Topic dossier
Where AI is barred from practising psychotherapy, presenting itself as a licensed clinician, or being advertised as mental-health care — and where a licensed human has to stay in the loop. 13 obligations across 1 jurisdiction — 5 in force. Next dated deadline: 12 Aug 2026.
A distinct legislative line separates general chatbot safety from the practice of mental-health care. These instruments treat AI-delivered therapy as either unlicensed practice or deceptive representation. Tennessee's SB 1580 prohibits an AI system from claiming to function as a qualified mental-health professional; Rhode Island's H 7349 restricts therapy to licensed professionals, which reaches AI-only therapy services; Missouri's SB 1019 targets the advertising claim itself; and Colorado's HB 26-1195 conditions AI-delivered psychotherapy on a licensed professional's real-time involvement plus disclosure and written consent. The obligations below are the instruments AI Law Radar tracks under this theme, each linked to its primary source and dated to its last check.
Binds Any individual or business providing therapy or psychotherapy services in Rhode Island. Prohibits providing therapy or psychotherapy services in Rhode Island unless conducted by a licensed professional; effectively bans AI-only therapy chatbots.
Signed by Governor McKee June 22, 2026; effective upon passage.
Stated maximum penalty — RI licensing enforcement
Binds Operators of conversational AI services serving Iowa consumers. Disclosure and safeguard obligations for conversational AI operators serving Iowa users; compliance applicable 2027-07-01.
Law in force 2026-07-01; compliance obligations applicable from July 1, 2027.
Stated maximum penalty — Civil enforcement by Iowa AG (amount TBD)
Binds Any person creating or deploying AI systems available in Tennessee. Prohibits AI systems from claiming to function as qualified mental health professionals.
Stated maximum penalty — $5,000 per violation (Consumer Protection Act)
Binds Operators of conversational AI services accessible in Hawaii. AI-identity disclosure, minor safeguards, and suicide-prevention protocols for conversational AI operators.
Annual crisis-intervention referral reports to Behavioral Health Administration beginning 2028-01-01.
Stated maximum penalty — $1,000/violation up to $1,000,000/operator
Binds Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) — study mandate only; imposes no compliance duties on AI operators. As enacted, SB 1700 does not impose chatbot safety requirements on operators. Senate amendments stripped the original companion-chatbot restrictions and replaced them with a directive for TACIR to study potential AI/chatbot regulation (federal law, other states' approaches, constitutional issues, minor/mental-health safeguards, economic impact); no report deadline is specified.
Signed 2026-05-22 by Governor Lee as Public Chapter 1082. Bill was substantially amended (Senate amendments adopted 2026-04-14) before passage, removing the original chatbot-safety restrictions.
Stated maximum penalty — None — study mandate only; no compliance obligation imposed on AI operators
Binds Regulated psychotherapy professionals in Colorado using AI; any entity misrepresenting AI as professional-equivalent. AI cannot deliver psychotherapy without licensed professional's real-time involvement; disclosure and written consent required.
Stated maximum penalty — Unfair trade practice (CO Consumer Protection Act; AG enforcement)
Binds AI companion chatbot operators serving Washington users. Non-human disclosure, minor safeguards, and self-harm protocols for AI companion chatbot operators.
Disclosures every 3 hours (all users) or 1 hour (minor users).
Stated maximum penalty — Actual damages + injunctive relief + attorney fees; WA AG (Consumer Protection Act)
Binds AI companion and chatbot platform operators serving Oregon users. AI disclosure, self-harm protocols, and minor protections; first chatbot law with private right of action and per-violation statutory damages.
Stated maximum penalty — Greater of actual damages or $1,000 per violation; private right of action; attorney fees
Binds Conversational AI operators serving Colorado users. Safety, disclosure, and minor protection obligations for conversational AI operators in Colorado.
Signed 2026-05-29; legal effective date 2026-08-12; compliance obligations from 2027-01-01.
Stated maximum penalty — CO AG enforcement
Binds Chatbot and companion AI operators serving Rhode Island users. Chatbot/companion AI operators must include suicidal-ideation protocols and crisis referrals; annual reporting to AG from 2027-07-01.
Signed 2026-06-22 by Governor McKee; general effective date 2027-01-01. Annual reports to RI AG beginning July 1, 2027.
Stated maximum penalty — RI AG enforcement
Binds Operators of conversational AI chatbot services accessible to the Georgia public. Age verification, parental controls, AI-identity disclosure, and crisis protocols for conversational AI chatbot operators.
Stated maximum penalty — Up to $10,000 per knowing violation (GA AG enforcement)
Binds Consumer-facing conversational AI service operators serving Idaho users (excludes B2B, internal, customer-service bots). AI identity disclosure, crisis referral protocols, and minor safeguards for consumer-facing conversational AI operators.
Modeled on Nebraska LB 525. Signed 2026-04-01.
Stated maximum penalty — Idaho AG enforcement (amount TBD)
Binds Conversational AI service operators serving Nebraska users. Operators of consumer-facing conversational AI services must disclose AI nature, apply enhanced safeguards for minors, avoid claiming to provide professional mental health care, and provide crisis intervention referrals.
Signed April 14, 2026; operative July 1, 2027 (sections 12–18).
Stated maximum penalty — $1,000 per violation; up to $500,000 per operator per enforcement action; Nebraska AG enforcement only
It depends on the jurisdiction and on how the service is presented. Rhode Island restricts the provision of therapy and psychotherapy to licensed professionals, and Colorado conditions AI-delivered psychotherapy on a licensed professional's real-time involvement with disclosure and written consent. Neither is a blanket ban on mental-health software; both attach the practice of therapy to a licensed human.
Missouri's SB 1019 prohibits advertising or representing that an AI system can act as a mental-health professional, provide therapy or psychotherapy, or make mental-health diagnoses. Tennessee's SB 1580 addresses the same conduct as impersonation of a qualified mental-health professional.
The chatbot statutes regulate disclosure and crisis handling for any consumer-facing conversational system. The instruments on this page regulate a specific claim or service — practising, diagnosing or advertising mental-health care. Several laws, including Nebraska's LB 525 and Tennessee's CHAT Act, do both, so they appear under each theme.
We currently track ai therapy & mental health obligations across 1 jurisdiction: United States. Each is dated and linked to its primary source on this page.
Not legal advice. Each obligation links to its primary source and carries the date it was last checked; verify the legal text before relying on it.