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MO AI Mental Health Prohibition

Missouri AI Mental Health Professional Prohibition (HB 2368)

Prohibits any individual or entity that develops or deploys AI from advertising or representing that the AI is or is able to act as a mental health professional or is capable of providing therapy services. Violations treated as unlawful practice under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act.

Jurisdiction

Missouri

Enacted

Pending

Effective

TBD

Enforcement

Missouri Attorney General

Passed out of House Health/Mental Health Committee in March 2026. Companion bill SB 1444 filed in Senate.

LegiScan / Missouri Legislature

Why It Matters

Part of growing wave of state-level prohibitions on AI systems misrepresenting themselves as mental health professionals, using consumer protection rather than healthcare licensing as the enforcement mechanism.

Recent Developments

Passed out of House Health/Mental Health Committee in March 2026. Companion bill SB 1444 filed with identical provisions.

At a Glance

Applies to

Mental Health AppGeneral ChatbotAI Companion

Harms addressed

Requires

Who Must Comply

  • Developers of AI systems
  • Deployers of AI systems
  • Entities marketing AI for mental health purposes

Safety Provisions

  • Prohibits advertising AI as a mental health professional
  • Prohibits representing AI as capable of providing therapy services
  • Violations treated as unlawful practice under Merchandising Practices Act

Compliance & Enforcement

Penalties

Penalties under Missouri Merchandising Practices Act. Individuals may report violations to Attorney General.

View on map

Missouri

Focus Areas

Mental health & crisis

Cite This

APA

Missouri. (n.d.). Missouri AI Mental Health Professional Prohibition (HB 2368).

Related Regulations

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IL HB 5511

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Enacted US-NJ

NJ Kids Code

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Enacted US-IA

IA SF 2417

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Enacted US-CA

CA AB 1709

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Enacted US-CA

CA AB 2

Requires a social media platform with more than $100 million in annual gross revenues to exercise ordinary care or skill in its interactions with minors, and makes it liable in damages for injury to a child caused by a failure to do so. Provides statutory damages of $5,000 per violation capped at $1 million per child, or treble actual damages, whichever is greater, and voids any waiver of the liability. Repealed January 1, 2035.

Enacted US-CA

CA AB 2246

Repeals and replaces the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act. Requires a business providing an online service, product or feature likely to be accessed by children to estimate the age of child users with a reasonable level of certainty or extend child protections to all users, to configure high-privacy defaults, and to take reasonable steps to prevent specified harms including severe psychological harm. Removes the exceptions to the data-collection prohibitions, lets children void contracts entered through manipulative design features, and states that it creates no private right of action.

Last updated March 23, 2026. Verify against primary sources before relying on this information.