Law / United States / 
Vermont
Act 156 (H.816), artificial intelligence in the provision of mental health services
In force since .
An AI sector rules rule binding public and private bodies.
- Private right of action
- Yes
- Enforcement body
- Vermont Attorney General and private parties under the Consumer Protection Act
- Obligation class
- Prohibition
- Audit expectation
- none
As of .
What it requires
- Do not provide, advertise, or otherwise offer mental health services to the public, including through the use of artificial intelligence, unless a mental health professional provides them or they are part of an approved institutional review board or privacy board study.
- Mental health services are services provided to diagnose, treat, or address an individual's mental health or behavioral health through therapeutic communications and therapeutic decisions.
- A mental health professional may use artificial intelligence tools that comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 within the professional's scope of practice only if the professional reviews and approves any mental health services.
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
What it makes you log
Logging duty
The section states no duty for anyone to create, keep, or produce a log or record.
- Kind
- None
- As of
What this law does
Act No. 156 of 2026 (H.816) adds 18 V.S.A. § 7115, which provides that a corporation or entity shall not provide, advertise, or otherwise offer mental health services, including through the use of artificial intelligence, to the public unless the mental health services meet one of two conditions. The first condition is that a mental health professional provides the mental health services.
The second condition is that the mental health services are part of an approved institutional review board or privacy board study. Mental health services are services provided to diagnose, treat, or address an individual's mental health or behavioral health through therapeutic communications and therapeutic decisions.
Artificial intelligence means an engineered or machine-based system that varies in its level of autonomy and that can, for explicit or implicit objectives, infer from the input it receives how to generate outputs that can influence physical or virtual environments. A violation of the section by a corporation or entity is deemed a violation of the Consumer Protection Act, 9 V.S.A. chapter 63.
The Attorney General has the same authority, and private parties have the same rights and remedies, as provided under 9 V.S.A. chapter 63, subchapter 1. A mental health professional operating within the professional's scope of practice may use artificial intelligence tools that comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, provided that the professional reviews and approves any mental health services.
Engaging in the prohibited use of artificial intelligence under 18 V.S.A. § 7115 is unprofessional conduct for any mental health professional under 3 V.S.A. § 129a. The act states its purpose as safeguarding individuals seeking mental health services in Vermont from psychological harm, including death by suicide, by ensuring that mental health professionals deliver these services and not artificial intelligence systems independently. The Governor signed the act on . The act takes effect on passage.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app deploys a chatbot or generates content with AI.