# Draft Commission guidelines on high-risk classification: Draft Commission Guidelines on the classification of high-risk AI systems under Article 6 of the AI Act

Source: https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/eu-commission-draft-guidelines-high-risk-classification-2026
Last updated: Aug 26, 2026

On May 19, 2026 the European Commission published draft guidelines on classifying high-risk AI systems under Article 6 of the AI Act, originally due by February 2, 2026. The draft has three parts — general principles, Annex I (AI as a safety component of regulated products) and Annex III (the eight listed use-case areas, including credit scoring) — with practical examples the Commission says it will update over time. A targeted consultation ran to July 23, 2026 and final guidelines are expected by end-2026.

## At a glance

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Authority | [EU AI Act](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/eu-ai-act) |
| Type | Consultation |
| Status | Proposed · comment period closed |
| Published | May 19, 2026 |
| Comment deadline | Jul 23, 2026 |
| Applies to | Providers and deployers assessing whether an AI system is high-risk under Article 6 and Annexes I and III, including banks with credit-scoring and HR systems |
| Official text | https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/draft-commission-guidelines-classification-high-risk-ai-systems |

## Key points

- Intended purpose as documented by the provider is determinative for classification and must be described consistently across technical documentation, instructions and marketing.
- Building in human oversight or human-in-the-loop review does not take a system out of the high-risk category — oversight is a compliance requirement for high-risk systems, not a classification escape.
- Explains the Article 6(3) exemptions (narrow procedural tasks, improving prior human activity, detecting decision patterns, preparatory tasks) and the duty to document and register systems a provider considers exempt.
- Provides non-exhaustive worked examples for each Annex III area; the credit and insurance area (point 5) includes the fraud-detection carve-out.
- Non-binding, but sets the interpretation supervisors will apply when the Annex III regime starts on December 2, 2027.
- Final guidelines to be complemented later by guidance on the substantive high-risk requirements (Articles 8–15).

## What changed for banks

The draft is the first official reading of the boundary that decides whether a bank's model triggers the full high-risk regime. It closes off the widely discussed argument that a human final decision or a 'decision-support' label avoids Annex III 5(b), and it fleshes out the Article 6(3) exemptions on which many analytics and pre-screening tools will rely.

## Use cases it governs

- [Credit scoring & underwriting](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#credit-underwriting)
- [Model risk management](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#model-risk)
- [Fraud detection](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#fraud)
- [AI governance (general)](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#governance-general)

## FAQ

### Can a bank avoid high-risk classification by keeping a human in the loop?

No. The draft guidelines state that human oversight is a requirement for high-risk systems, not a factor that removes a system from the high-risk category; classification turns on intended purpose and the Annex III list.

### When will the final high-risk classification guidelines be adopted?

The Commission has indicated final adoption by the end of 2026, after the consultation that closed July 23, 2026 — a year before the Annex III regime applies on December 2, 2027.

## Related documents

- [Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (Digital Omnibus on AI)](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/eu-digital-omnibus-ai-regulation-2026-1744) — Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 amending Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 as regards the simplification of the implementation of harmonised rules on artificial intelligence (Digital Omnibus on AI) (Jul 24, 2026)
- [Commission guidelines on AI Act Article 50 transparency](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/eu-commission-guidelines-ai-act-article-50-transparency-2026) — Commission Guidelines on the implementation of the transparency obligations for certain AI systems under Article 50 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act) (Jul 20, 2026)
- [EBA factsheet on the AI Act](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/eba-ai-act-factsheet-banking-payments-2025) — AI Act: implications for the EU banking and payments sector (EBA factsheet) (Nov 21, 2025)
- [Commission GPAI model guidelines](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/eu-commission-guidelines-gpai-obligations-2025) — Commission Guidelines on the scope of the obligations for general-purpose AI models established by Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act) (Jul 18, 2025)
- [General-Purpose AI Code of Practice](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/eu-gpai-code-of-practice-2025) — General-Purpose AI Code of Practice under the AI Act (Transparency, Copyright, and Safety and Security chapters) (Jul 10, 2025)
- [Commission guidelines on the AI system definition](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/eu-commission-guidelines-ai-system-definition-2025) — Commission Guidelines on the definition of an artificial intelligence system established by Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act) (Feb 6, 2025)
- [Commission guidelines on prohibited AI practices](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/eu-commission-guidelines-prohibited-ai-practices-2025) — Commission Guidelines on prohibited artificial intelligence practices established by Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act) (Feb 4, 2025)
- [Regulation (EU) 2024/1689](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/eu-ai-act-regulation-2024-1689) — Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence (Artificial Intelligence Act) (Jul 12, 2024)

Last reviewed Aug 26, 2026. Cite the official text (https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/draft-commission-guidelines-classification-high-risk-ai-systems) for the rule and this page for the summary and dates.

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