What happened?

Türkiye has adopted a new Machinery Regulation that writes AI safety into product law. On 16 October 2026, the Ministry of Industry and Technology published the Machinery Safety Regulation (Makine Emniyeti Yönetmeliği (2023/1230/AB)) in Resmî Gazete (Official Gazette) No. 33402. It brings the EU's Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 into Turkish law, and most of it applies from 20 January 2027.

For AI, the key change is this: safety components that use machine learning, and machines embedding them, move into the highest-risk category. From January 2027 a notified body must check them before they reach the market.

It replaces the Machinery Safety Regulation of 3 March 2009 (spelt "Makina", based on Directive 2006/42/EC) and a 2003 regulation on wire ropes, chains and hooks (Article 51). Its legal basis is Law No. 7223 on Product Safety and Technical Regulations. The annexes are a separate 54-page scanned file.

What does Türkiye's new Machinery Regulation say about AI?

It treats machine learning in safety functions as a high-risk feature: such products need third-party certification, a risk assessment that covers how the machine will learn, and control systems that limit and record that learning.

Learning safety functions need a notified body

Article 4(1)(g) defines a safety component (a part whose failure endangers people) as a "physical or digital component, including software". Annex 2, the indicative list of safety components, now names "software ensuring safety functions" (point 18) and safety components with self-evolving behaviour using machine learning (point 19).

Annex 1, Part A lists the products subject to the strictest procedures. Two entries cover AI:

  • Point 5: safety components with fully or partially self-evolving behaviour, using machine learning approaches, that ensure safety functions.
  • Point 6: machinery with embedded systems of that kind that were not placed on the market separately, in respect of those systems only.

Under Article 26(2), Part A products need EU type-examination plus conformity to type (modules B and C), full quality assurance (module H) or unit verification (module G). Each route involves a notified body, a certification body designated by the state and notified to the European Commission. Self-checking by the manufacturer (module A) is not available.

The rule reaches only systems that learn. The Turkish text has no recitals, but recital 55 of the EU Regulation it copies says third-party assessment does not apply to software "incapable of learning or evolving". Recital 54 adds that a machine embedding an already certified component need not be re-certified for that reason alone.

Risk assessment and control systems

Annex 3 sets the essential health and safety requirements. Its general principles require the risk assessment to cover hazards foreseeable at sale as an "intended evolution" of the machine's self-evolving behaviour, and hazards from varying levels of autonomy. Section 1.2.1 adds design duties:

  • Settings or rules generated by the machine or by operators, including during its learning phase, must not change where the change could create a hazard.
  • A tracing log of interventions and of safety software versions uploaded after sale stays enabled for five years after each upload.
  • Self-evolving machines must not act beyond their defined task and movement space.
  • Data on safety-related decisions of software-based safety systems must be recorded and kept for one year after collection.
  • It must be possible to correct the machine at all times.

Both logs serve only to show conformity at an authority's reasoned request. Section 1.1.6 also requires, where relevant, that a self-evolving machine tell operators in an understandable way what it plans to do and why, and section 1.1.9 requires protection of safety-critical software against corruption. Under Article 11(3), the Ministry may request the source code or programming logic held in the technical file.

When does the new Machinery Regulation apply?

The core rules apply from 20 January 2027; the provisions on notified bodies have applied since 16 October 2026.

  • From 16 October 2026 (Article 52(1)(a)): Articles 1 to 3, the rules on notified bodies (Articles 27 to 42), the provisional article, and the Ministry's power to publish certain Commission changes.
  • From 20 January 2027 (Article 52(1)(b)): everything else, including manufacturers' and importers' duties and the AI rules. The 2009 regulation is repealed that day.
  • Products already on the market: under provisional Article 1, products placed on the market under the 2009 regulation before 20 January 2027 can still be sold, and old EC type-examination certificates stay valid until they expire.

The date matches the EU: the Commission states that Regulation 2023/1230 "applies on a mandatory basis as of 20 January 2027" (Commission machinery page).

