The short answer. Getting a psychic, tarot or astrology reading is legal everywhere in the United States, and no law penalizes the person who gets one. A handful of places still have old laws against charging for fortune telling, most notably New York (Penal Law §165.35) and Pennsylvania (18 Pa.C.S. §7104), but courts have repeatedly struck down outright bans as violations of free speech, and lawmakers in both states have introduced bills to repeal them. That legal history is why psychic platforms describe their service as “for entertainment purposes only”: it’s a legal classification, not a comment on the readers.
This page is a plain-English summary of public law and court decisions as of October 2026, not legal advice. Local ordinances change; check your city or county code for the current text.
Fortune-Telling Laws at a Glance
| Jurisdiction | Status (Oct 2026) | Details |
|---|---|---|
| New York State | Statute in force; repeal bills pending | Penal Law §165.35: class B misdemeanor to tell fortunes for a fee, unless solely for entertainment or amusement. Repeal bills A9387 / S8682 in committee. |
| Pennsylvania | Statute in force; repeal bill and lawsuit pending | 18 Pa.C.S. §7104: fortune telling “for gain or lucre” is a third-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year, fines up to $2,500). HB 1562 (2025) would repeal it; a federal challenge filed in 2024 is ongoing. |
| Baltimore, Maryland | Local ban on the books | Fortune telling and palm reading for pay listed as a misdemeanor in the city’s public local laws. |
| Montgomery County, Maryland | Ban struck down, 2010 | Nefedro v. Montgomery County: Maryland’s highest court held the ban violated the First Amendment. |
| California | Bans struck down, 1985 | Spiritual Psychic Science Church v. City of Azusa: California Supreme Court struck down a city ban on paid fortune telling. Some cities regulate by permit instead (e.g., San Francisco). |
| Lincoln, Nebraska | Ban struck down, 1998 | Argello v. City of Lincoln (8th Cir.): city ban held unconstitutional. |
| Chesterfield County, Virginia | Licensing upheld, 2013 | Moore-King v. County of Chesterfield (4th Cir.): licensing and zoning rules for fortune tellers upheld. |
| Norfolk, Virginia | Ban repealed, 2024 | City council removed a 1979 ban on paid palmistry and clairvoyance in June 2024. |
| Everywhere else in the U.S. | Legal | Ordinary fraud and consumer-protection laws apply, as they do to any business. |
Is It Legal to Get a Psychic Reading?
Yes, in every U.S. state. The laws that exist are written about the person charging for fortune telling, and none of them make it an offense to receive a reading. You can’t be fined or arrested for calling a psychic, booking a tarot reading at a local shop or chatting with an advisor online.
For readers and platforms, the picture has three layers:
- Old criminal statutes in a few states and cities, mostly written in the 19th and 20th centuries, that ban paid fortune telling or allow it only as entertainment.
- Constitutional limits on those laws. Since the 1980s, courts have treated fortune telling as speech protected by the First Amendment (and state free-speech clauses), which makes outright bans very hard to defend.
- Licensing and general law. Cities can still require permits, as they can for many businesses, and fraud is illegal no matter what the business is.
The States That Still Have Laws
New York: Penal Law §165.35
New York makes “fortune telling” a crime when a person, for a fee or compensation, claims to tell fortunes, to use occult powers to answer questions or give advice on personal matters, or to lift curses or influence evil spirits. It’s a class B misdemeanor, the lowest grade of misdemeanor in New York. The statute exempts anyone doing it “as part of a show or exhibition solely for the purpose of entertainment or amusement”.
In practice, prosecutions under §165.35 are rare. The New York cases that make headlines usually involve large sums obtained by promising to remove a curse, and those are charged as grand larceny or fraud, not as fortune telling (a pattern analyzed in the Columbia Undergraduate Law Review).
Repeal is on the table. Assembly Bill A9387 (introduced December 19, 2025, by Assemblymember Lavine) and its Senate companion S8682 (introduced January 7, 2026, by Senator Gonzalez) would repeal §165.35. The original versions also proposed giving the Attorney General power to act against deceptive “spiritual or metaphysical services”; both bills were later amended and recommitted to the Codes Committee. As of October 2026 neither had passed.
Pennsylvania: 18 Pa.C.S. §7104
Pennsylvania has outlawed professional fortune telling since 1861. Today’s statute makes it a third-degree misdemeanor to “pretend for gain or lucre” to predict future events or tell fortunes, punishable by up to a year in jail and fines up to $2,500.
