# Deployers must explain individual decisions taken with high-risk AI on request

- **Record type**: Obligation
- **Instrument**: Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 — Artificial Intelligence Act
- **Jurisdiction**: European Union
- **Category**: transparency
- **Binding**: Yes
- **Applies from**: 2026-08-02
- **Provision**: Article 86

## What the duty requires

A person affected by a decision that a deployer took on the basis of the output of an Annex III high-risk AI system, other than critical-infrastructure systems, which produces legal effects or similarly significantly affects them in a way they consider adverse to their health, safety or fundamental rights, has the right to obtain from the deployer clear and meaningful explanations of the role the system played in the decision and the main elements of the decision. The right does not apply where Union or national law provides an exception.

## What an organisation does about it

Set up a request channel and an explanation template that names the system's role, the key inputs and the human decision points for each affected process.

## Controls that meet this duty

- Decision explanation, human review and appeal route (satisfies): https://aipolicytracker.org/controls/decision-explanation-and-appeal-route
- Automatic event logging and record retention (supports): https://aipolicytracker.org/controls/record-keeping-and-logging

## 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-86-right-to-explanation
- **Official source**: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1689/oj
- **Provision**: Article 86
- **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.