Breaches are sanctioned under Law No. 7223 (Article 49). For 2026, breaching the product safety provisions of a technical regulation carries an administrative fine of TRY 434,505 to TRY 4,345,058 (Article 20(1)(a)). These amounts were set by a Ministry of Trade communiqué published on 31 December 2025, and they are revalued every year. Article 6 of the same Law makes the manufacturer or importer liable for damage caused by a product, once the injured party proves the damage and its causal link to the non-conformity.

How does the Machinery Regulation relate to the EU AI Act?

Since July 2026, the EU regulates AI in machinery mainly through the Machinery Regulation rather than the AI Act's high-risk chapter, and the Turkish text already reflects that change.

The EU AI Act treats AI as high-risk when it is a safety component of a product covered by the EU laws in its Annex I. Machinery was originally listed in Section A (as Directive 2006/42/EC), where the AI Act's full high-risk requirements apply. The Digital Omnibus on AI, Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 of 8 July 2026, in force since 27 July 2026, deleted that entry and added Regulation 2023/1230 to Section B as point 21. For Section B products, Article 2(2) of the AI Act now applies only Article 6(1), Article 60a and Articles 102 to 112.

Instead, the omnibus amended the EU Machinery Regulation twice:

  • Delegated acts (Article 8): using delegated acts (secondary rules adopted under powers granted by the EU legislature), the Commission must add to Annex III requirements for AI systems that are high-risk under Article 6(1) of the AI Act. These must reflect the AI Act's core requirements (Chapter III, Section 2) and its Articles 17, 19, 72 and 73 on quality management, logs, post-market monitoring and incident reporting. They must apply by 2 August 2028, the date the AI Act's high-risk obligations reach Annex I products (see our note on the postponed high-risk deadline).
  • A bridge to AI Act standards (Article 20(10)): until AI-specific standards exist under the Machinery Regulation, high-risk AI systems that follow harmonised standards or common specifications under the AI Act are presumed to meet the AI requirements in Annex III.

The Turkish Regulation mirrors both. Article 9(3) says the Ministry will publish the Commission acts adding requirements for "AI systems classified as high-risk". Article 21(6) contains the presumption and refers to "the EU's legislation on artificial intelligence".

Read together, the texts create two layers. The first is fixed: the machine learning rules in Annexes 1 to 3 apply from 20 January 2027. The second is still empty: AI Act-derived requirements will come by delegated act and bind in Türkiye once the Ministry publishes them. The Article 21(6) presumption concerns only that second layer and does not replace the notified body for points 5 and 6. Standards such as EN 18286 on quality management may matter through this bridge, depending on the delegated acts.

AI that does not ensure a safety function, such as predictive maintenance, falls outside points 5 and 6; for the AI Act's own rules, see our high-risk assessment guide and our overview of AI Act risk tiers.

What does this mean for Korean manufacturers?

Korea regulates AI through a separate horizontal law whose list of high-impact uses does not name industrial machinery, so Korean machine builders will meet the strict rule mainly in export markets.

Korea's AI Basic Act has applied since 22 January 2026. Article 2(4) defines high-impact AI as a system that may significantly affect life, physical safety or fundamental rights and is used in one of these areas: energy supply, drinking water, healthcare, medical devices, nuclear facilities, biometric analysis in criminal investigations, hiring and loan decisions, transport, public-sector decisions and student evaluation, plus areas added by presidential decree. Article 2(4) does not name a machine learning safety function in a factory robot, yet in Türkiye and the EU such a function needs a notified body from 20 January 2027.

In Türkiye, the importer must check the conformity procedure, keep the declaration of conformity for ten years and, on reasoned request, supply the source code or programming logic (Article 14). Our Korea AI Basic Act guide covers the Korean side.

What should manufacturers, importers and exporters do now?

Organisations should identify which products use machine learning in a safety function and plan for third-party certification before 20 January 2027.