The law is rarely enforced, but it isn’t dead: in 2023, police in Hanover, York County, warned the owner of a metaphysical shop, The Serpent’s Key, that charging for tarot readings could break it. The owner, Beck Ravenswood, filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit in August 2024 arguing the statute violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments; as of July 2026 the case was ongoing. Separately, House Bill 1562, introduced in 2025 by Rep. Greg Scott, would repeal §7104 entirely. It had not passed as of October 2026.
Cities and counties
A few local codes still ban or restrict paid fortune telling. Baltimore’s public local laws list fortune telling and palm reading for pay as a misdemeanor. Other cities and counties use permits rather than bans. San Francisco, for instance, requires a police permit for fortune-telling businesses, which can be revoked for fraud. The trend is toward repeal: Norfolk, Virginia dropped its 45-year-old ban in June 2024, with a city spokeswoman saying it was removed “because it is no longer used”.
Why Courts Keep Striking Down Bans
The leading cases all turn on the same idea: a reading is speech, and the government can’t ban paid speech just because it disagrees with what’s being said.
Spiritual Psychic Science Church of Truth v. City of Azusa (California Supreme Court, 1985). Azusa banned charging for astrology, palmistry, fortune telling and similar practices. The court struck the ordinance down under the California Constitution’s free-speech clause (39 Cal.3d 501). After it, cities in California moved from bans to permits.
Argello v. City of Lincoln (8th Circuit, 1998). A federal appeals court held that Lincoln, Nebraska’s ban on fortune telling for pay was unconstitutional, finding the city hadn’t shown a compelling interest that justified a blanket prohibition.
Nefedro v. Montgomery County (Maryland Court of Appeals, 2010). Nick Nefedro, backed by the ACLU of Maryland, challenged the county’s ban on accepting money for fortune telling. The court held that the ordinance violated the First Amendment because it “impermissibly burdens protected speech based on the content of that speech”, and pointed out that the county could still enforce fraud laws when fraud actually happens (414 Md. 585).
Moore-King v. County of Chesterfield (4th Circuit, 2013). The counterweight. A Virginia psychic and spiritual counselor challenged the county’s licensing and zoning rules for fortune tellers. The court agreed fortune telling is speech with some First Amendment protection, but upheld the rules as regulation of a profession, similar to licensing other occupations (708 F.3d 560). Commentators have since questioned how well that “professional speech” reasoning holds up after later Supreme Court decisions, but the ruling stands in the Fourth Circuit.
The upshot: blanket bans rarely survive a challenge; reasonable licensing and ordinary fraud enforcement generally do.
What “For Entertainment Purposes Only” Actually Means
Almost every psychic platform uses the phrase. For example:
- Keen’s site footer: “Keen is for entertainment purposes only. Must be 18 years or older.”
- Purple Garden’s terms of service say information from any advisor “is strictly for general entertainment purposes” and “is not a substitute for the advice and counsel of a qualified professional”.
There are three reasons for the wording, and none of them is “the readings aren’t real”:
- Statutory safe harbor. Laws like New York’s exempt fortune telling done “solely for the purpose of entertainment or amusement”. Classifying the service as entertainment keeps it clearly outside those statutes.
- No professional advice. The same terms bar advisors from diagnosing illness, prescribing treatment or giving investment advice. “Entertainment” signals that a reading is not a substitute for a doctor, lawyer, therapist or financial adviser, which protects you as well as the platform.
- Liability. A reading is one perspective on your situation, and a platform can’t guarantee outcomes. The disclaimer sets that expectation in legal language.
In practice, that’s a sensible way to approach any reading: as a perspective you weigh alongside your own judgment. For how to get the most from one, see how to prepare for a psychic reading and psychic reading vs therapy.
Age limits
Every major platform requires users to be 18 or older: Keen says so in its footer and Purple Garden in its terms, which also prohibit advisors from requesting information from minors.
Your Protections as a Client
Because fortune-telling statutes are rarely used, your real protection comes from the same laws that cover any purchase:
- Fraud and theft laws. Obtaining money through false promises, such as paying to remove a “curse”, is prosecutable as fraud or larceny in every state.
- Consumer-protection law. The FTC Act and state consumer-protection statutes prohibit deceptive and unfair business practices, including misleading claims and billing.
- Payment protections. Card chargebacks and PayPal disputes apply to readings like any other service.
- Platform guarantees. Large platforms bill through their own systems and offer refunds or credit when a reading disappoints; the terms differ by site.
If something has already gone wrong, our step-by-step guide covers it: scammed by a psychic? How to get your money back. For warning signs worth knowing in advance, see a psychic says you’re cursed.
