What are RTS and ITS? — regulatory and implementing technical standards, Level 1 vs Level 2 (EU)
RTS (regulatory technical standards) and ITS (implementing technical standards) are the binding detail rules that sit underneath an EU directive or regulation. ESMA drafts them, the European Commission adopts them, and they apply directly in every member state without transposition. The parent directive is "Level 1" — the obligations in principle; the RTS/ITS layer is "Level 2" — the thresholds, templates, formats and procedures an operations team actually implements.
The legal machinery lives in the ESMA Regulation (Regulation (EU) 1095/2010): RTS under Articles 10–14, adopted as Commission delegated regulations; ITS under Article 15, adopted as Commission implementing regulations. The working distinction: RTS say what the detailed rule is (calculation methods, characteristics, conditions); ITS say how to comply mechanically (forms, templates, reporting procedures). The classic Level 2 example is Delegated Regulation (EU) 231/2013 — where most of AIFMD's operational content (AuM calculation, leverage, Annex IV) actually lives.
The practical gotcha: Level 1 and Level 2 run on different calendars. "AIFMD II applies from 16 April 2026" is a Level 1 truth — but the liquidity-tool RTS were only adopted in November 2025, the open-ended loan-origination RTS are still awaiting adoption, and the rewritten reporting standards land in 2027. Compliance dates are set by the Level 2 pipeline, so track both layers — a Level 1 date with no adopted RTS behind it is a deadline you can't yet build to.
Where this appears on FundRegTracker
- AIFMD II implementation tracker — the Level 2 pipeline, item by item
- Annex IV practical guide — reporting built on ITS templates
- Regulatory calendar 2026