person and the history of the case, if known, and shall state that it is the opinion of the physician that the person examined has psychiatric disabilities and is dangerous to himself or herself or others or gravely disabled and is in need of immediate care and treatment in a hospital for psychiatric disabilities. Such physician shall state on such certificate the reasons for his or her opinion.

(b) Any person admitted and detained under this section shall be examined by a physician specializing in psychiatry not later than forty-eight hours after admission as provided in section 17a-545, except that any person admitted and detained under this section at a chronic disease hospital shall be so examined not later than thirty-six hours after admission. If such physician is of the opinion that the person does not meet the criteria for emergency detention and treatment, such person shall be immediately discharged. The physician shall enter the physician's findings in the patient's record.

(c) Any person admitted and detained under this section shall be promptly informed by the admitting facility that such person has the right to consult an attorney, the right to a hearing under subsection (d) of this section, and that if such a hearing is requested or a probate application is filed, such person has the right to be represented by counsel, and that counsel will be provided at the state's expense if the person is unable to pay for such counsel. The reasonable compensation for counsel provided to persons unable to pay shall be established by, and paid from funds appropriated to, the Judicial Department, however, if funds have not been included in the budget of the Judicial Department for such purposes, such compensation shall be established by the Probate Court Administrator and paid from the Probate Court Administration Fund.

(d) If any person detained under this section, or his or her representative, requests a hearing, in writing, such hearing shall be held within seventy-two hours of receipt of such request, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. At such hearing, the person shall have the right to be present, to cross-examine all witnesses testifying, and to be represented by counsel as provided in section 17a-498. The hearing may be requested at any time prior to the initiation of proceedings under section 17a-498. The hearing shall be held by the court of probate having jurisdiction for commitment as provided in section 17a-497, and the hospital shall immediately notify such court of any request for a hearing by a person detained under this section. At the conclusion of the hearing, if the court finds that there is probable cause to conclude that the person is subject to involuntary confinement under this section, considering the condition of the respondent at the time of the admission and at the time of the hearing, and the effects of medication, if any, and the advisability of continued treatment based on testimony from the hospital staff, the court shall order that such person's detention continue for the remaining time provided for emergency certificates or until the completion of probate proceedings under section 17a-498.

(e) The person in charge of every private hospital for psychiatric disabilities in the state shall, on a quarterly basis, supply the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services, in writing with statistics that state for the preceding quarter, the number of admissions of type and the number of discharges for that facility. Said commissioner may adopt regulations to carry out the provisions of this subsection.

(f) The superintendent or director of any hospital for psychiatric disabilities shall immediately discharge any patient admitted and detained under this section who is later found not to meet the standards for emergency detention and treatment.

(g) Any person admitted and detained at any hospital for psychiatric disabilities under this section shall, upon admission to such hospital, furnish the name of his or her next of kin or close friend. The superintendent or director of such hospital shall notify such next of kin or close friend of the admission of such patient and the discharge of such patient, provided such patient consents, in writing, to such notification of his or her discharge.

(h) No person, who a physician concludes has active suicidal or homicidal intent, may be admitted to or detained at a chronic disease hospital under an emergency certificate issued pursuant to this section, unless such chronic disease hospital is certified under Medicare as an acute care hospital with an inpatient prospective payment system excluded psychiatric unit.

(1949 Rev., S. 2649; 1953, 1955, S. 1492d; 1959, P.A. 454; 1967, P.A. 555, S. 68; 1971, P.A. 760, S. 2; June, 1971, P.A. 7, S. 1; P.A. 76-227, S. 4, 7; P.A. 77-4, S. 1, 2; 77-595, S. 4, 9; P.A. 78-126, S. 2; P.A. 79-515, S. 4, 6; P.A. 80-189, S. 1; P.A. 83-295, S. 20; P.A. 90-31, S. 1, 9; P.A. 95-257, S. 11, 48, 58; P.A. 96-170, S. 12, 23; P.A. 97-90, S. 5, 6; P.A. 00-196, S. 51; P.A. 07-49, S. 1; 07-252, S. 38; P.A. 10-117, S. 51.)

