News Room

SAINT PAUL – Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon is highlighting new bipartisan legislation that will improve the lives of more than 5,000 Minnesotans who participate in the state’s Safe at Home Program.

The Safe at Home Program helps people who fear for their safety keep their home address confidential by providing a P.O. Box for participants to use as their legal address. The program forwards participants’ first-class mail and accepts service of process on their behalf while securely protecting their home address.  

Passed with unanimous support in the Minnesota House and Senate, HF 3676 updates existing law to strengthen protections for minors and further prevent the disclosure of a participant’s address. The updated legislation: 

• Defines who may act as a guardian when enrolling a minor and ensures emancipated minors can apply independently.
• Codifies the existing staff practice of requiring documentation of guardianship, to promote consistency and accountability.
• Requires written judicial findings, notifying the Office of the Secretary of State when such findings are made, and allowing time for review or intervention before a participant’s address is publicly disclosed.
• Increases penalties for harmful disclosures. 
• Adds anti-discrimination protections for participants.
• Improves state agency coordination by requiring agencies to designate a Safe at Home point of contact.
• Reduces barriers for participants by allowing Safe at Home cards to be used as proof of residency for Minnesota IDs, driver’s licenses, and REAL IDs.
• Enhances judicial understanding of the program through required trainings.

“Safe at Home is truly a lifesaving service for so many of the participants," said Secretary Simon. “These common-sense reforms give further support and peace of mind to Minnesotans and their families who fear for their safety at home. We are grateful to Representative Jim Nash and Senator Doron Clark for championing this important legislation.” 

“These new changes are an important improvement for our program to ensure it continues to be highly effective for Minnesotans in need,” said Dianna Umidon, Director of Safe at Home. “The Minnesota legislature has always been a strong partner in protecting our participants and we are grateful for their continued support.”

HF 3676 passed the Minnesota House on April 20, 2026 with a vote of 134-0. The legislation passed the Minnesota Senate on April 28, 2026 with a vote of 66-0.

Safe at Home was created in 2007 to serve Minnesotans with the most serious public safety threats. In nearly all cases, participants must relocate at their own expense to successfully enroll in the program.

Most often, participants of the program are survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. Judges, police officers, and other public officials are also eligible for the program due to professional safety concerns.

As of December 31, 2025, a total of 5,351 Minnesotans were enrolled in the Safe at Home Program. Nearly half of all participants are children.

Safe at Home is a private sector–government partnership that uses state resources to recruit, train, and monitor the application work of application assistants. Application assistants are victim advocates who are employed by community-based organizations throughout Minnesota.

Every county in Minnesota, as well as the Mille Lacs and Leech Lake reservations, is served by a Safe at Home Application Assistant. As of December 31, 2025, Safe at Home had partnerships with 100 different community-based organizations and 405 individual application assistants.

Learn more about Safe at Home in the January 2025 Annual Report to the Legislature.