EU AI Act Article 54
Appoint and enable a Union-established authorised representative for an in-scope third-country GPAI model provider
Where this comes from
Provision: Article 54
Instrument: EU Artificial Intelligence Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689)
Citation: Article 54, Regulation (EU) 2024/1689
Text version: Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, consolidated 27 July 2026; original OJ L 12 July 2024 and amendment (EU) 2026/1744
Checked against the source: 6 September 2026
Who it applies to
Article 54 model-provider scope — all of these:
- Project involves providing a general-purpose AI model (GPAI)
- GPAI assessed Union model scope: YES
- GPAI assessed third-country establishment: YES
Article 54(6): systemic risk or release conditions not met — any one of these:
- GPAI assessed Article 51 classification: YES
- GPAI assessed open-release conditions: NO
What engineering work it implies
Sample acceptance criteria Landfall generates for this obligation:
- Assess third-country establishment, Union model scope and every Article 54(6) release condition; systemic-risk models cannot use the exception
- Appoint a Union-established representative by written mandate before Union-market placement and enable its tasks
- Cover Article 54(3)(a)-(d) verification, Annex XI custody, reasoned information requests and cooperation, and Article 54(4) authority contact
- The representative keeps the Annex XI copy available for 10 years after model placement; do not extend that period to every provider record
- Support Article 54(5) termination and immediate AI Office notification when the representative considers or has reason to consider the provider is acting contrary to its obligations
Evidence an auditor expects
- Contractual documentDocument review
Article 54 appointment and mandate
Written appointment before Union-market placement, Union establishment and provider enablement; powers for Article 54(3)(a)-(d) verification, authority requests and cooperation, and Article 54(4) authority contact. Record the provider, model version and placement date.
- Process recordDocument review
Representative custody and mandate termination process
The representative keeps the Annex XI copy available to the AI Office and national competent authorities for 10 years after model placement, plus provider contacts. Document mandate-copy requests and Article 54(5) termination and immediate AI Office notification when its predicate is met. This custody period does not apply to every provider record.
Questions people ask
- Does EU AI Act Article 54 apply to my service?
- It applies when Project involves providing a general-purpose AI model (GPAI); GPAI assessed Union model scope: YES; GPAI assessed third-country establishment: YES; and at least one of: GPAI assessed Article 51 classification: YES; GPAI assessed open-release conditions: NO.
- When does this become enforceable?
- EU AI Act Article 54 is enforceable from 2 August 2025. Its current status is: in force.
- What evidence does an auditor expect?
- Article 54 appointment and mandate; Representative custody and mandate termination process.
Find out whether this one lands on you
Landfall's pre-scan answers the applicability question above for your product in minutes, then turns every obligation that applies into traceable engineering tickets with a citation chain your auditors can follow.
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.