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The application timeline of the EU AI Act.
Every date in Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, what becomes applicable on each one and the article that says so. With the Digital Omnibus delay already applied.
Updated 26 August 2026
What applies today
Since 2 August 2026 the transparency obligations of Article 50, the market surveillance of Chapter IX and the Article 101 fines are enforceable. The high-risk regime is not: Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 pushed it to 2 December 2027 for Annex III systems and 2 August 2028 for Annex I ones.
Date by date
Article 113, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744.
| Date | What becomes applicable |
|---|---|
| 1 Aug 2024 | Entry into force The Regulation enters into force 20 days after publication in the Official Journal. Every date in Article 113 counts from here. |
| 2 Feb 2025 | Prohibited practices Chapters I and II. The practices in Article 5 can no longer be used, except points (ba) and (bb) and paragraphs 1a and 1b, which arrive in December 2026. |
| 2 Aug 2025 | General-purpose models and governance Chapter V (GPAI, Articles 51 to 56), Chapter VII (governance), Chapter XII (penalties, except Article 101), Article 78 and Section 4 of Chapter III on notified bodies. |
| 27 Jul 2026 | Amendments to other Union acts Articles 102 to 110. This is the point added by the Digital Omnibus, which entered into force that same day. |
| 2 Aug 2026 | Transparency and market surveillance Article 50 (Chapter IV), Chapter VI, Chapter VIII (EU database), Chapter IX (post-market monitoring, serious incident reporting and market surveillance), Chapters X and XI, Article 101 and Article 6(5). |
| 2 Dec 2026 | Two new prohibitions Article 5(1) points (ba) and (bb) and paragraphs 1a and 1b: non-consensual intimate material and child sexual abuse material. The Article 50(2) transition for generative systems already on the market also ends that day. |
| 2 Dec 2027 | High risk, Annex III Sections 1, 2 and 3 of Chapter III: classification (Articles 6 and 7), requirements (8 to 15) and provider and deployer obligations (16 to 27), for Article 6(2) systems. |
| 2 Aug 2028 | High risk, Annex I The same sections of Chapter III for systems that are a safety component of an already regulated product, Article 6(1). |
| 2 Aug 2030 | Public sector High-risk systems intended for public authorities that were placed on the market before Chapter III applied, Article 111(2). |
What the Digital Omnibus changed
Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 was adopted on 8 July 2026, published in the Official Journal on the 24th and entered into force on the 27th. It suspends and repeals nothing: it moves dates. Recital 40 grounds the delay in harmonised standards, common specifications and national authorities arriving late, which raised the cost of implementation without improving protection. The obligations are the same, with more time.
The high-risk block moves
Sections 1, 2 and 3 of Chapter III go from 2 August 2026 to 2 December 2027 for Annex III and 2 August 2028 for Annex I.
Two prohibitions are added
Article 5 gains points (ba) and (bb), applicable from 2 December 2026 and in the highest penalty band.
Machinery leaves Annex I Section A
It moves to Section B, under the lighter sectoral regime of Article 2(2).
A transition for what was already on the market
Generative systems placed on the market before 2 August 2026 have until 2 December to comply with Article 50(2).
Common misreadings of the timeline
“The Regulation fully applies in August 2026”
That was true before the Omnibus. Now August 2026 brings transparency, market surveillance and the Article 101 fines, but not the bulk of the high-risk regime.
“It has been delayed, so there is nothing to do until 2027”
The Article 5 prohibitions have applied since February 2025 and the GPAI obligations since August 2025. And classifying a system, documenting it and standing up risk management takes months, not a week.
“Penalties have applied since August 2025, so I can be fined for high risk”
The penalty regime is in force, but it only reaches obligations that are already applicable. Before December 2027 there is no exposure for the Chapter III high-risk requirements.
“I have to CE-mark and register the system in August 2026”
The Omnibus did not delay Section 5 of Chapter III, Articles 40 to 49, so on paper that machinery stays on the general date. It operates on a category whose requirements are not enforceable yet, so nobody will be demanding the marking in August 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What happens on 2 August 2026 under the EU AI Act?
That day brings the transparency obligations of Article 50, Chapter VI on innovation, Chapter VIII on the EU database, Chapter IX on market surveillance and serious incident reporting, Chapters X and XI, and the Article 101 fines for general-purpose model providers. What does not arrive that day is the high-risk regime, which Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 moved to December 2027 and August 2028.
Has the EU AI Act been delayed?
Part of it has. Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, the Digital Omnibus on AI, in force since 27 July 2026, moved Sections 1, 2 and 3 of Chapter III to 2 December 2027 for Annex III systems and 2 August 2028 for Annex I ones. The rest of the timeline is unchanged and the substance of the obligations is unchanged too.
When do the high-risk obligations become enforceable?
From 2 December 2027 for the systems listed in Annex III, which are the Article 6(2) ones, and from 2 August 2028 for those that are a safety component of an already regulated product, Article 6(1). That covers classification, risk management, technical documentation, human oversight and the provider and deployer obligations.
Since when can you be fined under the EU AI Act?
The penalty regime in Articles 99 and 100 has been in force since 2 August 2025, and Article 101, for general-purpose model providers, since 2 August 2026. That said, only the breach of an already applicable obligation can be penalised, so before December 2027 there is no exposure for the Chapter III high-risk requirements.
Which dates apply to you
The timeline depends on the tier of your system and the role you place it on the market under. The calculator settles both in a few questions and returns the applicable articles with their date.
Open the calculatorSources
Notice. This page summarises Article 113 for information purposes. For any specific date the text of the Regulation published in the Official Journal governs. It is not legal advice.