Regulation Tracker / EU AI Act / Chapter V · Section 4
Article 56
Codes of practice
Chapter V — Classification of general-purpose AI models as general-purpose AI models with systemic risk, Section 4 — Codes of practice. 9 distinct duties, powers or definitions are coded from this article, applying from 2025-08-02.
Amended by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (Digital Omnibus on AI), in force 2026-07-27 — about 137 words changed. The text below is the consolidated version of 27 July 2026; the 2024 text and the amending regulation are on EUR-Lex.
official text: EUR-Lex (consolidated 27 Jul 2026) · text © European Union (Decision 2011/833/EU) · coding CC BY 4.0 · data: obligations.json · Hugging Face · GitHub
Hugging FaceThe text
1. The AI Office shall encourage and facilitate the drawing up of codes of practice at Union level in order to contribute to the proper application of this Regulation, taking into account international approaches.
2. The AI Office and the Board shall aim to ensure that the codes of practice cover at least the obligations provided for in Articles 53 and 55, including the following issues:
- (a)the means to ensure that the information referred to in Article 53(1), points (a) and (b), is kept up to date in light of market and technological developments;
- (b)the adequate level of detail for the summary about the content used for training;
- (c)the identification of the type and nature of the systemic risks at Union level, including their sources, where appropriate;
- (d)the measures, procedures and modalities for the assessment and management of the systemic risks at Union level, including the documentation thereof, which shall be proportionate to the risks, take into consideration their severity and probability and take into account the specific challenges of tackling those risks in light of the possible ways in which such risks may emerge and materialise along the AI value chain.
3. The AI Office may invite all providers of general-purpose AI models, as well as relevant national competent authorities, to participate in the drawing-up of codes of practice. Civil society organisations, industry, academia and other relevant stakeholders, such as downstream providers and independent experts, may support the process.
4. The AI Office and the Board shall aim to ensure that the codes of practice clearly set out their specific objectives and contain commitments or measures, including key performance indicators as appropriate, to ensure the achievement of those objectives, and that they take due account of the needs and interests of all interested parties, including affected persons, at Union level.
5. The AI Office shall aim to ensure that participants to the codes of practice report regularly to the AI Office on the implementation of the commitments and the measures taken and their outcomes, including as measured against the key performance indicators as appropriate. Key performance indicators and reporting commitments shall reflect differences in size and capacity between various participants.
6. The Commission and the Board shall regularly monitor and evaluate the achievement of the objectives of the codes of practice by the participants and their contribution to the proper application of this Regulation. The Commission, taking utmost account of the opinion of the Board, shall assess whether the codes of practice cover the obligations provided for in Articles 53 and 55, and shall regularly monitor and evaluate the achievement of their objectives. The Commission shall publish its assessment of the adequacy of the codes of practice.
7. The AI Office may invite all providers of general-purpose AI models to adhere to the codes of practice. For providers of general-purpose AI models not presenting systemic risks this adherence may be limited to the obligations provided for in Article 53, unless they declare explicitly their interest to join the full code.
8. The AI Office shall, as appropriate, also encourage and facilitate the review and adaptation of the codes of practice, in particular in light of emerging standards. The AI Office shall assist in the assessment of available standards.
9. Codes of practice shall be ready at the latest by 2 May 2025. The AI Office shall take the necessary steps, including inviting providers pursuant to paragraph 7.
What it requires, coded
SafeLegalAI's reading of each duty in this article: who, what, from when, under which fine tier, and whether it reaches a firm, chambers, court or legal-AI vendor. Descriptive, not advice; the quoted words are the Regulation's.
Art. 56(1)Governance institutionalGeneral-purpose AI
The AI Office must encourage and facilitate Union-level codes of practice that contribute to proper AI Act application while taking international approaches into account.
"The AI Office shall encourage and facilitate the drawing up of codes of practice at Union level in order to contribute to the proper application of this Regulation"
- Who
- AI Office
- From
- (Art. 113(b))
- Legal practice
- Institutional — Governance row with indirect importance for legal-AI vendors using GPAI models.
- See
- AI Office
Art. 56(2)Governance institutionalGeneral-purpose AI
The AI Office and Board must aim for codes of practice to cover Articles 53 and 55, including current information, training-content summaries, systemic-risk types, and systemic-risk assessment and management measures.
