# Public authorities must register their use of high-risk AI and must not use unregistered systems

- **Record type**: Obligation
- **Instrument**: Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 — Artificial Intelligence Act
- **Jurisdiction**: European Union
- **Category**: public_sector_use
- **Binding**: Yes
- **Applies from**: 2026-08-02
- **Provision**: Article 26(8); Article 49(3) and 49(4)

## What the duty requires

Deployers that are public authorities or Union institutions, bodies, offices or agencies must register their use of an Annex III high-risk AI system in the EU database before putting it into service. If they find that the system they intend to use has not been registered in the database by its provider, they must not use it and must inform the provider or distributor.

## What an organisation does about it

Check the EU database entry for the provider's system as a procurement acceptance criterion, then register the deployment before go-live.

## Controls that meet this duty

- Public-sector AI use-case register and algorithmic transparency (satisfies): https://aipolicytracker.org/controls/public-sector-ai-use-case-register
- Vendor and third-party AI due diligence (supports): https://aipolicytracker.org/controls/third-party-ai-due-diligence

## Parent instrument

- Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 — Artificial Intelligence Act
  - Record: https://aipolicytracker.org/policies/eu-ai-act
  - Context file: https://aipolicytracker.org/policies/eu-ai-act.md

## Provenance

- **Record page**: https://aipolicytracker.org/obligations/eu-ai-act-art-26-8-public-authority-registration-before-use
- **Official source**: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1689/oj
- **Provision**: Article 26(8); Article 49(3) and 49(4)
- **Review status**: pending review
- **Confidence**: high
- **Facts last confirmed**: never confirmed against the official source
- **Retrieved**: 2026-09-24
- **Licence**: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

> This record is a structured summary with a link to the official text. It is not legal advice. Open the official source before relying on any date or duty. How current each record type must be is published at https://aipolicytracker.org/verification; what a record must carry at all is published at https://aipolicytracker.org/coverage.