# Application timeline

Status as at 2026-08-05. Basis: Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 Art 111 and 113, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (Digital Omnibus on AI) of 8 July 2026, OJ L, 2026/1744, 24.7.2026, in force 27 July 2026.

The omnibus is the single most important thing to get right about this regulation today. Any timeline written before 24 July 2026 is wrong for high-risk systems.

## What Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 changed

The amending act is Art 1 of Reg (EU) 2026/1744; it also amends Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 (aviation, Art 2) and Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 (machinery, Art 3). It does **not** amend the GDPR.

| Amendment | Provision changed | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Art 1(40)(b) | Art 113, third para, point (c) | Chapter III Sections 1, 2 and 3 (classification, requirements, provider/deployer obligations) now apply from **2 December 2027** for Annex III high-risk and **2 August 2028** for Annex I high-risk. Art 6(5) is excluded from the deferral. |
| Art 1(40)(a) | Art 113, third para, point (a) | New Art 5(1)(ba), (bb) and Art 5(1a), (1b) apply from **2 December 2026**; the rest of Chapters I and II still from 2 February 2025. |
| Art 1(40)(c) | Art 113, third para, new point (d) | Arts 102 to 110 (amendments to other Union acts) apply from **27 July 2026**. |
| Art 1(39)(b) | Art 111, new para 4 | Providers of systems, including GPAI systems, generating synthetic audio, image, video or text **placed on the market before 2 August 2026** must comply with Art 50(2) by **2 December 2026**. |
| Art 1(39)(a) | Art 111(2) | Legacy cut-off is now "the date of application of Chapter III referred to in Article 113" rather than 2 August 2026; public-authority high-risk systems must comply by **2 August 2030**. Recital 39 clarifies the grace period runs per **type and model**: if one unit was lawfully placed before the date, further units of the same type and model may continue, as long as the design is unchanged. |
| Art 1(7) | Art 5 | Two new prohibitions: non-consensual intimate material (point (ba)) and material within Directive 2011/93/EU (point (bb)), with scoping rules in Art 5(1a) and (1b). |
| Art 1(5) | Art 4 | AI literacy re-cast as "take measures to support the development of AI literacy"; no obligation to guarantee any specific level for any individual. |
| Art 1(6) | new Art 4a | Legal basis for processing special categories of personal data for bias detection and correction, extended beyond high-risk providers to deployers and to providers of other AI systems and models. |
| Art 1(8) | Art 6, new (1a) to (1c) | Safety-component scope narrowed: systems solely for user assistance, performance optimisation, service efficiency, automation, convenience or quality control are not safety components unless failure would endanger health and safety. |
| Art 1(20), (21), (30) | Art 50(7), 56(6), 72(3) | The Commission's power to *approve* codes of practice by implementing act is removed. Recital 41: those codes "have limited legal effect, and in particular do not grant a presumption of conformity". Post-market monitoring template becomes voluntary guidance, due by **2 September 2027**. |
| Art 1(22)(a) | Art 57(1) | National AI regulatory sandboxes must be operational by **2 August 2027** (was 2 August 2026). |
| Art 1(31) | Art 75(1) | The AI Office becomes exclusively competent for AI systems based on GPAI models where model and system come from the same provider or undertaking, and for AI systems constituting or integrated into a designated VLOP or VLOSE, with carve-outs. |
| Art 1(41) | Annex I | Machinery moved from Section A to Section B (now point 21, Regulation (EU) 2023/1230); Section A point 1 deleted. |
| Art 1(43) | new Annex XIV | Code list (AIP/AIB/AIH codes) fixing the scope of notified-body designation. |

