notified body
In plain wordsAn independent testing and certification organization, approved by an EU government, that checks whether certain risky products — including some AI systems — meet the law before they can be sold.
A conformity assessment body that a member state's notifying authority has designated, and notified to the Commission and the other member states, to carry out third-party conformity assessmentconformity assessment, n.: The check, done by the maker or by an approved outside body, that a high-risk AI system meets the EU's legal requirements before it can be sold or used. under EU product legislation. Under the EU AI ActEU AI Act, prop. n.: The European Union's law on artificial intelligence, the first broad AI law anywhere: it bans some uses, sets strict checks for risky ones and puts duties on the makers of the biggest AI models., notified bodies examine providers' quality management systems and technical documentation for high-risk systemshigh-risk AI system, n.: Under EU law, an AI system used where mistakes could seriously hurt people's safety or rights — in hiring, schooling, loans, policing, borders or products like medical devices — and which must therefore pass strict checks. where third-party assessment is required — chiefly biometric systems not fully covered by harmonised standardsharmonised standards, n.: Official European technical standards, written at the EU's request, that companies can follow to show their AI systems meet the law, instead of proving it from scratch. — and issue time-limited certificates that they can suspend or withdraw. They must be independent of the providers they assess, competent, impartial and insured. For AI in products such as medical devices or lifts, the body already notified under that sector's law assesses the AI requirements as well.
Because we did not fully apply the harmonised standards, our face-matching system needs a notified body.
Origin
A long-standing institution of EU product-safety law under the New Approach (1985) and the New Legislative Framework (2008), used for medical devices, machinery and toys; the AI Act (2024) created a notification route for AI. The 2026 Digital OmnibusDigital Omnibus, prop. n.: A European Union package, proposed in 2025, that simplified and delayed parts of its digital rules — above all pushing back the strictest requirements of the EU AI Act by more than a year. introduced a single application and joint assessment for bodies designated under both the AI Act and sectoral law.
Usage note
Notified bodies are usually private testing and certification firms paid by the providers they assess, a model critics see as a potential conflict of interest.
Related
- conformity assessmentconformity assessment, n.: The check, done by the maker or by an approved outside body, that a high-risk AI system meets the EU's legal requirements before it can be sold or used.
- harmonised standardsharmonised standards, n.: Official European technical standards, written at the EU's request, that companies can follow to show their AI systems meet the law, instead of proving it from scratch.
- high-risk AI systemhigh-risk AI system, n.: Under EU law, an AI system used where mistakes could seriously hurt people's safety or rights — in hiring, schooling, loans, policing, borders or products like medical devices — and which must therefore pass strict checks.
- EU AI ActEU AI Act, prop. n.: The European Union's law on artificial intelligence, the first broad AI law anywhere: it bans some uses, sets strict checks for risky ones and puts duties on the makers of the biggest AI models.
- AI auditAI audit, n.: An independent check of an AI system, or of the company using it, against agreed standards — for example, testing whether a hiring tool treats women and men fairly.
Defined in law or standards
EU AI Act (Reg. (EU) 2024/1689), Art. 3(21)–(22); Arts. 28–39 and Art. 44; Art. 28 as amended by Reg. (EU) 2026/1744
Mentioned in
conformity assessmentconformity assessment, n.: The check, done by the maker or by an approved outside body, that a high-risk AI system meets the EU's legal requirements before it can be sold or used., harmonised standardsharmonised standards, n.: Official European technical standards, written at the EU's request, that companies can follow to show their AI systems meet the law, instead of proving it from scratch., market surveillance authoritymarket surveillance authority, n.: The government body in each EU country that checks AI systems on the market, investigates complaints, and can order unsafe or unlawful AI to be fixed or withdrawn.