Annex IV AI Act
Technical documentation referred to in Article 11(1)
Official text
Technical documentation referred to in Article 11(1) The technical documentation referred to in Article 11(1) shall contain at least the following information, as applicable to the relevant AI system:
1. A general description of the AI system including:
(a) its intended purpose, the name of the provider and the version of the system reflecting its relation to previous versions;
(b) how the AI system interacts with, or can be used to interact with, hardware or software, including with other AI systems, that are not part of the AI system itself, where applicable;
(c) the versions of relevant software or firmware, and any requirements related to version updates;
(d) the description of all the forms in which the AI system is placed on the market or put into service, such as software packages embedded into hardware, downloads, or APIs;
(e) the description of the hardware on which the AI system is intended to run;
(f) where the AI system is a component of products, photographs or illustrations showing external features, the marking and internal layout of those products;
(g) a basic description of the user-interface provided to the deployer;
(h) instructions for use for the deployer, and a basic description of the user-interface provided to the deployer, where applicable;
2. A detailed description of the elements of the AI system and of the process for its development, including:
(a) the methods and steps performed for the development of the AI system, including, where relevant, recourse to pre-trained systems or tools provided by third parties and how those were used, integrated or modified by the provider;
(b) the design specifications of the system, namely the general logic of the AI system and of the algorithms; the key design choices including the rationale and assumptions made, including with regard to persons or groups of persons in respect of who, the system is intended to be used; the main classification choices; what the system is designed to optimise for, and the relevance of the different parameters; the description of the expected output and output quality of the system; the decisions about any possible trade-off made regarding the technical solutions adopted to comply with the requirements set out in Chapter III, Section 2;
(c) the description of the system architecture explaining how software components build on or feed into each other and integrate into the overall processing; the computational resources used to develop, train, test and validate the AI system;
(d) where relevant, the data requirements in terms of datasheets describing the training methodologies and techniques and the training data sets used, including a general description of these data sets, information about their provenance, scope and main characteristics; how the data was obtained and selected; labelling procedures (e.g. for supervised learning), data cleaning methodologies (e.g. outliers detection);
(e) assessment of the human oversight measures needed in accordance with Article 14, including an assessment of the technical measures needed to facilitate the interpretation of the outputs of AI systems by the deployers, in accordance with Article 13(3), point (d);
(f) where applicable, a detailed description of pre-determined changes to the AI system and its performance, together with all the relevant information related to the technical solutions adopted to ensure continuous compliance of the AI system with the relevant requirements set out in Chapter III, Section 2;
(g) the validation and testing procedures used, including information about the validation and testing data used and their main characteristics; metrics used to measure accuracy, robustness and compliance with other relevant requirements set out in Chapter III, Section 2, as well as potentially discriminatory impacts; test logs and all test reports dated and signed by the responsible persons, including with regard to pre-determined changes as referred to under point (f);
(h) cybersecurity measures put in place;
3. Detailed information about the monitoring, functioning and control of the AI system, in particular with regard to: its capabilities and limitations in performance, including the degrees of accuracy for specific persons or groups of persons on which the system is intended to be used and the overall expected level of accuracy in relation to its intended purpose; the foreseeable unintended outcomes and sources of risks to health and safety, fundamental rights and discrimination in view of the intended purpose of the AI system; the human oversight measures needed in accordance with Article 14, including the technical measures put in place to facilitate the interpretation of the outputs of AI systems by the deployers; specifications on input data, as appropriate;
4. A description of the appropriateness of the performance metrics for the specific AI system;
5. A detailed description of the risk management system in accordance with Article 9;
6. A description of relevant changes made by the provider to the system through its lifecycle;
7. A list of the harmonised standards applied in full or in part the references of which have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union; where no such harmonised standards have been applied, a detailed description of the solutions adopted to meet the requirements set out in Chapter III, Section 2, including a list of other relevant standards and technical specifications applied;
8. A copy of the EU declaration of conformity referred to in Article 47;
9. A detailed description of the system in place to evaluate the AI system performance in the post-market phase in accordance with Article 72, including the post-market monitoring plan referred to in Article 72(3).