Fortune-Telling Laws in Other Countries
| Country | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (England & Wales) | Legal; general consumer law applies | The Fraudulent Mediums Act 1951 was repealed on 26 May 2008 by the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, whose rules now sit in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. Psychics are regulated like any trader: no misleading practices. |
| Canada | Legal since 2018 | Criminal Code s.365, “Pretending to practise witchcraft, etc.”, which covered undertaking to tell fortunes for consideration, was repealed in December 2018 (Bill C-51). |
| New Zealand | Legal; fraud offense remains | Summary Offences Act 1981, s.16: an offense (fine up to NZ$1,000) to claim telepathy, clairvoyance or mediumship for gain using “fraudulent devices”; entertainment is exempt. |
| Australia | Mostly legal | Most states repealed inherited fortune-telling laws; the Northern Territory and South Australia still have them on the books. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is fortune telling illegal in the United States?
No. Getting a reading is legal everywhere in the U.S. A few places still restrict charging for fortune telling, mainly New York (Penal Law §165.35, with an entertainment exception) and Pennsylvania (18 Pa.C.S. §7104), but courts have struck down outright bans in California (1985), Lincoln, Nebraska (1998) and Montgomery County, Maryland (2010).
Is fortune telling illegal in New York?
Technically, charging to tell fortunes is a class B misdemeanor unless it’s done solely for entertainment. Prosecutions are rare and usually involve larceny or fraud. Bills A9387 and S8682 would repeal the statute; as of October 2026 they were in committee.
Why do psychic sites say “for entertainment purposes only”?
It’s a legal classification. Some statutes exempt entertainment, and the wording makes clear a reading isn’t medical, legal, financial or psychological advice. It describes the service’s legal status, not the quality of the readers.
Can you get arrested for getting a psychic reading?
No. Fortune-telling laws target the person charging for the reading. There is no offense for receiving one, even in New York or Pennsylvania.
Do psychics need a license?
There is no state psychic license, but some cities and counties require a business permit (San Francisco requires a police permit, for example). In Moore-King v. County of Chesterfield (2013), a federal appeals court upheld a Virginia county’s licensing rules for fortune tellers.
Is fortune telling legal in the UK?
Yes. The Fraudulent Mediums Act 1951 was repealed on 26 May 2008. Psychics now fall under general consumer-protection law and must not mislead customers.
Is fortune telling illegal in Canada?
Not since December 2018, when Bill C-51 repealed Criminal Code section 365. Ordinary fraud law still applies.
Related Guides
- Psychic reading statistics 2026: market size, who gets readings, what they cost
- Scammed by a psychic? How to get your money back
- How to tell if an online psychic is legitimate
- Are Keen and Kasamba the same company?
Sources
Statutes and bills
- New York Penal Law §165.35, Fortune telling. nysenate.gov
- New York Assembly Bill A9387 (2025–2026) and Senate Bill S8682 (2025–2026). nysenate.gov A9387 · S8682
- Pennsylvania 18 Pa.C.S. §7104, Fortune telling; House Bill 1562 (2025–2026 session). Coverage: abc27
- The Wild Hunt (July 8, 2026). Serpent’s Key owner challenges Pennsylvania’s fortune-telling ban. wildhunt.org
Court decisions
- Spiritual Psychic Science Church of Truth, Inc. v. City of Azusa, 39 Cal.3d 501 (1985). Stanford SCOCAL
- Argello v. City of Lincoln, 143 F.3d 1152 (8th Cir. 1998).
- Nefedro v. Montgomery County, 414 Md. 585 (2010). Maryland Judiciary opinion PDF · ACLU release
- Moore-King v. County of Chesterfield, 708 F.3d 560 (4th Cir. 2013). Free Speech Center, MTSU
Local and international
- Associated Press (June 14, 2024). Virginia city repeals ban on psychic readings as industry grows and gains more acceptance. Courthouse News
- Columbia Undergraduate Law Review. Fraud or Faith? Prosecuting Fortune Telling Schemes Under New York’s Grand Larceny Statute. culawreview.org
- Fraudulent Mediums Act 1951 (repealed 2008). Wikipedia summary
- Legality of fortune-telling (overview of Canada, New Zealand, Australia, U.S. local laws). Wikipedia
Platform terms (checked October 2026)
- Keen site footer and User Agreement. keen.com
- Purple Garden Terms of Service. purplegarden.co
For adult children, partners and friends worried that someone they love is being drained by a psychic. How to tell a hobby from exploitation, why older adults are targeted, what to say (and not say), conversation scripts, the banking and legal tools that protect them without taking away their independence, and where to report in the US, UK, Canada and Australia.
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