When do the EU AI Act obligations start to apply?
The EU AI Act has applied in stages. AI literacy and the prohibitions applied from 2 February 2025, the general-purpose AI model duties and the governance rules from 2 August 2025, and the transparency duties from 2 August 2026.
The high-risk duties for stand-alone Annex III systems move to 2 December 2027 and, for AI embedded in regulated products under Annex I, to 2 August 2028, after Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (the Digital Omnibus on AI) amended Article 113. The dates and their sources are set out in full on the directory.
When do the EU AI Act obligations start to apply: 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.