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Presumption of conformity

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The legal effect under AI Act Article 40: a high-risk system or GPAI model that conforms with OJ-cited harmonised standards is presumed to meet the requirements those standards cover, and no others 1. Unavailable until a standard is cited, which as of 2026-09-24 none is 2.

Developed in
ch. 22, How presumption of conformity works
Chapters
ch. 08, Regulatory Map · ch. 22, Principles & Standards
Source
2 numbered references, listed below

Where it is used

8 chapters of the Body of Knowledge use the term. Each link opens the first section that does.

Presumption of conformity: mentions per chapter26 mentions of the term across 8 of the 23 chapters of the Body of Knowledge; the chapters the glossary cross-references are drawn solid.Cross-referenced chapterOther chapter02 Why Now: 5 mentions02 Why Now504 The Stack: 1 mention04 The Stack107 Maturity Model: 1 mention07 Maturity Model108 Regulatory Map: 11 mentions08 Regulatory Map1110 Reading List: 2 mentions10 Reading List216 Fairness & XAI: 1 mention16 Fairness & XAI118 EU AI Act: 1 mention18 EU AI Act122 Principles & Standards: 4 mentions22 Principles & Standards4No mentions in the other 15 chaptersSource: the Body of Knowledgev0.5.0
Presumption of conformity: mentions per chapter26 mentions of the term across 8 of the 23 chapters of the Body of Knowledge; the chapters the glossary cross-references are drawn solid.Cross-referenced chapterOther chapter000102 Why Now: 5 mentions5020304 The Stack: 1 mention104050607 Maturity Model: 1 mention10708 Regulatory Map: 11 mentions110810 Reading List: 2 mentions210111213141516 Fairness & XAI: 1 mention1161718 EU AI Act: 1 mention11819202122 Principles & Standards: 4 mentions42223Source: the Body of Knowledge v0.5.0
Mentions per chapter How often each chapter names the term, with the chapters the glossary cross-references drawn solid. The longest bar is where to read the term in use; bars spread across many chapters mark a term that runs through the discipline.
Mentions as a table
Mentions of Presumption of conformity per chapter
ChapterMentionsCross-referenced
00 Preface0No
01 Definition0No
02 Why Now5No
03 Values & Principles0No
04 The Stack1No
05 Patterns0No
06 The Role0No
07 Maturity Model1No
08 Regulatory Map11Yes
10 Reading List2No
11 AI Defined0No
12 Governance Program0No
13 Risk Management0No
14 Development0No
15 Deployment0No
16 Fairness & XAI1No
17 Incidents0No
18 EU AI Act1No
19 Privacy & AI0No
20 Existing Law0No
21 AI Laws Worldwide0No
22 Principles & Standards4Yes
23 AI Agents0No
Presumption of conformity: related terms and patternsThe term at the centre; related terms on solid edges, the terms it is contrasted with on dashed edges, and the patterns that use it most in the colour of their layer.RelatedPresumption of conformityRelated terms (6)AI Act (EU) · RelatedAI Act (EU)Common specifications · RelatedCommon specificationsEN 18286 · RelatedEN 18286GPAI · RelatedGPAIHarmonised standard · RelatedHarmonised standardISO/IEC 42001 · RelatedISO/IEC 42001
Presumption of conformity: related terms and patternsThe term at the centre; related terms on solid edges, the terms it is contrasted with on dashed edges, and the patterns that use it most in the colour of their layer.RelatedRelated terms (6)AI Act (EU) · RelatedAI Act (EU)Common specifications · RelatedCommon specificationsEN 18286 · RelatedEN 18286GPAI · RelatedGPAIHarmonised standard · RelatedHarmonised standardISO/IEC 42001 · RelatedISO/IEC 42001Presumption ofconformity
The term's neighbourhood Terms related to this one on solid edges, terms it is often confused with on dashed edges, and the patterns that use it most in the colour of their layer. Follow a dashed edge to check the distinction before you use either term.
Neighbourhood as a table
Neighbourhood of Presumption of conformity
FamilyItemRelation
Related termsAI Act (EU)Related
Related termsCommon specificationsRelated
Related termsEN 18286Related
Related termsGPAIRelated
Related termsHarmonised standardRelated
Related termsISO/IEC 42001Related
  • Common specifications

    Technical specifications the Commission may adopt by implementing act under AI Act Article 41 when a standardisation request is not accepted, the standards…

  • Harmonised standard

    A European standard adopted on a Commission standardisation request.

  • GPAI

    General-purpose AI model: under the AI Act, a model that shows significant generality, can competently perform a wide range of distinct tasks and can be…

  • ISO/IEC 42001

    The ISO/IEC standard (2023) that specifies requirements for an AI management system, certifiable by accredited bodies.

  • AI Act (EU)

    Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, the EU's horizontal, risk-tiered law for AI, amended by the Digital Omnibus.

  • EN 18286

    The European standard for the AI Act's Article 17 quality management system, published by CEN-CENELEC in July 2026 (the first JTC 21 AI Act standard to reach…

Sources

  1. [1] Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act), consolidated text as amended by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (Digital Omnibus on AI, in force 27 Jul 2026; definitions in Art. 3, incl. 3(1), 3(3) to 3(14), 3(14b), 3(20), 3(22), 3(23), 3(29) to 3(32), 3(49), 3(55) to 3(57), 3(60), 3(61), 3(63), 3(68); Arts. 4, 5, 6 (incl. 6(3) third subparagraph, profiling), 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 22 to 27 (incl. 26(11)), 40, 41, 43, 47, 48, 50, 53 (incl. 53(1)(c)), 55, 57, 60, 72, 73, 86; Annexes I, III, IV). Publications Office of the EU (EUR-Lex). 2026-07-27. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1689/2026-07-27/eng (verified: primary)
  2. [2] Standardisation of the AI Act (no harmonised standard yet referenced in the Official Journal, so no presumption of conformity from any standard, ISO/IEC 42001 included; page last updated 2026-08-03; none found in the Publications Office index on 2026-09-24). European Commission. 2026-08-03. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/ai-act-standardisation (verified: primary)

Definitions of legal terms paraphrase the cited text, which governs. Dated statements are as of .

Cite this term

García Aibar, J. (2026). Presumption of conformity. In AI Governance Engineering: The Thesis & Body of Knowledge (v0.5.0), Glossary. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22956197. https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/presumption-of-conformity. CC BY 4.0

BibTeX

@misc{aige2026presumptionofconformity,
  author  = {Jorge García Aibar},
  title   = {{Presumption of conformity}},
  note    = {Glossary, AI Governance Engineering: The Thesis \& Body of Knowledge, version 0.5.0},
  year    = {2026},
  doi     = {10.5281/zenodo.22956197},
  url     = {https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/presumption-of-conformity}
}