EU AI Database Registration (Article 49)

The Commission’s database serves transparency and market-surveillance purposes. Before placing on the market or putting into service most high-risk systems listed in Annex III, the provider or authorised representative must register itself and the system. Article 49 also requires registration for systems a provider has concluded are not high-risk under the narrow Article 6(3) exception. Before using most Annex III systems, public-authority deployers and entities acting for them register themselves, select the system, and register its use. A private deployer does not have the same general Article 49(3) registration duty.

There are material exceptions. Annex III point 2 covers certain critical-infrastructure systems; these are registered at national level rather than in the EU database. Systems in specified law-enforcement, migration, asylum, and border-control areas are registered in a secure non-public section with only limited information visible to the Commission and designated authorities. Do not describe every entry as public. For systems registered under Article 49, the database is otherwise accessible to the public in a user-friendly way, subject to these statutory exceptions.

The 2026 Digital Omnibus simplified what must be submitted for Article 6(3) systems that the provider documents as not high-risk; it did not remove the registration duty. The provider still must complete and document its assessment before placing the system on the market or putting it into service, and authorities may request that assessment. Registration does not mean the Commission has approved the system or certified its conformity. It is a required filing with defined data fields, kept up to date.

A provider should identify the correct legal pathway, compile the applicable Annex VIII information, and submit it before the trigger date. Public authorities should also register their use when required. Maintain the system identifier, intended purpose, provider and representative details, and update records when they change. Confirm whether a sector-specific or national route applies before relying on the public database.