Source: EUR-Lex, Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 — text reproduced verbatim.
📬 AI Act Weekly
Get the most important AI Act developments in your inbox every week.
SubscribeFrequently asked questions
What must be included in the technical documentation under Annex IV?
Annex IV requires nine sections: (1) general description of the AI system, (2) detailed description of elements and development process, (3) monitoring and control information, (4) appropriateness of performance metrics, (5) risk management, (6) lifecycle changes, (7) applied standards, (8) EU declaration of conformity, and (9) post-market monitoring system.
What information about training data is required in the technical documentation?
Point 2d requires: data requirements including datasheets with training methodologies, description of training datasets, provenance and scope of data, how data was obtained and selected, labelling procedures (e.g. for supervised learning), and data cleaning methods (e.g. outlier detection).
Do I need to document cybersecurity measures?
Yes, point 2h of Annex IV explicitly requires that cybersecurity measures put in place are included in the technical documentation.
What must I document about human oversight?
Point 2e requires an assessment of human oversight measures needed under Article 14, including an assessment of technical measures to facilitate interpretation of AI outputs by deployers (under Article 13(3)(d)).
How detailed must the risk assessment in the technical documentation be?
Point 5 requires a detailed description of the risk management system under Article 9. This includes identification of risks to health, safety and fundamental rights, risk mitigation measures, and residual risk analysis.
Do I need to include test results in the technical documentation?
Yes, point 2g requires: validation and testing procedures, information on test and validation data, metrics for accuracy, robustness and compliance, potentially discriminatory impacts, test logs and all test reports dated and signed.
What goes in the general description of the AI system?
Point 1 requires: (a) intended purpose, provider name and version, (b) interaction with hardware/software, (c) software versions, (d) forms of market placement (API, download, etc.), (e) intended hardware, (f) photos for embedded products, (g) user interface description, (h) instructions for use.
Do I need to track changes to the AI system?
Yes, point 6 requires a description of relevant changes made by the provider throughout the lifecycle. Point 2f also requires documentation of pre-determined changes and how continuous compliance is ensured.
Is Annex IV technical documentation mandatory for all AI systems?
No, Annex IV is only mandatory for high-risk AI systems (under Article 11(1)). For general-purpose AI models (GPAI), Annex XI applies instead.
How does Annex IV relate to post-market monitoring?
Point 9 requires a detailed description of the system for evaluating AI performance post-market, in accordance with Article 72, including the post-market monitoring plan of Article 72(3).
Do I need to list harmonised standards in the documentation?
Yes, point 7 requires a list of applied harmonised standards. If no harmonised standards were applied, a detailed description must be provided of alternative solutions to meet the requirements of Chapter III, Section 2.
How do I store the Annex IV technical documentation?
Under Article 18, technical documentation must be drawn up before the AI system is placed on the market and kept up to date. The documentation must be available to competent authorities for at least 10 years after market placement.
How does the Annex IV technical documentation relate to ISO 42001?
ISO/IEC 42001 (AI Management System) provides a framework that partially overlaps with Annex IV requirements. However, ISO 42001 certification does not automatically cover all requirements. Annex IV contains specific EU requirements around conformity declaration, post-market monitoring and CE marking that go beyond ISO 42001.
Who has access to the Annex IV technical documentation?
The technical documentation must be available to national market surveillance authorities upon request. You do not need to publish the documentation publicly. For high-risk AI systems requiring assessment by a notified body (Annex VII), the documentation must also be provided to that body.
Can I prepare the technical documentation in Dutch?
The technical documentation must be prepared in a language accepted by the relevant Member State. In practice, most Member States accept English. Check with your national supervisory authority whether documentation in Dutch or English suffices for your market.