History: 1959 act added provision for emergency certificate, clarified language re prior complaint, added 60-day limitation for emergency confinement, and deleted requirements for notifying welfare commissioner of hospital admission and his instituting proceedings for commitment; 1967 act distinguished drug-dependent from mentally ill persons; 1971 acts allowed confinement of persons found by physician, rather than court, to be a danger to self or others for fifteen rather than 30 days under emergency certificate; P.A. 76-227 allowed commitment of “gravely disabled” person under emergency certificate, required that person be informed of right to examination by physician of his own choosing and generally clarified provisions; P.A. 77-4 changed effective date of 1976 act from March 1, 1977, to October 1, 1977; P.A. 77-595 essentially replaced previous provisions; P.A. 78-126 added Subsec. (g) re notification of next-of-kin; P.A. 79-515 replaced specific conditions which court may find person suffering from with finding that person is “subject to involuntary confinement” and finding as to advisability of continued treatment; P.A. 80-189 clarified limits on confinement under emergency certificate in Subsec. (a); P.A. 83-295 amended Subsec. (c) to provide that the reasonable compensation for counsel provided to persons unable to pay shall be established and paid by the judicial department; P.A. 90-31 amended Subsec. (c) by changing compensation of counsel from funds appropriated to the judicial department to the probate administration fund in an amount established by the probate court administrator; Sec. 17-183 transferred to Sec. 17a-502 in 1991; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Mental Health with Commissioner and Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and replaced variants of “mental illness” and “mentally ill” with variants of “psychiatric disabilities”, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 96-170 amended Subsec. (c) by changing funding of compensation of counsel from Probate Court Administration Fund to funds appropriated to Judicial Department, unless funds not included in budget of Judicial Department for such purpose, effective July 1, 1998; P.A. 97-90 revised effective date of P.A. 96-170 but without affecting this section; P.A. 00-196 made a technical change in Subsec. (b); P.A. 07-49 made technical changes in Subsecs. (b) to (e) and (g), amended Subsec. (b) to require that person admitted to chronic disease hospital under emergency certificate be examined not later than 24 hours after admission, added Subsec. (h) prohibiting admission of suicidal or homicidal person to chronic disease hospital under emergency certificate and added Subsec. (i) defining “hospital”; P.A. 07-252 amended Subsec. (b) to extend deadline for conducting examination of person committed to chronic disease hospital under emergency certificate from 24 to 36 hours after admission; P.A. 10-117 amended Subsec. (h) by permitting persons to be admitted to or detained at chronic disease hospital under an emergency certificate when such hospital is certified under Medicare as acute care hospital with inpatient prospective payment system excluded psychiatric unit and deleted former Subsec. (i) re definition of “hospital”, effective June 8, 2010.

Annotations to former section 17-183:

Cited. 123 C. 650; 139 C. 471. Validity of any detention effected under section is circumscribed in time and conditioned upon proper execution of a certificate by a physician licensed to practice in Connecticut. 144 C. 464. Cited. 169 C. 13; 199 C. 609.

Cited. 14 CS 33. Probate Court lacks jurisdiction over mental health commitment of children or youths; Superior Court has jurisdiction pursuant to Sec. 46b-121; commitment order for minor was null and void since Probate Court lacks jurisdiction to entertain and determine matters involving the mental health commitment of children or youths. 35 CS 241.

Annotation to present section:

Cited. 236 C. 625.

