The EU AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) entered into force on August 1, 2024, with obligations phased in over a 36-month period. The most critical deadline for providers of high-risk AI systems is August 2, 2026.
Article 5 (prohibited AI practices) and Article 4 (AI literacy) obligations began to apply. Prohibited practices include social scoring, untargeted facial recognition database scraping, emotion recognition in workplaces and schools (with limited exceptions), and AI systems that exploit vulnerabilities or use subliminal techniques.
Obligations for general-purpose AI (GPAI) model providers under Chapter V took effect, along with governance provisions and penalties for prohibited practices.
All obligations for high-risk AI systems under Chapter III take effect, including:
High-risk AI systems that are safety components of products already covered by EU harmonisation legislation listed in Annex I (medical devices, machinery, toys, civil aviation, motor vehicles, etc.) must comply by this date — Article 6(1).
Reality check: End-to-end registration — from AI system inventory through Annex III classification, Annex IV documentation, conformity assessment, representative appointment, to database submission — takes 8–12 weeks minimum for a single system. Companies with multiple high-risk systems need to start now.
Step-by-Step Registration Guide — the complete process
Penalties for Non-Compliance — what happens if you miss the deadline
Does This Apply to US Companies? — extraterritorial scope explained
Lexara Advisory guides US companies through every step — from classification to database submission.
Contact Lexara Advisory →Lexara Advisory LLC is an AI governance consulting firm, not a law firm. This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
🤖 AI — not a human or lawyer