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Process Owner: Product or model owner At launch and on material change

Technical documentation, model cards and instructions for use

Produces and maintains the documentation that lets a regulator, a customer or a deployer understand what a system is, how it was built and tested, what it is for and how to use it safely.

Source-linked Context file
Duties satisfied
7
done properly, does the work
Duties supported
6
contributes; the duty needs more
Jurisdictions
5
Evidence items
3

How is it implemented?

A documentation set is started at design time and grows with the system: intended purpose and out-of-scope uses, architecture and dependencies, training and evaluation data, performance results and their limits, known risks and mitigations, oversight measures and the resources needed to operate it. From the same source the team derives a shorter model card or deployer information pack and the instructions for use that ship with each release. Documents live under version control, each release tags the version it was assessed against, and an owner is responsible for updating them whenever the system changes materially.

Which legal duties does it serve?

Satisfies means the control, operated properly, does the work the duty asks for. Supports means it contributes but the duty needs more. The official text decides; open it before relying on either.

California (United States) 1 duty

Colorado (United States) 1 duty

European Union 8 duties

South Korea 2 duties

United Kingdom 1 duty

What evidence shows it is operating?

Evidence this control produces
EvidenceTypeWhat it shows
Technical documentation fileTechnical documentation fileAssembled, versioned documentation of design, data, testing, risks and oversight for one system.
Model card or deployer information packModel documentation
Instructions for useDisclosure or noticeUser-facing document describing purpose, limits, oversight measures and how to interpret output.

Owner: Product or model owner. Frequency: at launch and on material change.

Which risks does it address?

Subdomains of the MIT AI Risk Repository, with the incidents the AI Incident Database has recorded under each. Counts are live; they say how often a risk has materialised, not how well this control prevents it.

Which standards clauses does it correspond to?

Clause numbers only. A reference means the standard asks for overlapping work, so evidence may be reusable; it never means the standard discharges a legal duty.

Framework references
FrameworkReferenceNoteConfidence
ISO/IEC 42001Clause 7.5; Annex A.6.2.3, A.6.2.7, A.8.2high
NIST AI RMFGOVERN 1.4; MAP 2.2; MEASURE 2.8medium

Cite this record

AIPolicyTracker (2026). “Technical documentation, model cards and instructions for use”. https://aipolicytracker.org/controls/technical-documentation-and-model-cards (accessed 24 September 2026). Data licensed CC BY 4.0.

Informational only, not legal advice. Verify every claim against the linked official sources and consult qualified counsel before acting.

Frequently asked questions

Which legal duties does "Technical documentation, model cards and instructions for use" satisfy?
It is recorded as satisfying 7 and supporting 6 duties across California (United States), Colorado (United States), European Union, South Korea and United Kingdom. A mapping means the control, operated properly, does the work the duty asks for; the official text decides whether it is enough.
What evidence shows this control is operating?
Technical documentation file, Model card or deployer information pack and Instructions for use. Owner: Product or model owner. Frequency: at launch and on material change.