## Current dates

| Date | What applies |
|---|---|
| 1 August 2024 | Entry into force (Art 113, first para) |
| 2 February 2025 | Chapters I and II: subject matter, scope, definitions, **AI literacy (Art 4)**, **prohibited practices (Art 5)** |
| 2 August 2025 | Chapter III Section 4 (notifying authorities and notified bodies), **Chapter V (GPAI models)**, Chapter VII (governance), Chapter XII (penalties) and Art 78 — except Art 101 |
| 27 July 2026 | Arts 102 to 110 (amendments to sectoral Union acts) |
| **2 August 2026** | General date of application: **Chapter IV — Art 50 transparency**, Chapter III Section 5 (Arts 40 to 49: standards, conformity assessment, certificates, registration), Chapter VI (innovation measures), Art 6(5), Art 101 |
| **2 December 2026** | New Art 5 prohibitions (ba), (bb) and Art 5(1a), (1b). Deadline for Art 50(2) marking for generative systems placed on the market before 2 August 2026 (Art 111(4)) |
| 9 December 2026 | Not the AI Act: transposition deadline of the Product Liability Directive recast, Directive (EU) 2024/2853 |
| 2 August 2027 | GPAI models placed on the market before 2 August 2025 must comply (Art 111(3)). National AI regulatory sandboxes operational (Art 57(1) as amended). Commission delegated acts under new Art 2(13) due |
| 2 September 2027 | Commission guidance including a voluntary post-market monitoring plan template (Art 72(3) as amended) |
| **2 December 2027** | Chapter III Sections 1, 2, 3 for **Annex III** high-risk systems (Art 6(2)) |
| 28 January 2028 | Notified bodies notified under Annex I Section A legislation must have applied for designation under the AI Act (Art 43(3) as amended) |
| **2 August 2028** | Chapter III Sections 1, 2, 3 for **Annex I** high-risk systems (Art 6(1)). Delegated acts amending Annex III to Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 apply (Reg (EU) 2026/1744 recital 42) |
| 2 August 2030 | Providers and deployers of high-risk systems intended to be used by public authorities, placed before the relevant Chapter III date (Art 111(2)) |
| 31 December 2030 | AI systems that are components of the large-scale IT systems in Annex X, placed before 2 August 2027 (Art 111(1)) |

## Transitional rules, precisely

- **High-risk legacy systems (Art 111(2) as amended).** The Regulation applies to operators of high-risk systems placed on the market or put into service before the applicable Chapter III date only if, from that date, the systems are subject to significant changes in their designs. Recital 39 of Reg (EU) 2026/1744: the decisive factor is the date the *first unit of that type and model* was placed on the market; further units of the same type and model may continue without additional certification while the design is unchanged. Any significant design change after the date triggers full compliance including conformity assessment.
- **Public authority use.** No grandfathering past 2 August 2030 (Art 111(2), second sentence).
- **GPAI models (Art 111(3)).** Models placed on the market before 2 August 2025 must comply by 2 August 2027. Unchanged by the omnibus.
- **Generative systems and Art 50(2) (Art 111(4), new).** Four-month transitional period, expiring 2 December 2026, for systems placed on the market before 2 August 2026. Recital 38 of Reg (EU) 2026/1744. It covers the Art 50(2) marking obligation only. A system that is both interactive and generative had to comply with Art 50(1) on 2 August 2026 (Guidelines C(2026) 5054 final, point 153).
- **No retroactive labelling.** Content generated before 2 August 2026 need not be marked or labelled retroactively; but text generated before that date and *published* on or after it must be labelled (Guidelines C(2026) 5054 final, point 154).
- **Prohibitions bite regardless.** Art 111(1) and (2) both open "Without prejudice to the application of Article 5" — no grandfathering from a prohibition.

## Pending, not law

State these as pending. Do not present them as obligations.

- **Commission guidelines on high-risk classification (Art 6(5)).** Draft only; public consultation via EU Survey closed 23 July 2026. The statutory deadline was 2 February 2026.
- **Harmonised standards under Art 40.** CEN-CENELEC JTC 21 deliverables. As at 2026-08-05 no harmonised standard under the AI Act has been cited in the Official Journal, so no presumption of conformity is available under Art 40 or Art 53(4). [[UNVERIFIED: whether any citation appeared in the OJ between the last check of the standardisation status page and 2026-08-05]]
- **Delegated acts under new Art 2(13)** limiting Art 9 to 15 and 17 to 25 obligations where Annex I Section A legislation gives equivalent protection: due by 2 August 2027, not yet adopted.
- **Commission guidelines on Art 8(2), 9(10) and 17(3)** for Annex I operators: due by 1 August 2027 (Art 96(1)(g) as inserted).
- **Post-market monitoring guidance and voluntary template:** due by 2 September 2027 (Art 72(3) as amended).

## Checkpoints

- [ ] Any date cited for high-risk obligations is 2 December 2027 or 2 August 2028, never 2 August 2026 or 2 August 2027
- [ ] Art 50 treated as already applicable, with the Art 111(4) transitional only for Art 50(2) and only for pre-2 August 2026 systems
- [ ] The 2 December 2026 date given for the new Art 5 prohibitions
- [ ] Grandfathering claim tested against "significant changes in design" and against the type-and-model rule in recital 39
- [ ] Public-authority deployment flagged with the 2 August 2030 backstop
- [ ] Nothing in the "pending" list stated as binding law