Map of the AI Act

Article 21: cooperation with competent authorities

The map shows what hangs off this object: who carries the duty, what it calls for, what it is evidenced by and what it rests on. Click an object and it becomes the new centre.

On a small screen the map reads as a path rather than as a network.

obligation

Article 21: cooperation with competent authorities

Upon a reasoned request by a competent authority, the provider of a high-risk AI system provides all the information and documentation necessary to demonstrate conformity with the requirements of Chapter III, Section 2, in a language which can be easily understood by the authority in one of the official languages of the institutions of the Union as indicated by the Member State concerned. Upon the same request the provider also gives, as applicable, access to the automatically generated logs, to the extent those logs are under its control.

based on

Article 21 on EUR-Lexguidance

carries the duty

Provider of an AI systemrole · editorial reading

is affected

Legendroleobligationactionevidencesolid line: official findingdashed line: our reading

Back to the whole regulation

obligation

Article 21: cooperation with competent authorities

Applies from 2027-12-02

The legal path

Source ·: Article 21 on EUR-Lex
Condition ·: Applies to providers of high-risk AI systems as soon as a competent authority makes a reasoned request. For the standalone Annex III route (Article 6(2)) the date is 2 December 2027. For systems that are high-risk under Article 6(1) and relate to products covered by Annex I, Section A, the date is 2 August 2028. For products covered by Annex I, Section B, Article 21 does not apply at all: amended Article 2(2) makes only Article 6(1), Article 60a and Articles 102 to 112 applicable there, and Article 21 is not on that list. That is not a corner case, because the Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 has been moved from Section A to Section B. Note also the new Article 2(13): for systems under Annex I, Section A, the Commission may limit the application of Articles 17 to 25, and therefore of Article 21, by delegated act.
Condition ·: For systems already running, the amended Article 111(2) applies: without prejudice to the application of Article 5 as referred to in Article 113, third paragraph, point (a), the Regulation applies to operators of high-risk AI systems, other than those referred to in Article 111(1), placed on the market or put into service before the date of application of Chapter III referred to in Article 113, only if, as from that date, those systems are subject to significant changes in their designs. The reference date is therefore no longer 2 August 2026 but whichever date applies to the system: 2 December 2027 for the Annex III route and 2 August 2028 for the Annex I route. For systems intended to be used by public authorities the date of 2 August 2030 applies in any case.
Exception ·: Paragraph 2 carries two limits, not one. Access to the automatically generated logs applies "as applicable", and it applies "to the extent such logs are under their control". Logs held solely by the deployer therefore fall outside what the provider can supply under this Article; the deployer keeps those logs itself under Article 26(6).

Open in the explorer

Checked on 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z · praxikon:eu:ai-act:obligation:article-21-cooperation-with-authorities

Read the map atin force now 2 Feb 2025 2 Aug 2025 27 Jul 2026 2 Aug 2026 2 Dec 2026 2 Aug 2027 2 Dec 2027 2 Aug 2028

Read at 2 Dec 2026. What did not yet apply on that date is not shown here. The transition period for machine-readable marking ends and the new prohibitions apply.

Article 21: cooperation with competent authorities

based on

carries the duty

is affected

calls for

evidenced by

controlled by

supported by