---
type: GlossaryTerm
genre: reference
id: https://noelmcloughlin.github.io/ai-linkmo/knowledge/glossary/obligation
title: Obligation
definition: A requirement a framework imposes, with evidence categories describing how you prove it.
description: A framework-imposed requirement together with the evidence categories that demonstrate compliance; served by the /obligation endpoint.
resource: docs/key-concepts.md
tags:
- glossary
- ontology
generated:
  by: process:ktl-librarian
  at: "2026-10-17T00:24:57Z"
definedBy:
- https://noelmcloughlin.github.io/ai-linkmo/knowledge/references/ai-risk-ontology
verified:
- by: process:ktl-librarian
  at: "2026-10-16T23:49:47Z"
---

# Obligation

An **obligation** is a requirement a framework imposes, carrying evidence categories that describe how you prove you have met it.

The `/obligation` endpoint describes it as "a control activity (rule) describing an obligation for performing an activity". An obligation turns a regulatory text into something auditable. The requirement rows encoded from the [EU AI Act](../datasets/eu-ai-act.md) and similar frameworks are the regulatory end of a chain that runs from an obligation to a [control or action](control-action.md) to a [risk](risk.md).