# What is model provenance?

> Model provenance is a traceable record of where a model comes from - its base model, its training data, and the licence covering both.

Source: https://meshin.co/glossary/model-provenance
Updated: 2026-10-02

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## Why it comes up

A customer's legal team asks it once a product's output could plausibly end up in something they publish, resell or use to make a decision. They inherit whatever rights problem the underlying model carries. It also comes up quietly in procurement: the model actually behind a feature can differ from what the vendor's marketing page implies. That gap widens once a vendor swaps providers without telling anyone.

## What to do about it

Ask every model vendor what data trained the model, or where its training-data summary sits if the vendor owes one. Ask what licence covers the weights and output. Record the answer in the AI register next to that system, not in an email thread nobody can find during a review. The [AI readiness and risk assessment](/services/ai-readiness-and-risk-assessment) reads the actual vendor list, not a list a company describes from memory.