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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 19 cases (8 in the last 5 years), 1996–2025 · leading case: Hopkins v. O'CONNOR, 925 A.2d 1030 (Conn. 2007).
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Hopkins v. O'CONNOR, 925 A.2d 1030 (Conn. 2007). · cites it 11× “) General Statutes § 17a-502 6 in turn provides in relevant part: “(a) Any person who a physician concludes *835 has psychiatric disabilities and is dangerous to himself *836 or others or gravely disabled, and is in need of immediate care and treatment in a hospital for…”
Bolmer v. Oliveira, 570 F. Supp. 2d 301 (D. Conn. 2008). · cites it 6× “” Conn. Gen.Stat. § 17a-502(a). The Second Circuit has held that no judicial or administrative hearing is required before involuntary commitment occurs.”
Comm'r of Corr. v. Coleman, 38 A.3d 84 (Conn. 2012). · cites it 4× “8 Moreover, the legislature has established involuntary commitment proceedings to provide immediate care and treatment for suicidal individuals; see General Statutes § 17a-502 (a); 9 as well as exceptions to criminal liability for using force against another person in order to…”
In Re Matthew F., 4 A.3d 248 (Conn. 2010). · cites it 2× “ile Training School, provided the commissioner shall give written notice to such child or youth and to the parent or guardian of the child of the commissioner's intention to make a transfer at least ten days prior to any actual transfer, unless written notice is waived by those…”
Fraser v. United States, 674 A.2d 811 (Conn. 1996). · cites it 2× “In Connecticut, psychotherapists may exercise control through the emergency commitment procedure set forth in General Statutes § 17a-502 (a), which allows a physician to civilly commit an individual whom he or she believes is “mentally ill and dangerous to himself or others .”
Beale v. Yale-New Haven Hosp., 874 A.2d 259 (Conn. App. Ct. 2005). · cites it 2× “” Physician emergency certificates are permitted by General Statutes § 17a-502 (a), which provides in relevant part: “Any person who a physician concludes has psychiatric disabilities and is dangerous to himself or others or gravely disabled, and is in need of immediate care and…”
Hull v. Town of Newtown, 174 A.3d 174 (Conn. 2017). · cites it 8× “The person shall be examined within twenty-four hours and shall not be held for more than seventy-two hours unless committed under section 17a-502.’’ This language comes, almost verbatim, from § 17a-503 (a).”
State v. Samuolis, 344 Conn. 200 (Conn. 2022). “The person shall be examined within twenty-four hours and shall not be held for more than seventy-two hours unless committed under section 17a-502.’’ 11 The fact that the evidence suggested that the defendant was living in a house with a dead or decomposing body could reasonably…”
Saliby v. Kendzierski, 407 F. Supp. 2d 393 (D. Conn. 2006). “The person shall be examined within twenty-four hours and shall not be held for more than seventy-two hours unless committed under section 17a-502. Conn. Gen.Stat. § 17a-503(a) (West Supp.”
Hull v. Newtown (Conn. 2017). · cites it 6× “The person shall be examined within twenty-four hours and shall not be held for more than seventy-two hours unless committed under section 17a-502.’’ The text of section § 17a-503 (a) uses the term cus- tody in a manner inconsistent with criminal custody or arrest.”
Farren v. Farren (Conn. App. Ct. 2015). · cites it 9× “The defendant refers to General Statutes § 17a-502, which provides in subsection (a) that before a person can be involuntarily committed under an emergency certificate, a physician must conclude that the person has ‘‘psychiatric disabilities and is dangerous to himself or others…”
Li v. Peck (D. Conn. 2022). · cites it 4× “July 7, 2022); see also Edwards, 2006 WL 3618021 , at *3 (concluding that physician’s conduct under Connecticut General Statutes § 17a-502 did not constitute state action where “[n]othing in the statute either forces or encourages involuntary commitments, and the ultimate…”
Show all 19 citing cases →
— Conn. Gen. Stat. § 17a-502(a) — 3 cases
Bolmer v. Oliveira, 570 F. Supp. 2d 301 (D. Conn. 2008). “” Conn. Gen.Stat. § 17a-502(a). The Second Circuit has held that no judicial or administrative hearing is required before involuntary commitment occurs.”
Allen v. Sidaros (D. Conn. 2022).
Li v. Peck (D. Conn. 2022). “July 7, 2022); see also Edwards, 2006 WL 3618021 , at *3 (concluding that physician’s conduct under Connecticut General Statutes § 17a-502 did not constitute state action where “[n]othing in the statute either forces or encourages involuntary commitments, and the ultimate…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.