AI Act dates, as amended
The AI Act applies in phases. In July 2026 the amending Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 moved the dates for high-risk systems. The table below shows every date as the law stands now. Where a date moved, the old one stays, struck through.
All dates
| Date | What starts to apply | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1 August 2024 | The AI Act enters into force | Art. 113 Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, EUR-Lex |
| 2 February 2025 | Prohibited practices and the AI literacy duty apply | Art. 4, Art. 5 Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, EUR-Lex |
| 2 August 2025 | Duties for general-purpose AI models, governance and penalty rules apply | Chapter V, VII, XII Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, EUR-Lex |
| 27 July 2026 | The amending Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 enters into force and moves the high-risk dates | Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, EUR-Lex |
| 29 July 2026 Germany | Germany: the national AI market surveillance act (KI-MIG) is in force; the Bundesnetzagentur supervises | KI-MIG Bundesnetzagentur, press release 29 Jul 2026 |
| 2 August 2026 | Transparency duties for AI that talks with people or makes content; enforcement starts | Art. 50, Art. 113 AI Act Service Desk, implementation timeline |
| 2 December 2026 | New prohibitions (non-consensual sexual deepfakes, child sexual abuse material); marking of AI content from systems placed on the market before 2 Aug 2026 | Art. 5, Art. 50(2), Art. 111(4) Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, EUR-Lex |
| 2 August 2027 | At least one AI regulatory sandbox per Member State; deadline for the delegated acts under Art. 2(13) | Art. 57, Art. 2(13) AI Act Service Desk, implementation timeline |
2 December 2027 | Rules for high-risk systems listed in Annex III, including deployer duties (Art. 26, 27) | Art. 113 as amended Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, EUR-Lex |
2 August 2028 | Rules for high-risk systems under the product laws of Annex I | Art. 113 as amended Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, EUR-Lex |
National dates. Germany: the KI-Marktüberwachungsgesetz (KI-MIG) has been in force since 29 July 2026; the Bundesnetzagentur is the market surveillance authority for most areas. Ireland: no national application date was found in the sources checked on the date below. National dates are added here with their gazette source when they are published.
What the dates mean, in general terms
- 2 February 2025. The prohibited practices of Art. 5 apply, and so does the duty to support AI literacy (Art. 4). These apply to everyone who provides or uses AI in the EU, whatever the risk class.
- 2 August 2025. Duties for providers of general-purpose AI models, the governance chapter and the penalty rules apply.
- 2 August 2026. The transparency duties of Art. 50 apply, and authorities can enforce the rules that apply so far.
- 2 December 2026. New prohibitions apply to AI that generates non-consensual sexual deepfakes or child sexual abuse material. AI systems placed on the market before 2 August 2026 must mark their synthetic output by this date (Art. 50(2), Art. 111(4)).
- 2 December 2027. The high-risk rules apply to systems listed in Annex III, such as AI used in hiring, education, credit or essential services. This date was 2 August 2026 before the amendment.
- 2 August 2028. The high-risk rules apply to AI that is part of products covered by the EU product laws in Annex I. This date was 2 August 2027 before the amendment.
Read what applies to deployers
Most firms use AI they did not build. The Act calls them deployers.