# Frontier developers must publish a transparency report before deploying a new frontier model

- **Record type**: Obligation
- **Instrument**: California SB 53: Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act
- **Jurisdiction**: California (United States)
- **Category**: transparency
- **Binding**: Yes
- **Applies from**: 2026-01-01
- **Provision**: Business and Professions Code Section 22757.12 (as added by SB 53)

## What the duty requires

Before or at the time a frontier developer deploys a new frontier model, or a substantially modified version, it must publish a transparency report on its website describing the model, its intended uses and restrictions, the release date and modalities, and how to contact the developer. A large frontier developer must add a summary of its catastrophic-risk assessment for the model, the results, any third-party evaluators involved and the steps taken under its frontier AI framework, with trade-secret and security redactions explained.

## What an organisation does about it

Attach a model-release transparency report to the launch checklist, with a redaction log for withheld details.

## Controls that meet this duty

- Frontier model safety and security framework (supports): https://aipolicytracker.org/controls/frontier-model-safety-framework
- Model release and change-management gate (supports): https://aipolicytracker.org/controls/model-release-and-change-management-gate
- Technical documentation, model cards and instructions for use (satisfies): https://aipolicytracker.org/controls/technical-documentation-and-model-cards

## Parent instrument

- California SB 53: Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act
  - Record: https://aipolicytracker.org/policies/us-california-sb-53
  - Context file: https://aipolicytracker.org/policies/us-california-sb-53.md

## Provenance

- **Record page**: https://aipolicytracker.org/obligations/us-california-sb-53-transparency-report
- **Official source**: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB53
- **Provision**: Business and Professions Code Section 22757.12 (as added by SB 53)
- **Review status**: pending review
- **Confidence**: medium
- **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.