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The obligations are already running.
What already applies to organisations using AI, and what is coming, in date order. Each entry gives its source so you can check it yourself. Nothing on this page is legal advice.
Next date
2 December 2026
Marking deadline for generative AI already on the market.
Reviewed monthly. Last reviewed 11 October 2026.
Not sure the EU AI Act reaches a UK organisation? It can. The Questions page explains when.
What applies, and from when.
Green entries are in force. The others are still to come.
- In force
AI literacy obligation
Article 4 of the EU AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) has applied since 2 February 2025. It requires providers and deployers of AI systems, which includes organisations that use AI, to take measures to support the AI literacy of their staff. Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, in force 27 July 2026, changed the wording from ensuring a sufficient level of AI literacy to taking measures to support it, and confirmed that no specific level has to be guaranteed. National authorities have supervised and enforced it since 2 August 2026. A written record of what your staff can do with AI is one practical way to show the measures taken.
- Duty in force
A statutory code of practice on AI and automated decision-making is being prepared
SI 2026/425, in force 12 May 2026, requires a statutory code of practice on AI and automated decision-making to be prepared under section 124A of the Data Protection Act 2018. The duty sits with the Information Commission, which took over the Information Commissioner’s functions on 30 September 2026. The ICO name is still in use. The code is in development, no date has been set for it, and it is not yet in force.
- In force
EU deadlines reset
Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, the Digital Omnibus on AI, entered into force on 27 July 2026 and reset some EU AI Act deadlines. It removed none of them.
- In force
Transparency obligations
Article 50 of the EU AI Act applies from 2 August 2026. People must know when they are interacting with AI, and AI-generated content must be identifiable.
- Closes
ICO call for evidence on agentic AI
The ICO opened a call for evidence on agentic AI, meaning AI that takes actions on someone’s behalf, on 8 October 2026. It closes on 20 November 2026. Organisations building or using AI agents can respond.
- To come
Marking deadline for generative AI already on the market
Providers of AI systems that generate synthetic audio, images, video or text, and that were placed on the market before 2 August 2026, have until 2 December 2026 to meet the machine-readable marking duty in Article 50(2) of the EU AI Act.
- To come
Stand-alone high-risk obligations
Under Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, in force 27 July 2026, obligations for Annex III stand-alone high-risk AI systems apply from 2 December 2027: risk management, documentation, human oversight and logging.
- To come
AI embedded in regulated products
Obligations for Annex I AI embedded in regulated products apply from 2 August 2028 under the same Regulation. AI built into products joins the same evidence and oversight regime.
In force in the UK now, with no single date.
UK regulators are applying the frameworks that already exist. Accountability for AI runs through them today.
FCA: accountability and the Consumer Duty
AI outcomes sit within senior-management accountability under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime. Firms must be able to show good outcomes where AI is used in customer decisions, and avoid foreseeable harm. This is governed through existing frameworks. There is no new AI statute.
See where you stand against these.
The Self-Assessment asks ten questions about how AI is controlled in your organisation today. Several of them cover what these rules expect you to be able to show.