"The AI Office and the Board shall aim to ensure that the codes of practice cover at least the obligations provided for in Articles 53 and 55"
Art. 56(3)Governance institutionalGeneral-purpose AI
The AI Office may invite GPAI model providers and relevant national competent authorities to participate in code drafting, with support from civil society, industry, academia and other stakeholders.
"The AI Office may invite all providers of general-purpose AI models, as well as relevant national competent authorities, to participate in the drawing-up of codes of practice"
- Who
- AI Office
- From
- (Art. 113(b))
- Legal practice
- Institutional — Governance participation route for GPAI vendors, including those serving legal-AI markets.
- See
- National competent authorities
Art. 56(4)Governance institutionalGeneral-purpose AI
The AI Office and Board must aim for codes of practice to state specific objectives and contain commitments or measures, including KPIs where appropriate, while considering interested parties and affected persons.
"The AI Office and the Board shall aim to ensure that the codes of practice clearly set out their specific objectives and contain commitments or measures"
- Who
- AI Office, AI Board
- From
- (Art. 113(b))
- Legal practice
- Institutional — Indirect governance of the codes that may structure GPAI compliance for legal-AI vendors.
- See
- Affected persons
Art. 56(5)MonitoringGeneral-purpose AI
The AI Office must aim for code participants to report regularly on implementation of commitments, measures, outcomes and KPIs, with reporting reflecting participant size and capacity.
"The AI Office shall aim to ensure that participants to the codes of practice report regularly to the AI Office on the implementation of the commitments and the measures taken and their outcomes"
- Who
- AI Office
- From
- (Art. 113(b))
- Legal practice
- Institutional — Indirect monitoring framework for GPAI providers whose models may support legal AI.
- See
- Art. 56 codes of practice
Art. 56(6)MonitoringGeneral-purpose AI
The Commission and Board must monitor and evaluate code objectives and contribution to proper application; the Commission must assess coverage of Articles 53 and 55 and publish its adequacy assessment.
"The Commission and the Board shall regularly monitor and evaluate the achievement of the objectives of the codes of practice by the participants and their contribution to the proper application of this Regulation"
Art. 56(7)Governance institutionalGeneral-purpose AI
The AI Office may invite all GPAI model providers to adhere to codes of practice, with non-systemic providers limited to Article 53 obligations unless they choose the full code.
"The AI Office may invite all providers of general-purpose AI models to adhere to the codes of practice"
- Who
- AI Office
- From
- (Art. 113(b))
- Legal practice
- Institutional — Governance invitation relevant to GPAI vendors whose models may be integrated into legal-AI systems.
- See
- Art. 53
Art. 56(8)Governance institutionalGeneral-purpose AI
The AI Office must, where appropriate, encourage and facilitate review and adaptation of codes of practice, especially in light of emerging standards, and assist in assessing available standards.
"The AI Office shall, as appropriate, also encourage and facilitate the review and adaptation of the codes of practice, in particular in light of emerging standards"
- Who
- AI Office
- From
- (Art. 113(b))
- Legal practice
- Institutional — Indirectly affects updates to GPAI codes used by legal-AI providers.
- See
- Harmonised standards
Art. 56(9)Governance institutionalGeneral-purpose AI
Codes of practice had to be ready by 2 May 2025, and the AI Office had to take necessary steps, including inviting providers to adhere.
"Codes of practice shall be ready at the latest by 2 May 2025. The AI Office shall take the necessary steps, including inviting providers pursuant to paragraph 7"
- Who
- AI Office
- From
- (Art. 113(b))
- Legal practice
- Institutional — Governance deadline for GPAI codes that may guide legal-AI vendors.
- See
- Art. 56(7)
Cite
Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, Article 56 (Codes of practice), as amended by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, consolidated text of 27 July 2026, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1689/2026-07-27/eng#art_56 — text © European Union; only the Official Journal is authentic. Coding: SafeLegalAI (published by Cognesio LLP), "EU AI Act, structured", safelegalai.com/regulation/eu-ai-act/article-56, accessed 2026-09-08, CC BY 4.0.