State AI law
North Carolina
AI laws
We track 12 artificial-intelligence bills and regulations in North Carolina. 3 have been signed or enacted, and 8 are still moving.
Last updated Oct 13, 2026 · How we collect and check bills
Where North Carolina’s bills stand
12 bills- Introduced
- 0
- In committee
- 8
- Passed a chamber
- 0
- Signed or enacted
- 3
- Dead or vetoed
- 1
Overview
How North Carolina regulates AI
North Carolina has 12 published AI-related bills in our register, 3 of them signed or enacted. Every bill below links to its own page with the status, dates and a plain-English summary.
Industries these bills touch
North Carolina AI law guides
Deepfake Laws in North Carolina
North Carolina has enacted deepfake legislation. See how it compares with other states, including penalties, scope and enforcement.
North Carolina AI bills
RSS feed for North Carolina2026 Appropriations Act.
North Carolina's 2026 Appropriations Act (S.L. 2026-41) includes Section 7.39, Safe and Responsible AI in Schools. The State Board must adopt K-12 AI literacy standards (responsible use, limits of AI, verifying outputs, privacy, safety with chatbots). DPI must write a model AI policy by Dec. 31, 2026, and local boards, charter, lab and other public schools must adopt AI use policies by June 30, 2027. DPI must keep an evaluation framework and public lists of AI tools, and all teachers must complete AI training by June 30, 2028. The act took effect July 1, 2026.
Consumer Protection Artificial Intelligence Bill of Rights.
HR 1177 is a nonbinding North Carolina House resolution urging Congress to preserve the state's authority to regulate harmful uses of AI in consumer protection, to let state agencies keep full investigative and enforcement powers, and to oppose federal moratoria that would stop states from enforcing their laws against AI-enabled fraud and deceptive practices. It was filed April 30, 2026 and referred to the House Rules Committee on May 4, 2026.
AI Chatbots-Licensing, Safety, and Privacy.
SB 963 would require a state license from the North Carolina Department of Justice to operate or distribute any chatbot dealing substantially with health information, with evidence of effectiveness, insurance, encryption, fast breach reporting and annual audits. A Chatbot Safety and Privacy Act would give larger chatbot providers a duty of loyalty: respond to users at risk of harm, prevent emotional dependence, disclose at each new interaction that the chatbot is not human and get consent, deidentify data, and keep sensitive data out of training. Users could sue for $1,000 per violation. Pending in the Senate.
Personal Data Privacy/Social Media Safety
North Carolina's H 462 (Edition 2) would enact a Data Privacy Act giving residents rights to access, correct, delete and take their data and to opt out of targeted ads, sales and profiling for solely automated decisions with significant effects, and a social media act requiring parental consent and age verification for minors. Reported favorably as a committee substitute and re-referred to House Commerce and Economic Development April 29, 2025; it has not passed either house.
AI Ethics and Literacy Across Education
North Carolina's SB 640, 'AI Ethics and Literacy Across Education', would require the State Board of Education to adopt age-appropriate artificial intelligence standards for kindergarten through grade 12. The standards must cover AI basics, real-world applications, economic, legal and social issues, and responsible, ethical use. Filed March 25, 2025 and referred to the Senate Rules and Operations Committee March 26, 2025; it has not passed either chamber.
AI Learning Agenda
North Carolina's SB 747 would create an Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy in the Department of Commerce and an AI Learning Laboratory Program, in which approved participants test AI products under adjusted regulatory requirements for up to 12 months. Filed March 25, 2025 and referred to the Senate Rules and Operations Committee March 26, 2025; it has not passed either chamber.
AI Innovation Trust Fund
North Carolina's SB 735 would create an Artificial Intelligence Innovation Trust Fund, administered by the Secretary of Commerce, for grants to AI companies and AI entrepreneurship programs, with $750,000 appropriated for 2025-2026. It would also set safety duties for developers of covered AI models and computing cluster operators, enforced by the Attorney General. Filed March 25, 2025; re-referred to Appropriations/Base Budget March 26, 2025; it has not passed either chamber.
AI Chatbots - Licensing/Safety/Privacy
North Carolina's S 624 (as filed) would require a Department of Justice license to operate or distribute a chatbot that deals substantially with health information, with a $50,000 civil penalty for violating G.S. 114B-5. It would also create a Chatbot Safety and Privacy Act: covered platforms would owe users a duty of loyalty and would have to disclose that a chatbot is not human, get consent each session and de-identify user data. Filed March 25, 2025 and referred to the Senate Rules and Operations Committee; it has not passed either house.
AI/Ban Deceptive Ads
North Carolina's HB 375 would create the Artificial Intelligence and Synthetic Media Act (new Chapter 170). It would regulate deceptive deepfakes in elections, make generated child pornography and non-consensual fabricated intimate images crimes, and require disclosure of generative AI use by regulated occupations. Filed March 11, 2025 and referred to committees March 13, 2025; it has not passed either chamber.
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH SEXUAL EXTORTION OFFENSES, TO UPDATE OFFENSES RELATED TO SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF A MINOR, TO UPDATE SEX OFFENDER AND PUBL…
North Carolina's S.L. 2024-37 (Modernize Sex Crimes) updates sex crime laws for AI. The definition of "material" for sexual exploitation of a minor now covers digital or computer-generated depictions created, adapted or modified by technological means such as algorithms or artificial intelligence, and a new offense covers obscene visual representations of sexual exploitation of a minor. New sexual extortion offenses and the disclosure of private images offense cover realistic images made with algorithms or AI. It applies to offenses on or after Dec. 1, 2024.
Artificial Intelligence Task Force/Funds.
Not law. HB 1036 would have created a North Carolina Artificial Intelligence Task Force to connect legislators with AI experts and industry, review other states' AI laws, study AI systems used by state agencies and shape state AI policy, working through groups on innovation, standards and ethics, high-risk automated decision systems, and individual rights. It would have appropriated $250,000 for 2024-25, with recommendations due to the 2025 General Assembly. It was referred to House Appropriations on May 7, 2024 and went no further.
Neighborhood Occupantless Vehicle.
North Carolina's S.L. 2021-179 authorizes neighborhood occupantless vehicles: low-speed, fully autonomous vehicles designed to carry cargo with no occupant. New G.S. 20-121.2 sets the roadways they may use and their operating rules, and exempts a fully autonomous vehicle operated exclusively by an automated driving system from state equipment rules that exist only to support a human driver. It took effect Dec. 1, 2021.
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