EU AI Act Art. 113 — Entry into force and application
Article 113 sets the EU AI Act's timeline: in force since 1 August 2024, the prohibitions and AI literacy applied from 2 February 2025, GPAI rules from 2 August 2025, most obligations from 2 August 2026, and Annex I product rules from 2 August 2027.
At a glance
What this article requires
- The Regulation entered into force on 1 August 2024 (20 days after publication).
- 2 February 2025: Chapters I & II — general provisions, AI literacy (Art. 4), prohibited practices (Art. 5).
- 2 August 2025: notified bodies (Ch. III §4), GPAI models (Ch. V), governance (Ch. VII), penalties (Ch. XII, except Art. 101), confidentiality (Art. 78).
- 2 August 2026: the general application date — high-risk obligations, transparency (Art. 50), incident reporting (Art. 73), and most of the rest.
- 2 August 2027: Art. 6(1) — high-risk classification for Annex I regulated products.
Scope
Who this applies to
Everyone — the timeline tells you which obligations are already live for your systems. Most organisations' high-risk duties bind from 2 August 2026.
Obligations
What you must actually do
Know your start dates
Chart each of your systems against the four dates; many 'compliance deadline' questions are really Article 113 questions.
Treat the early dates as already live
The prohibitions and AI literacy have applied since 2 February 2025, and GPAI duties since 2 August 2025.
Plan for 2 August 2026 and 2027
High-risk obligations and Annex I product rules are the big remaining lifts.
Action plan
Practical first steps
- 1
Build a date map: system → applicable article → application date.
- 2
Put the four dates on your compliance calendar and work backwards from them.
- 3
For Annex I products, align your AI Act work with the product's own conformity deadlines.
Penalty exposure
The timeline gates enforcement — obligations that have not applied yet cannot be fined, so Article 113 defines the window for the penalties in Article 99.
FAQ
Questions about Art. 113
Is the AI Act already in force?
The Regulation has been in force since 1 August 2024, but obligations apply in phases. The prohibitions (Art. 5) and AI literacy (Art. 4) have applied since 2 February 2025.
When do most high-risk obligations start?
2 August 2026 — the general application date for high-risk requirements, transparency, and incident reporting. Annex I product-related high-risk rules follow on 2 August 2027.
Sources
Citations & further reading
Related
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Check my use casePreliminary EU AI Act clarity summary. Not legal advice.