California's SB 574 on AI in Legal Practice, Explained

By Alex (J.D. candidate, not a lawyer)

SB 574 (Stats. 2026, ch. 858) is a California law, signed September 30, 2026, that beginning in 2027 sets rules for attorneys and arbitrators who use generative AI and adds a citation rule for court filings.

This page walks through the signed text one code section at a time. It quotes the bill on leginfo and explains each part in general terms.

What SB 574 is

SB 574 was introduced by Senator Thomas Umberg. The Governor approved it on September 30, 2026, and it was chaptered the same day as Chapter 858, Statutes of 2026. (Read the bill history on leginfo.) Read the Governor's announcement.

The bill changes California law through the five code sections it adds or amends:

  1. Business and Professions Code section 6068.1 (added).
  2. Business and Professions Code section 6173 (amended).
  3. Code of Civil Procedure section 128.7 (amended).
  4. Code of Civil Procedure section 180 (added).
  5. Code of Civil Procedure section 1282.1 (added).

(Read the bill on leginfo.) SentryHall also follows the bill in the tracker entry for SB 574.

SB 574 amends Business and Professions Code section 6173, on the State Bar's "voluntary program to certify alternative dispute resolution firms, providers, or practitioners." The amended section will require "[p]rocedures for the State Bar or a professional organization approved by the State Bar to receive, investigate, and resolve any complaints that a certified firm, provider, or practitioner failed to comply with the applicable ethical standards of conduct."

Rules for attorneys who use generative AI: Business and Professions Code section 6068.1

What the law says. Section 6068.1(a)(2) says: "An attorney shall not delegate the practice of law to generative artificial intelligence."

Subdivision (a)(3) then says: "An attorney who uses generative artificial intelligence to assist in the practice of law shall do all of the following":

  1. Not enter "confidential, personal identifying, and other nonpublic information" into a generative AI system where access is "not restricted to the attorney and persons authorized by the attorney."
  2. "Take reasonable steps" to verify the accuracy of generative AI outputs, "including, but not limited to, the accuracy of all case and statutory citations," and to correct "any erroneous or hallucinated output in any material used by the attorney."
  3. "Disclose the use of generative artificial intelligence to the court for all documents submitted to the court and consider whether to disclose the use of generative artificial intelligence if it is used to create content provided to the public."

The full text of item 1 reads: "Not enter confidential, personal identifying, and other nonpublic information into a generative artificial intelligence system for which access to confidential, personal identifying, or other nonpublic information the attorney inputs into the system is not restricted to the attorney and persons authorized by the attorney under obligations to protect the confidentiality of the information."

Subdivision (b)(1) defines the key term: "'Generative artificial intelligence' means an artificial intelligence system that can generate derived synthetic content, including text, images, video, and audio that emulates the structure and characteristics of the system's training data." Code of Civil Procedure sections 128.7(b)(2)(B) and 1282.1(c) use the same words. Subdivision (b)(2) lists what "personal identifying information" includes. (Read the bill on leginfo, SEC. 1.)

What it means in general. Section 6068.1 contains one limit, in (a)(2), and three duties for attorneys who use generative AI, in (a)(3). Subdivision (a)(1) says the section does not "abrogate an attorney's duty to exercise reasonable competence and diligence in the practice of law."

The new citation rule for court filings: Code of Civil Procedure section 128.7

What the law says. New section 128.7(b)(2)(A) says: "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."

SB 574 adds this as paragraph (2) of subdivision (b). It renumbers the four existing certification conditions in subdivision (b) as (b)(1)(A) to (D). (Read the bill on leginfo, SEC. 3.)

What it means in general. The new paragraph sits inside subdivision (b) of section 128.7. Under subdivision (c), if, "after notice and a reasonable opportunity to respond," the court determines that subdivision (b) has been violated, "the court may, subject to the conditions stated below, impose an appropriate sanction upon the attorneys, law firms, or parties that have violated subdivision (b) or are responsible for the violation."

Rules for arbitrators: Code of Civil Procedure section 1282.1

What the law says. Section 1282.1(b)(1) says: "An arbitrator shall not delegate any part of their decisionmaking process to any generative artificial intelligence tool."

Section 1282.1(b)(2) says: "An arbitrator shall not rely on information generated by generative artificial intelligence outside the record without making appropriate disclosures to the parties beforehand and, as far as practical, allowing the parties to comment on its use." (Read the bill on leginfo, SEC. 5.)

What it means in general. Section 1282.1 contains two limits on how arbitrators use generative AI. Subdivision (c) uses the same definition of generative AI as section 6068.1.

Judicial Council review: Code of Civil Procedure section 180

What the law says. Section 180 reads in full: "The Judicial Council shall publicly revisit, and revise as necessary, Standard 10.80 of the California Standards of Judicial Administration to incorporate any necessary changes to reflect the further development of generative artificial intelligence." (Read the bill on leginfo, SEC. 4.)

When it takes effect

SB 574 takes effect January 1, 2027. It was signed September 30, 2026, and under the California Constitution a statute passed at a regular session takes effect on January 1 after a 90-day period from its enactment (Cal. Const., art. IV, § 8(c)(1)). (Read the official text.)

Court opinions on AI citations before SB 574

Before SB 574 passed, the Court of Appeal addressed fabricated citations in a published opinion, Noland v. Land of the Free, L.P. (2025) 114 Cal.App.5th 426. Read the opinion.

Sources

SentryHall publishes general legal information for educational purposes. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. The author is a law student, not a lawyer. Laws change and apply differently to different facts. For advice about your situation, talk with a lawyer licensed in California. You can look up a lawyer's license status at calbar.ca.gov.

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