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AI Governance Glossary
Governance Concept

What Is Authorised Representative?

Authorised Representative is under the EU AI Act, a natural or legal person established in the EU who has received and accepted a written mandate from a provider established outside the EU to carry out the provider's obligations under the Act on its behalf.

Definition

Authorised Representativeunder the EU AI Act, a natural or legal person established in the EU who has received and accepted a written mandate from a provider established outside the EU to carry out the provider's obligations under the Act on its behalf.

A provider based outside the EU that places a high-risk AI system on the EU market must appoint an authorised representative within the Union. The representative keeps the technical documentation, cooperates with authorities, and is a local point of contact — a structure familiar from other EU product law. It does not transfer the provider's underlying responsibility, but it gives regulators someone in the Union to deal with.

Source: EU AI Act, Article 3(5)

Plain-language explanation

A provider based outside the EU that places a high-risk AI system on the EU market must appoint an authorised representative within the Union. The representative keeps the technical documentation, cooperates with authorities, and is a local point of contact — a structure familiar from other EU product law. It does not transfer the provider's underlying responsibility, but it gives regulators someone in the Union to deal with.

Primary source: EU AI Act, Article 3(5)

Related terms

Provider Operator Importer EU AI Act

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