The authorised representative for non-EU providers (Article 22)

Short answer: A provider established outside the EU must, before making a high-risk AI system available on the Union market, appoint in writing an authorised representative established in the Union. Article 22 makes that representative the legal point of contact for the market surveillance authorities, with its own mandate, documentation duty and the power to terminate the mandate where the provider fails to comply.

Why an authorised representative?

Authorities need a reachable party inside the EU, even where the provider is far away. The authorised representative bridges that gap: it formally represents the provider and is contactable for requests for information and evidence. For the importer and distributor, the presence of an authorised representative is one of the points they verify before import or supply.

The written mandate

The appointment is made by a written mandate. That mandate must at least empower the representative to:

• keep the EU declaration of conformity and the technical documentation available to the authorities;
• provide that documentation and all information needed to demonstrate conformity;
• cooperate with any measure an authority takes regarding the high-risk system;
• comply with the registration obligations where applicable.

The representative keeps a copy of the mandate available for the authorities.

The representative's own duties

The representative verifies that the provider has carried out the conformity assessment and drawn up the technical documentation. It retains the provider's contact details and keeps — for ten years — the declaration of conformity, documentation and any certificates available. On a reasoned request it supplies these to the authority in an understandable language.

Power to stop where there is non-compliance

If the representative has reason to believe the provider is acting contrary to the regulation, it terminates the mandate. It immediately informs the market surveillance authority and, where relevant, the notified body, stating its reasons. The representative is thus not a mere conduit but a genuine gatekeeper.

What to do

• Non-EU provider: appoint a representative before market entry and set out the mandate in writing.
• Representative: verify conformity and set up ten-year retention before accepting a mandate.
• Describe the stop procedure: who terminates the mandate, and who is informed?
• Put it in a contract between provider and representative — see AI in contracts.
• Tie it to governance: include the role in your AI governance framework.

The authorised representative is the European face of a far-away provider — and may withdraw that face as soon as the provider stops following the rules.