California SB 574 (Statutes of 2026, chapter 858)

What happened

Senate Bill 574, carried by Senator Thomas Umberg, passed the California Legislature in 2026 and was chaptered by the Secretary of State on September 30, 2026 as chapter 858 of the Statutes of 2026. Law firm alerts report that the Governor signed it the same day and describe it as the first state statute governing attorneys' use of generative AI.

Before SB 574, California's AI rules for the courts ran through the Judicial Council. Rule of Court 10.430 and Standard 10.80 govern court staff and judicial officers, and the State Bar has proposed, but not adopted, AI comments to its Rules of Professional Conduct. SB 574 addresses attorneys and arbitrators by statute.

What was issued or decided

The chaptered text has five sections. Section 1 adds Business and Professions Code section 6068.1, which governs attorneys:

• "An attorney shall not delegate the practice of law to generative artificial intelligence."
• An attorney who uses generative AI must not enter confidential, personal identifying or other nonpublic information into a system whose access is not restricted.
• The attorney must take reasonable steps to verify the accuracy of outputs, "including, but not limited to, the accuracy of all case and statutory citations," and to correct any erroneous or hallucinated output in material the attorney uses.
• The attorney must disclose the use of generative AI "to the court for all documents submitted to the court," and consider disclosure when it is used to create content provided to the public.

Section 3 amends Code of Civil Procedure section 128.7 to provide: "A brief, pleading, motion, or any other paper filed in any court shall not contain any citations that an attorney responsible for submitting the pleading has not personally verified, including any citation provided by generative artificial intelligence." Section 5 adds Code of Civil Procedure section 1282.1, barring arbitrators from delegating decisionmaking to generative AI or relying on AI-generated information outside the record without disclosure. Section 4 adds section 180, directing the Judicial Council to revisit Standard 10.80. Section 2 revises the State Bar's complaint procedures for certified dispute resolution providers.

Where it stands

The statute is enacted. Under California's default rule for statutes passed in a regular session, it becomes operative on January 1, 2027, which is also the date law firm alerts report. This entry now rests on the chaptered text as rendered by CalMatters Digital Democracy, version 91CHP; the Legislature's own site refused automated access.

The disclosure duty in section 6068.1 is the provision most likely to change practice. Once operative, every document a California attorney submits to a court with generative AI assistance carries a disclosure obligation by statute, independent of any local rule or standing order. The statute governs attorneys and arbitrators, not expert witnesses, but an expert declaration filed by counsel is a document submitted to the court, and counsel will need to know whether the expert used such a system to prepare it.

How it maps to the Standard

The prohibition on delegating the practice of law to generative AI corresponds to Clause 2 of the Standard, non-delegation. The duties to verify and correct output, and the ban on unverified citations, correspond to Clause 3, independent authority.

The confidentiality duty corresponds to Clause 6, custody and confidentiality, which requires an expert to confirm before submitting any material to a system that doing so is consistent with the protective order and the engagement. SB 574 makes the attorney's version of that check a statutory duty.

The duty to disclose AI use to the court for every submitted document corresponds to Clause 8, disclosure, and is broader than the Standard's version, which requires disclosure at retention and on request.

Sources

• CalMatters Digital Democracy (Legislative Counsel's Digest and status) · September 30, 2026
  SB 574: Attorneys, arbitrators, judicial officers, and alternative resolution providers
• Ropes & Gray · October 2026
  California Enacts SB 574, Nation's First Law Governing Attorneys' Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence
• Holland & Knight · October 2026
  California Enacts Rules Governing Lawyers' Use of Generative AI
• CalMatters Digital Democracy · September 30, 2026
  SB 574, chaptered text (version 91CHP)

What could not be confirmed

The chaptered text was read through CalMatters Digital Democracy's rendering, which strips apostrophes, rather than the official leginfo.legislature.ca.gov page, which refused automated access. The signing date is as reported by law firms.