Annex I Section B: high-risk AI in vehicles, aviation, rail, marine and machinery

What kind of legislation is in Section B?

Section B contains product and transport legislation that has its own long-standing, sector-specific safety and approval regimes, rather than the common New Legislative Framework pattern. The regimes have their own authorities, type-approval or certification procedures, and technical requirements, developed for vehicles, aircraft, trains and ships. The AI Act recognises that structure by limiting direct application to specified provisions, and by requiring the sectoral regime to address the AI requirements in its own instruments. A manufacturer in a Section B sector should therefore look first to the sectoral legislation and its implementing rules for the substantive AI duties, and to the AI Act for classification and the final provisions, rather than assuming the Chapter III regime applies directly in full.

Which provisions apply directly to Section B products?

Article 2(2) states that, for AI systems that are safety components of products, or are themselves products, covered by the legislation in Annex I Section B, only Article 6(1), Article 60a and Articles 102 to 112 apply, and the AI Act does not otherwise apply to those systems except as provided in the sectoral legislation. Article 60a addresses the integration of AI requirements into the sectoral framework, and the final provisions address matters such as amendments, review and application. The practical effect is that the high-risk requirements in Articles 8 to 15, the provider duties in Article 16, and the conformity provisions in Chapter III Section 5 do not apply directly to a Section B system in the same way as to a Section A system. The team must identify the sectoral instrument that gives effect to those requirements and follow its procedure.

For the broader regulatory framework, see high-risk AI systems.

What changed for machinery?

Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 amended Annex I to place machinery, Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, in Section B, and amended Article 2(2) and related provisions accordingly. Before the Omnibus, machinery was listed in the Annex I framework that led to Section A treatment in many summaries. After the amendment, machinery follows the Section B pattern: Article 6(1) classification applies, but the substantive AI requirements are carried through the machinery legislation. A machinery manufacturer that relied on a pre-Omnibus summary should recheck the consolidated Annex I, Article 2(2) and the machinery Regulation, and should confirm the conformity route with the relevant authority or notified body. The application date for Annex I high-risk rules remains 2 August 2028 under Article 113 as amended.

Which sectors illustrate Section B?

Illustrations from the consolidated list include motor vehicles under Regulation (EU) 2018/858 and related type-approval legislation, civil aviation under Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, rail under Directive (EU) 2016/797, marine equipment under Directive 2014/90/EU, and machinery under Regulation (EU) 2023/1230. Each sector has its own approval authority and technical regime, and the AI function must be mapped to that regime's safety functions and assessment procedures. A vehicle safety function, an aviation function, and a machinery safety function raise different sectoral questions, even where the underlying AI technique is similar. The record should name the sectoral instrument, the safety function, and the approval procedure, rather than treating Section B as a single route.

How should a Section B manufacturer plan?

A Section B manufacturer should maintain a single plan that links the Article 6(1) classification, the sectoral safety assessment, the AI-specific evidence, and the approval timetable. The plan should identify which sectoral instrument or implementing rule addresses each AI requirement, who assesses it, and what evidence is expected. Where the sectoral regime has not yet published AI-specific requirements or guidance, the manufacturer should record the gap, monitor the sectoral developments, and build the AI evidence in a form that can be presented to the sectoral authority when the requirements are set. Treating the absence of sectoral AI rules as an absence of duties would be a mistake, because Article 6(1) classification and the final provisions already apply in the framework described.

Continue with Article 6 classification routes.

What is not decided here?

This guide explains the Section B structure in outline, based on the consolidated text as amended by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744. It does not determine whether a particular product is covered by a Section B instrument, whether its AI function is a safety component, or which sectoral requirements apply. Those questions need the product, the safety function, the sectoral instrument's scope, and the approval procedure, confirmed with the sectoral authority, the notified body where applicable, and a competent authority or legal adviser. The Annex I list and the sectoral instruments should be checked in their current form at the time of assessment.

Frequently asked questions

Continue through this AI Act cluster

• high-risk AI systems
• Article 6 classification routes
• Annex I Section A
• AI Act and product law
• conformity assessment and CE marking
• provider responsibilities