What makes an AI system high-risk under the EU AI Act?
An AI system is high-risk under the EU AI Act either because it is a safety component of, or is itself, a product covered by the Union harmonisation legislation in Annex I and needs a third-party conformity assessment, or because it falls in one of the sensitive uses listed in Annex III, such as employment, education, essential services, creditworthiness, law enforcement, migration, biometrics and the administration of justice.
Article 6 sets the classification rules and the exceptions, and Article 7 lets the Commission amend the Annex III list.
What makes an AI system high-risk under the EU AI Act: the source
Read the regulation on EUR-Lex and the European Commission AI Act Service Desk, both linked from every obligation page. Application dates are Article 113, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744.
Where to go next
The full 43-obligation directory, or the conformance kit for per-role checklists and the evidence register.