Law / United States / California
Independent Verification Organizations Act (SB 813)
Cal. Gov. Code Sections 8898 to 8898.4 (SB 813, Ch. 179, Stats. 2026)
A citation is an address, not a summary. The first part names the law; what follows narrows it to the exact section, article or paragraph.
In force in 107 days, effective 1 January 2027.
An AI governance rule binding public and private bodies.
As of 15 September 2026.
What it requires
- This law is enacted but does not take effect until 2027-01-01; what follows applies from that date.
- This chapter does not require you to engage an independent verification organization (IVO) or undergo a covered AI audit as a condition of developing, deploying, or operating an AI system or model in California; doing so is voluntary.
- If you want to be designated as an IVO, apply once the Government Operations Agency publishes its application requirements and designation criteria, due by January 1, 2028.
- If you are a designated IVO, submit an annual report on your standards, methodologies, governance changes, and conflicts of interest to the agency and the Legislature, starting no sooner than 12 months after your designation.
- If a court considers whether your AI system or model caused harm, an audit performed to a standard identified under this chapter is relevant to, but not conclusive of, that action; the chapter creates no safe harbor or affirmative defense.
If you get it wrong
Private right of actionNo
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
California Government Operations Agency, which designates independent verification organizations and may suspend or terminate that designation; the chapter states no penalty against a developer, deployer, or operator of an AI system or model.
What it reaches
Obligation class
Governance, Reporting, Licensing, Disclosure
Who checks it
Audit expectation
none
Who audits it
Registered or designated auditor
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
SB 813 was chaptered on 9 September 2026 and carries no urgency clause, so it takes effect on 1 January 2027 under California's default operative date.
It directs the California Government Operations Agency to develop, by January 1, 2028, application requirements, suspension and termination procedures, and designation criteria for independent verification organizations (IVOs), private AI auditors the agency designates as qualified to assess the risks posed by an AI system or model, but the chapter does not require any person, partnership, or corporation that develops, deploys, or operates an AI system or model to engage an IVO or undergo a covered AI audit.
A designated IVO must submit an annual report on its standards, methodology, governance, and conflicts of interest to the agency and the Legislature, starting no sooner than 12 months after its designation, and if an audit performed to the chapter's standards is later invoked in a civil action alleging that an AI system or model caused harm, the chapter makes it relevant to, but not conclusive of, that action.
When LexLint raises it
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