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Chapter III, Section 3 — Obligations of providers and deployers of high-risk AI systems and other partiesArticle 22

Article 22: Authorised Representatives of Providers of High-Risk AI Systems

Applies from 2 Aug 20264 min readEUR-Lex verified Apr 2026

Article 22 requires providers of high-risk AI systems established in third countries to appoint an authorised representative established in the Union by written mandate before placing the system on the market or making it available. The representative must be empowered to: (a) verify that the EU declaration of conformity and Annex IV technical documentation have been drawn up; (b) keep documentation available for authorities for 10 years; (c) cooperate with national competent authorities on corrective actions; (d) terminate the mandate if the provider acts contrary to its obligations. This is the high-risk AI system counterpart to Article 54 (GPAI models).

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Who does this apply to?

  • -Third-country providers of high-risk AI systems placing them on the EU market
  • -EU-based entities acting as authorised representatives for high-risk systems
  • -National market surveillance authorities who interact with representatives
  • -Importers who must verify that the provider has appointed a representative

Scenarios

A US-based provider of a high-risk credit scoring AI appoints a Dutch compliance firm as its authorised representative before selling into the EU.

The Dutch firm holds Annex IV documentation, the EU declaration, and cooperates with Dutch and other national authorities on inspections and corrective actions.
Ref. Art. 22

A third-country provider has no EU representative but an importer places the system on the market anyway.

The importer violates Article 23 (which requires verifying the representative appointment). Both the provider and importer face enforcement risk.
Ref. Art. 22 + Art. 23

What the mandate must cover

The written mandate must empower the representative to:

(a) Verify that the EU declaration of conformity (Article 47) and technical documentation (Annex IV) have been drawn up and the conformity assessment has been performed

(b) Keep documentation available for authorities for 10 years (Article 18)

(c) Cooperate with national competent authorities on any corrective or preventive action regarding the AI system

(d) Terminate the mandate if the provider acts contrary to its obligations under the Regulation, and inform the relevant market surveillance authority and notified body

The provider remains fully liable — the representative acts on its behalf but does not absorb the provider's obligations.

Article 22 vs Article 54 — which representative?

| Feature | Article 22 | Article 54 | |---|---|---| | Scope | High-risk AI *systems* | GPAI *models* | | Authority contact | National market surveillance | AI Office | | Documentation | Annex IV, EU declaration, QMS | Annex XI, Annex XII | | Applies from | 2 Aug 2026 | 2 Aug 2025 |

A third-country entity offering both a GPAI model and a high-risk AI system may need two separate representative mandates addressing different obligations.

How Article 22 connects to the rest of the Act

  • Article 3(5) — Definition of authorised representative.
  • Article 16 — Provider obligations the representative helps verify.
  • Article 18 — 10-year documentation the representative must keep available.
  • Article 23 — Importers must check the representative appointment.
  • Article 47 / Annex V — Declaration of conformity.
  • Article 54 — Separate GPAI model representative.
  • Annex IV — Technical documentation.

Compliance checklist

  • Determine if the high-risk AI system provider is established outside the Union.
  • Execute a written mandate covering all Article 22 tasks (a)–(d).
  • Verify the representative is established in the Union.
  • Ensure the representative has access to EU declaration, Annex IV documentation, and QMS records.
  • Include a mandate termination clause with authority notification duty.
  • Distinguish from any Article 54 GPAI representative mandate.
  • Inform importers and distributors of the representative's identity.
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Related annexes

  • Annex IV — Technical documentation
  • Annex V — EU declaration of conformity content

Frequently asked questions

Can the importer also be the authorised representative?

The AI Act does not prohibit this, but the roles have different obligations. Ensure each set of duties is contractually clear.

What if the representative terminates the mandate?

The representative must inform the market surveillance authority and any relevant notified body. The provider must appoint a replacement before continuing to make the system available.

Does the representative become liable for the system?

The provider remains fully liable. The representative acts on behalf of the provider and can face enforcement for failing to fulfil its representative duties, but primary obligations stay with the provider.