Does ISO 42001 certification mean I comply with the EU AI Act?

No. ISO/IEC 42001 is a general management system standard for AI, and certification shows you run one. It is not a harmonised standard under the EU AI Act and does not by itself give a presumption of conformity. EN 18286, the harmonised quality management standard for providers of high-risk AI, maps to ISO/IEC 42001 clause by clause, so an existing 42001 system is a strong starting point, but you still need the AI Act-specific requirements and the evidence behind them.

How it works

1. Keep your ISO 42001 system as the foundation.
2. Add the AI Act-specific items: incident clocks, unique version references, retirement, communication with authorities, 10-year retention.
3. Run the EN 18286 readiness check to see the gaps.