Article 6 — Classification rules for high-risk AI systems

AI Act, Regulation (EU) 2024/1689

What does AI Act Article 6 say?

Short answer, straight from the official text

1. Irrespective of whether an AI system is placed on the market or put into service independently of the products referred to in points (a) and (b), that AI system shall be considered to be high-risk where both of the following conditions are fulfilled: (a) the AI system is intended to be used as a safety component of a …

Source: AI Act, Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, read 2026-08-14.

In the act	EU 2024/1689
Chapter	III · High-risk AI systems
CELEX	32024R1689
Read on	2026-08-14

Official text

Read from the EU Publications Office for this CELEX number. The wording stands as published; nothing here is rewritten or summarised.

Jump to a point: Point 1 · Point 2 · Point 3 · Point 4 · Point 5 · Point 6 · Point 7 · Point 8

1. Irrespective of whether an AI system is placed on the market or put into service independently of the products referred to in points (a) and (b), that AI system shall be considered to be high-risk where both of the following conditions are fulfilled:
(a) the AI system is intended to be used as a safety component of a product, or the AI system is itself a product, covered by the Union harmonisation legislation listed in Annex I;
(b) the product whose safety component pursuant to point (a) is the AI system, or the AI system itself as a product, is required to undergo a third-party conformity assessment, with a view to the placing on the market or the putting into service of that product pursuant to the Union harmonisation legislation listed in Annex I.
2. In addition to the high-risk AI systems referred to in paragraph 1, AI systems referred to in Annex III shall be considered to be high-risk.
3. By derogation from paragraph 2, an AI system referred to in Annex III shall not be considered to be high-risk where it does not pose a significant risk of harm to the health, safety or fundamental rights of natural persons, including by not materially influencing the outcome of decision making.
The first subparagraph shall apply where any of the following conditions is fulfilled:
(a) the AI system is intended to perform a narrow procedural task;
(b) the AI system is intended to improve the result of a previously completed human activity;

The article continues in the official text.

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Decision guide

Who is affected?

AI that is a safety component of, or itself is, a product under the Annex I legislation and requires third-party conformity assessment. (Art. 6(1))
AI systems in the areas listed in Annex III, such as employment, education, credit scoring and essential services. (Art. 6(2))

Questions and answers

Is every Annex III system high-risk? As a rule yes, but Article 6(3) exempts systems that do not pose a significant risk of harm, for example those performing a narrow procedural task. (Art. 6(2))

Can a system that profiles people use the exemption? No. An Annex III system that performs profiling of natural persons is always considered high-risk. (Art. 6(3))

What must we do if we rely on the exemption? Document the assessment before placing the system on the market and register it under Article 49(2). Authorities may request the documentation. (Art. 6(4))

Duties

Who	What	From
Provider	Document why an Annex III system is not high-risk, before launch. (Art. 6(4))	2 December 2027

Risk

A system wrongly classified as not high-risk can be required to be brought into compliance (Art. 80), and the provider fined up to EUR 15 million or 3 % of turnover for the missed obligations. (Art. 80 / 99(4))

Most common mistake

Using the Article 6(3) exemption for a system that profiles people. Profiling always keeps the system high-risk. (Art. 6(3))

Most common sanction

No published supervisory decision under this article yet. Fines under the AI Act can be imposed from 2 August 2025 (Art. 113).

Actions

Does this apply to us: match each use case against Annex I and Annex III.
What must we do: if relying on 6(3), write and file the assessment before launch.
What does a mistake cost: the full high-risk duties apply, with fines up to EUR 15 million or 3 %.

Checked against the official text: 2026-10-12

The text is quoted from the official source and is not legal advice. A national court reads the language version that binds in its jurisdiction.

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