  • Map the portfolio. List every safety function that relies on a model that learns, and decide whether it falls under point 5 or 6 of Annex 1 Part A.
  • Plan notified body capacity early. Turkish bodies can apply for designation now; they gain notified status once the Commission publishes their number in its NANDO database (Article 36).
  • Define the learning envelope. Document how far the system is intended to evolve, the limits of its safety functions, and its task and movement space.
  • Build the logs. Design the five-year and one-year records into the control system. If they capture personal data, such as camera images of workers, KVKK applies; see our KVKK AI governance guide.
  • Control updates. A change by physical or digital means, not foreseen by the manufacturer, that creates a new hazard or increases a risk is a substantial modification if it requires adding guards or protective devices that alter the safety control system, or extra measures for stability or mechanical strength (Article 4(1)(u)). Whoever makes it becomes the manufacturer (Article 19).

What to watch next

The next milestones are the EU delegated acts, due to apply by 2 August 2028, and their publication in Türkiye.

  • Commission acts amending Annex III (none adopted that we could find) and their publication by the Ministry under Article 9(3).
  • Designations of Turkish notified bodies for points 5 and 6.
  • Harmonised standards for machine learning safety functions.

Frequently asked questions

When does Türkiye's new Machinery Regulation come into force?

Türkiye's Machinery Safety Regulation (2023/1230/AB) was published in the Resmî Gazete on 16 October 2026. Its rules on notified bodies applied immediately. Most other provisions, including manufacturers' duties and the AI rules, apply from 20 January 2027, the same date as EU Regulation 2023/1230. The 2009 Machinery Safety Regulation is repealed that day.

Do machine learning safety components need a notified body?

Yes, if they ensure a safety function and have self-evolving behaviour. Article 26(2) of the Turkish Machinery Safety Regulation requires module B plus C, module H or module G for Annex 1 Part A products, and each involves a notified body. Self-certification under module A is not available. Software that cannot learn is outside this rule.

Does the EU AI Act still apply to machinery?

Only in part. Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 moved the Machinery Regulation to Section B of Annex I to the AI Act, so only Articles 6(1), 60a and 102 to 112 of the AI Act apply directly. AI-specific requirements will be added to Annex III of the Machinery Regulation by delegated acts that must apply by 2 August 2028.

Can machines certified under the old Turkish regulation still be sold?

Yes, if they were placed on the market before 20 January 2027 in line with the 2009 Machinery Safety Regulation (2006/42/AT). Provisional Article 1 of the new regulation protects them, and old EC type-examination certificates stay valid until expiry. Products placed on the market from 20 January 2027 must meet the new regulation.

Burhan Doğuş Ayparlar's View

I think the most consequential lines are not the AI Act bridge in Article 21(6) but points 5 and 6 of Annex 1. They turn an engineering choice, using machine learning in a safety function, into a legal one: the product now needs a notified body. For smaller Turkish machine builders that means cost and lead time, and it raises a fair question about how many notified bodies will be ready to assess learning systems by January 2027.

The concept I would watch is "intended evolution". Manufacturers must define, before sale, how far a machine may learn. That envelope will matter in disputes: under Article 6 of Law No. 7223, an injured party must prove non-conformity and causation, and the logs required by Annex 3 will often be the strongest evidence on both sides. Logs designed with care, and with KVKK in mind where they capture people, are worth more than logs kept as a formality.

The regulation also shows how EU AI rules reach Türkiye without a Turkish AI law. National AI policy still runs through the AI Action Plan 2026-2030, yet a binding regulation now uses the term "high-risk AI system", carried in by product safety law and the Customs Union. For Turkish machinery exporters, the AI compliance date is 20 January 2027, not 2028.

Sources: the Machinery Safety Regulation (2023/1230/AB) and its annexes (Resmî Gazete No. 33402, 16 October 2026); Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 and its corrigendum (OJ L 169, 4 July 2023), which set the 20 January 2027 date; Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (OJ, 24 July 2026); the Commission's machinery page; Laws No. 7223 and No. 6698 on mevzuat.gov.tr, with the 2026 fines from Ministry of Trade Communiqué No. 2026/13 (Resmî Gazete No. 33124, 4th repeat, 31 December 2025); and Korea's AI Basic Act and its enforcement decree on law.go.kr. All were consulted on 25 October 2026. The annexes are a scanned PDF read from the page images; English renderings of Turkish provisions are the author's. No delegated act under Article 8 of Regulation 2023/1230 and no Turkish implementing guidance had been found at the time of writing. This article is general information, not legal advice.