EU AI Act Article 49(3) — Registration of public-authority deployers and their use of the system
Public-authority deployers must register themselves, select the system and register its use in the EU database before putting an Annex III high-risk AI system into service or using it
Where this comes from
Provision: Article 49(3) — Registration of public-authority deployers and their use of the system
Instrument: EU Artificial Intelligence Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689)
Citation: Article 49(3), with Article 49(4) and 49(5), Regulation (EU) 2024/1689
Text version: Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act), OJ L, 12.7.2024
Checked against the source: 2 September 2026
Who it applies to
High-risk AI deployer in scope — all of these:
- Service deploys AI systems in a professional capacity
- AI Act role is Deployer or we provide some AI systems and deploy others
- AI deployer body type: body governed by public law
Annex III high-risk area, excluding point 2 (Art. 6(2)) — any one of these:
- Annex III high-risk areas includes Biometrics
- Annex III high-risk areas includes Education and vocational training
- Annex III high-risk areas includes Employment and worker management
- Annex III high-risk areas includes Essential public services
- Annex III high-risk areas includes Creditworthiness
- Annex III high-risk areas includes Insurance
- Annex III high-risk areas includes Law enforcement
- Annex III high-risk areas includes Migration, asylum and border control
- Annex III high-risk areas includes Administration of justice and democratic processes
…unless:
- AI Act scope exclusion is used exclusively for military, defence or national-security purposes or developed and used solely for scientific research and development
- Art. 2(3): the Regulation 'does not apply to AI systems where and in so far as they are placed on the market, put into service, or used with or without modification exclusively for military, defence or national security purposes'. (AI Act Art. 2(3))
- Art. 2(6): the Regulation 'does not apply to AI systems or AI models, including their output, specifically developed and put into service for the sole purpose of scientific research and development'. (AI Act Art. 2(6))
- Art. 6(3): an Annex III system is NOT high-risk where it does not pose a significant risk of harm to health, safety or fundamental rights, including by not materially influencing the outcome of decision making — which applies where the system (a) performs... (AI Act Art. 6(3))
- Art. 49(3) binds only deployers that are 'public authorities, Union institutions, bodies, offices or agencies or persons acting on their behalf', and excludes Annex III point 2 systems, which under Art. 49(5) are registered at national level. (AI Act Art. 49(3) and Art. 49(5))
Scope in the source's own terms
- Art. 2(1): the AI system is placed on the market or put into service in the Union, or the provider/deployer is established in the Union, or the output produced by the system is used in the Union
- Art. 6(2): the AI system falls within an area listed in Annex III and is therefore high-risk, no documented Art. 6(3) derogation applying (and it is ALWAYS high-risk where it performs profiling of natural persons)
- Art. 26(1), read with Art. 3(4): the actor is a 'deployer' — a natural or legal person using an AI system under its authority, other than in the course of a personal non-professional activity
- Art. 49(3): the deployer is a public authority, a Union institution, body, office or agency, or a person acting on their behalf. Registration precedes putting into service or use; Annex III point 2 systems register at national level (Art. 49(5))
What engineering work it implies
Sample acceptance criteria Landfall generates for this obligation:
- The registration reference, the date and the submitting person are recorded against the system
- A change to a registered particular (purpose, contact, status) creates a dated update record
- Withdrawal from service is recorded and the registration updated accordingly
- The record identifies whether registration was in the EU database or, for Annex III pt 2, nationally
- Test: putting an unregistered in-scope system into service is blocked
Evidence an auditor expects
- Process recordDocument review
EU database registration reference for the public-authority deployer and the registered use (Art. 49(3))
Registration entry or reference showing the deployer registered itself, selected the system, and registered its USE in the EU database referred to in Art. 71, dated before the system was put into service or used. Annex III point 2 systems register at national level under Art. 49(5)
- Policy documentDocument review
Determination that the deployer is within Art. 49(3)
Written determination that the deployer is a public authority, Union institution, body, office or agency, or a person acting on their behalf — the fact the duty turns on
Questions people ask
- Does EU AI Act Article 49(3) — Registration of public-authority deployers and thei… apply to my service?
- It applies when Service deploys AI systems in a professional capacity; AI Act role is Deployer or we provide some AI systems and deploy others; AI deployer body type: body governed by public law; and at least one of: Annex III high-risk areas includes Biometrics; Annex III high-risk areas includes Education and vocational training; Annex III high-risk areas includes Employment and worker management; Annex III high-risk areas includes Essential public services; Annex III high-risk areas includes Creditworthiness; Annex III high-risk areas includes Insurance; Annex III high-risk areas includes Law enforcement; Annex III high-risk areas includes Migration, asylum and border control; Annex III high-risk areas includes Administration of justice and democratic processes. It does not apply where AI Act scope exclusion is used exclusively for military, defence or national-security purposes or developed and used solely for scientific research and development.
- When does this become enforceable?
- EU AI Act Article 49(3) — Registration of public-authority deployers and thei… is enforceable from 2 August 2026. Its current status is: in force.
- What evidence does an auditor expect?
- EU database registration reference for the public-authority deployer and the registered use (Art. 49(3)); Determination that the deployer is within Art. 49(3).
Find out whether this one lands on you
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Not legal advice. Landfall maps regulatory obligations to engineering work for planning purposes. Its verdicts are not legal advice and create no attorney-client relationship — verify with qualified counsel before relying on them.