HIPAA Safe Harbor: the no actual knowledge condition (45 CFR 164.514(b)(2)(ii))
Removing the eighteen kinds is not enough if the covered entity actually knows that what remains could still identify someone.
Dated 17 Oct 2026Source checked 17 Oct 2026Basis: primary text
In the source's own words
“The covered entity does not have actual knowledge that the information could be used alone or in combination with other information to identify an individual who is a subject of the information.”
Where it was read
Also read from the same source
- HIPAA Privacy Rule: the de-identification standard (45 CFR 164.514(a))
- HIPAA Privacy Rule: the Expert Determination method (45 CFR 164.514(b)(1))
- HIPAA Privacy Rule: the Safe Harbor method, whose identifiers must go (45 CFR 164.514(b)(2)(i))
- HIPAA Safe Harbor: geography and the three-digit ZIP rule (45 CFR 164.514(b)(2)(i)(B))
- HIPAA Safe Harbor: dates and ages over 89 (45 CFR 164.514(b)(2)(i)(C))
- HIPAA Safe Harbor: any other unique number, characteristic or code (45 CFR 164.514(b)(2)(i)(R))
Figures it counts in
It is shown on its own, not counted into a figure.
Cited in this guide