EU AI Act Article 12, record keeping
Article 12 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 requires that high risk AI systems technically allow the automatic recording of events over the lifetime of the system. For an agent, this is the binding source of the logging requirement: the capability has to be built in, not bolted on by whoever deploys it.
The verdict
Verified
The document exists. The ledger fetched it at its publisher and quotes it.
Key facts
What the sources say
- Record ID
- AAL-2026-0021
- Kind
- Binding law
- Jurisdiction
- European Union
- Last verified
- Added
- Article 12(1) states that high risk AI systems shall technically allow for the automatic recording of events, or logs, over the lifetime of the system.
- The logging capability must support identifying situations that may result in risk, and post market monitoring.
- The duty falls on the provider to build the capability, while Article 26 places the duty to keep the resulting logs on the deployer.
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 was published in the Official Journal on 12 July 2024.
Dimension by dimension
2 dimensions, each one stated, silent or open
Logging and audit, Accountability. Stated means the document you can open below says it; silent means the ledger read the document and it does not.
- Logging and auditStated
- Automatic event recording over the lifetime of the system is a design requirement, not an operational option.AI Act Explorer, Article 12, secondary source, 15 September 2026.
- AccountabilityStated
- Logs are the evidence that makes post market monitoring and incident investigation possible, which is how responsibility is traced back.AI Act Explorer, Article 12, secondary source, 15 September 2026.
What it changes
For a team deploying an agent
If your agent falls in a high risk use, the log is not a debugging convenience. Ask your provider where the event log is, what it records, and whether it covers tool calls and not only model outputs, because an agent that logs its answers and not its actions cannot evidence anything.
Sources
What this record was verified against
- EUR-Lex, Regulation (EU) 2024/1689Primary · 12 July 2024
- AI Act Explorer, Article 12Secondary · 15 September 2026
Related
Records that sit beside this one
EU AI Act Article 14, human oversight
European Union · verified 15 September 2026
Article 14(1) requires high risk AI systems to be designed and developed so they can be effectively overseen by natural persons during the period in which they are in use, including through appropriate human machine interface tools.
EU AI Act Article 26, deployer obligations
European Union · verified 15 September 2026
Deployers must take appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure they use high risk systems in accordance with the instructions for use.
No EU instrument defines an AI agent
European Union · verified 15 September 2026
The Commission states that the term AI agent is not legally defined and is used colloquially for different kinds of artefacts.
Cite this record
Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0, with attribution. The record ID AAL-2026-0021 is permanent and is never reused.
- In a sentence
- According to the GAGE Agent Authority Ledger (as of 15 September 2026), eu ai act article 12, record keeping.
- APA
- GAGE (Global Academy of Generative-AI Education). (2026). EU AI Act Article 12, record keeping. Agent Authority Ledger. Retrieved 15 September 2026, from https://www.gage.academy/tools/agent-authority-ledger/records/AAL-2026-0021-eu-ai-act-article-12-record-keeping
- MLA
- "EU AI Act Article 12, record keeping." Agent Authority Ledger, GAGE (Global Academy of Generative-AI Education), 15 September 2026, https://www.gage.academy/tools/agent-authority-ledger/records/AAL-2026-0021-eu-ai-act-article-12-record-keeping.
- Chicago
- GAGE (Global Academy of Generative-AI Education). "EU AI Act Article 12, record keeping." Agent Authority Ledger. Last modified 15 September 2026. https://www.gage.academy/tools/agent-authority-ledger/records/AAL-2026-0021-eu-ai-act-article-12-record-keeping.
- Permalink
- https://www.gage.academy/tools/agent-authority-ledger/records/AAL-2026-0021-eu-ai-act-article-12-record-keeping
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