§ EU AI Act · Article 18
AI Act Article 18: Obligations, Deadlines & Penalties
At a glance
Article 18 of the AI Act imposes 3 obligations on Member State, provider. At least one obligation carries an explicit compliance deadline.
§ Obligations
All obligations under Article 18
Obligation 1
The provider shall keep technical documentation, quality management system documentation, approved changes, notified body decisions, and the EU declaration of conformity at the disposal of national competent authorities for 10 years after the high-risk AI system is placed on the market or put into service.
Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, Article 18, Article 18
- Obligated entity
-
provider
- Sector scope
- high-risk AI systems
- Action required
-
keep
- Deadline
-
10 years after the high-risk AI system has been placed on the market or put into service
- Penalty
-
—
Obligation 2
Each Member State shall determine conditions under which the documentation remains at the disposal of national competent authorities for the required period if a provider or its authorised representative goes bankrupt or ceases activity before the end of that period.
Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, Article 18, Article 18
- Obligated entity
-
Member State
- Action required
-
determine
- Deadline
-
—
- Penalty
-
—
Obligation 3
Providers that are financial institutions subject to requirements regarding their internal governance, arrangements or processes under Union financial services law shall maintain the technical documentation as part of the documentation kept under the relevant Union financial services law.
Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, Article 18, Article 18
- Obligated entity
-
provider
- Sector scope
- financial institutions
- Action required
-
maintain
- Deadline
-
—
- Penalty
-
—
§ Deadlines
EU AI Act compliance deadlines
-
2025-02-02
Article 5 prohibitions (unacceptable risk)
in_force
-
2025-02-02
Article 4 AI literacy
in_force
-
2025-08-02
GPAI model obligations (Articles 51 to 56)
in_force
-
2026-07-27
Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (Digital Omnibus on AI) enters into force — AI Act applies as amended
in_force
-
2026-08-02
AI Act general date of application (Art 113) — governance, penalties and remaining provisions without a different date
in_force
-
2026-08-02
Article 50 transparency obligations (AI-interaction disclosure, labelling of deepfakes and AI-generated text, emotion-recognition notices)
in_force
-
2026-12-02
Article 50(2) machine-readable marking of AI-generated content — transition for generative AI systems placed on the market before 2 August 2026
scheduled
-
2026-12-02
NEW Article 5 prohibition: AI generation of non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII) and CSAM
scheduled
-
2027-08-02
National AI regulatory sandboxes: at least one operational per Member State (Art 57(1))
scheduled
-
2027-12-02
Annex III stand-alone high-risk obligations
scheduled
-
2028-08-02
Annex I embedded (regulated-product) high-risk obligations
scheduled
§ Frequently asked
Questions about Article 18
Who must comply with Article 18 of the AI Act?
+
Member State, provider.
What does Article 18 of the AI Act require?
+
keep determine maintain
What is the compliance deadline for AI Act Article 18?
+
10 years after the high-risk AI system has been placed on the market or put into service