Article 30 — Notification procedure (EU AI Act)

Article 30 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 — Notification procedure. Official text, practical interpretation, key obligations and compliance implications.

Official Text Summary

Article 30 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (the EU AI Act) establishes the formal procedure by which Member States notify the European Commission and each other of conformity assessment bodies they have designated as notified bodies authorised to carry out third-party conformity assessments of high-risk AI systems.

The notifying authority of each Member State submits the notification electronically through the Commission's NANDO (New Approach Notified and Designated Organisations) information system. The notification must include the conformity assessment body's identifying information, its designated scope of activities (specifying the AI system categories and tasks covered), and evidence that the body satisfies all requirements laid down in Article 31.

A two-week waiting period follows notification submission. During this period, either the Commission or another Member State may raise objections. If no objection is raised, the notified body may commence its conformity assessment activities. Where an objection is raised, the Commission consults the relevant parties and determines whether the notification is justified, instructing the notifying Member State accordingly.

Where a notifying authority determines that a notified body has ceased to meet the requirements or is failing its obligations, it must restrict, suspend, or withdraw the designation and promptly inform the Commission and other Member States. The Commission ensures the NANDO system remains publicly accessible and kept up to date, providing transparency over the full landscape of authorised notified bodies operating across the EU's single market.

What This Means in Practice

Article 30 has direct relevance for two groups of actors: conformity assessment bodies seeking to act as notified bodies, and providers of high-risk AI systems who must identify and engage an appropriately notified body for mandatory third-party conformity assessment.

For conformity assessment bodies, the notification procedure is the gateway to operating as a notified body under the EU AI Act. Once a national notifying authority has assessed and approved a body under the criteria of Article 31 — covering independence, technical competence, impartiality, and liability coverage — it lodges the formal notification via NANDO. The body must not begin issuing conformity certificates under the AI Act until the two-week objection window has closed without challenge, or until any raised objections have been resolved in its favour.

For AI system providers subject to mandatory third-party conformity assessment (primarily those placing high-risk AI systems listed in Annex III onto the EU market where a notified body is required, or those under Annex I product safety legislation), Article 30 provides the mechanism for verifying which bodies are legitimately authorised. Providers must select only properly notified bodies — identifiable through NANDO — for their conformity assessments. Engaging a body before its notification is effective, or one whose notification has been suspended, would invalidate the resulting certificate and render the system non-compliant.

Where a notified body's designation is restricted or withdrawn, providers holding certificates issued by that body must take remedial steps, which may include re-engaging an alternative notified body to revalidate conformity before continuing to place the system on the market.

Key Obligations

• Notifying authorities must submit notifications of designated conformity assessment bodies to the Commission via the NANDO electronic notification system, including full identifying details, scope of designation, and supporting accreditation evidence.
• Notified bodies must not commence conformity assessment activities under the EU AI Act until the two-week waiting period following formal notification has elapsed without objection, or until any objection has been resolved in their favour by the Commission.
• Notifying authorities must continuously monitor notified bodies under their jurisdiction and immediately restrict, suspend, or withdraw the notification if the body ceases to meet Article 31 requirements or fails to fulfil its obligations, notifying the Commission and other Member States without delay.
• The Commission must maintain and keep publicly accessible the NANDO system as the authoritative register of all notified bodies operating under the EU AI Act, ensuring transparency across Member States.
• Providers of high-risk AI systems must verify that any conformity assessment body they engage is validly notified via NANDO and that the body's notification covers the specific AI system category and tasks required.
• Member States and the Commission may raise objections within the two-week window following a notification submission, triggering a mandatory consultation process before the notification can take legal effect.

Relationship to Other Articles

Article 30 operates at the centre of a cluster of provisions governing the notified body framework in Title III, Chapter 4.

It presupposes Article 28, which establishes and defines the role of notifying authorities at Member State level, and Article 29, which sets out the general requirements those authorities must themselves satisfy (independence, competence, absence of conflicts of interest) before they can legitimately notify bodies.

The substance of what a body must demonstrate to receive and retain notification is governed by Article 31 (requirements for notified bodies) and Article 33 (notified body subsidiaries and subcontracting). The operational conduct of notified bodies once authorised is addressed in Articles 33 through 39.

Article 30 also connects to Article 43 (conformity assessment procedures), since the legal validity of any conformity assessment certificate depends on the issuing body holding a current, effective notification under Article 30. Finally, it links to Article 74 (market surveillance) insofar as competent authorities must verify that certificates underpinning CE marking were issued by properly notified bodies.

Compliance Timeline

The EU AI Act entered into force on 1 August 2024, twenty days after publication in the Official Journal of the EU.

Article 30 falls within the provisions that apply to high-risk AI systems, which follow the Act's phased application schedule:

• 1 August 2024 — Entry into force. Member States begin preparatory work on establishing or designating notifying authorities.
• 2 August 2025 — General obligations, including most governance and notified body framework provisions, began to apply. Member States were required to have notifying authorities operational, and conformity assessment bodies could begin the designation and notification process.
• 2 August 2026 — High-risk AI systems covered by Annex III (standalone high-risk applications) must fully comply, meaning providers requiring third-party conformity assessment must have engaged a validly notified body.
• 2 August 2027 — High-risk AI systems embedded in products regulated under Annex I safety legislation (e.g., machinery, medical devices, toys) must comply, aligning AI Act requirements with existing product safety conformity assessment timelines.

Providers planning to place high-risk AI systems on the EU market should verify the notification status of their chosen conformity assessment body via NANDO well in advance of these deadlines, since the notification process itself involves assessment by the national authority, a two-week objection window, and potential Commission review — a process that may take several months in total.