# EU AI Act Article 19: Automatically generated logs

Source: https://aiexponent.com/eu-ai-act/article-19 · Content verified 2026-10-04

Article 19 of the EU AI Act requires providers of high-risk AI systems to keep the logs automatically generated by the system, when those logs are under their control. The logs must be preserved for a period appropriate to the intended purpose of the system, at least six months unless applicable Union or national law provides otherwise, and supplied to competent authorities on request.

- Status: Applies 2 Dec 2027
- Who: Providers of high-risk AI systems that generate logs under their control.
- From when: 2 Dec 2027 (Annex III), 2 Aug 2028 (Annex I) (Art. 113(c)(i), as amended)
- Maximum fine: €15M or 3% (Art. 99(4), point (a), through Art. 16(e))

## What Article 19 says

> **19(1)** 1. Providers of high-risk AI systems shall keep the logs referred to in Article 12(1), automatically generated by their high-risk AI systems, to the extent such logs are under their control. Without prejudice to applicable Union or national law, the logs shall be kept for a period appropriate to the intended purpose of the high-risk AI system, of at least six months, unless provided otherwise in the applicable Union or national law, in particular in Union law on the protection of personal data.

> **19(2)** 2. Providers that are financial institutions subject to requirements regarding their internal governance, arrangements or processes under Union financial services law shall maintain the logs automatically generated by their high-risk AI systems as part of the documentation kept under the relevant financial services law.

Selected paragraphs, quoted exactly from Regulation (EU) 2024/1689: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1689/oj/eng (checked 4 Oct 2026).

## What changed

Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, in force since 27 Jul 2026. Removed and context lines quote Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 as adopted; added lines quote the amending Regulation.

### Article 113, third paragraph, point (c)

```diff
  It shall apply from 2 August 2026.
- (c) Article 6(1) and the corresponding obligations in this Regulation shall apply from 2 August 2027.
+ (c) Chapter III, Sections 1, 2, and 3, with the exception of Article 6(5), shall apply from:
+ (i) 2 December 2027 as regards AI systems classified as high-risk pursuant to Article 6(2) and Annex III; and
+ (ii) 2 August 2028 as regards AI systems classified as high-risk pursuant to Article 6(1) and Annex I;
```

The context line is the second paragraph of Article 113, which set the date for Annex III systems before the change.

Source: Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, Article 1, point (40), https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2026/1744/oj/eng (verified 4 Oct 2026).

## What you must produce

The logs your high-risk system generates automatically, kept for a set period.

- 19(1): The automatically generated logs, to the extent they are under your control
- 19(1): Kept for a period appropriate to the intended purpose, of at least six months unless other law says otherwise

A summary to help you plan. The quoted text above is the law.

## The tool: Agentic Document Analyser

Coverage: Alpha.

Agentic Document Analyser ingests automatically-generated log streams and converts them into structured JSON suitable for the Annex IV documentation pack and for handover to competent authorities. The tool is alpha quality, with no persistent storage and no authentication on the analyse endpoint. Production hardening for Article 19 log retention is on the post-launch roadmap. ADA is evidence-processing infrastructure today.

```bash
docker compose up
```

Writes: Technical file + logging extract.

Tool docs and tool FAQ: https://aiexponent.com/docs/agentic-document-analyser.md

## Questions about Article 19

### When does Article 19 apply?

It applies from 2 Dec 2027 for high-risk systems listed in Annex III (Art. 113(c)(i), as amended), and from 2 Aug 2028 for high-risk systems covered by Annex I (Art. 113(c)(ii), as amended). Before Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, the dates were 2 Aug 2026 and 2 Aug 2027.

### What is the maximum fine for breaching Article 19?

Up to €15 million or 3% of total worldwide annual turnover for the preceding financial year, whichever is higher (Art. 99(4), point (a), through Art. 16(e)). For SMEs, including start-ups, the fine is capped at whichever of the two is lower (Art. 99(6)). Since 27 Jul 2026, the same lower cap applies to small mid-cap enterprises (Art. 99(6a)).

### Did the Digital Omnibus change Article 19?

Its text is unchanged. Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 moved the date it applies from, through Article 113. The section "What changed" quotes the old and new text.

### Is there an AiExponent tool for Article 19?

An alpha. Agentic Document Analyser is alpha software for Article 19. It writes a Technical file + logging extract.

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Not legal advice. Not a notified body. The tools produce evidence, not conformity assessment.
All docs as Markdown: https://aiexponent.com/llms.txt · Guide for coding agents: https://aiexponent.com/agents.md