A Digital Product Passport (DPP) gives every product a digital record that travels with it for its whole life. Scan the data carrier on the product, usually a QR code, and you reach information about what it is made of, where it comes from, how to repair it and how to recycle it. Customers, repairers, recyclers and authorities each see the parts that are meant for them.
In the EU, the passport is set out in the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). ESPR provides the framework; the passport becomes mandatory for each product group once the European Commission adopts a delegated act for it.
What a Digital Product Passport contains
The exact data comes from the delegated act for each product group. Most passports cover:
- Identity: the unique product identifier, model, manufacturer and the economic operator responsible for it.
- Materials and substances: the material composition, recycled content and any substances of concern, such as SVHCs under REACH.
- Environmental performance: the product carbon footprint or wider environmental footprint, where the act requires it.
- Durability and repair: expected lifetime, spare parts, repair instructions and, for some products, a repairability score.
- End of life: how to take the product apart, collect it and recycle it.
- Compliance documents: the EU declaration of conformity, certificates and test results.
How a Digital Product Passport works
- The product gets a unique identifier. It can identify the model, a batch or each individual item, depending on what the delegated act asks for.
- A data carrier links the product to its passport. Most brands use a QR code that follows the GS1 Digital Link standard, so the same code works at retail checkouts and opens the passport.
- The passport is hosted online. It is published by the economic operator or a DPP service provider and has to stay available for as long as the delegated act requires.
- The identifiers are registered. Before the product is placed on the market, its identifiers go into the EU's central DPP registry, which customs systems check at the border.
- Each reader sees their part. Public information is open to everyone; restricted information goes only to people with a legitimate interest and to authorities.
Who needs a Digital Product Passport and when
The battery passport comes first. From 18 February 2027, the EU Battery Regulation requires a passport for each light means of transport battery, each industrial battery above 2 kWh and each electric vehicle battery placed on the market.
Under ESPR, the Commission adopted its first working plan for 2025 to 2030 in April 2025. It prioritizes iron and steel, aluminium, textiles and apparel, furniture, tyres and mattresses. Each group gets its passport requirements in its own delegated act, with a transition period before they apply.
Standards behind the passport
The EU passport system is built on open standards, so any system, scanner or authority can read a passport without a custom integration. The CEN-CENELEC harmonized standards EN 18216 to EN 18223 cover identifiers, data carriers, data exchange and access rights. Industry formats such as the UN Transparency Protocol and the Asset Administration Shell carry passport data between supply-chain partners.
How to prepare
- List your product groups and check which delegated acts and dates apply to each.
- Map the data you need against what you already hold, and request the rest from suppliers early: material and substance data usually takes the longest.
- Choose identifiers and a data carrier that work across your packaging, labels and retail partners.
- Pick where passports will be hosted and how they stay online for the full period the rules require.
How Veribl helps
Veribl checks each product against the EU rules that apply to it and shows exactly which passport fields are still missing. Suppliers fill in materials, substances and certificates through a portal, and each published passport gets its own GS1 Digital Link QR code, stays online for at least 10 years and is readable in the open standards the EU passport system uses. Passport hosting is free on every plan.
See Digital Product Passports in VeriblOfficial sources
Frequently asked questions
Which products need a Digital Product Passport?
Batteries come first: light means of transport batteries (such as e-bike batteries), industrial batteries above 2 kWh and electric vehicle batteries need a passport from 18 February 2027. Other product groups follow as the European Commission adopts delegated acts under ESPR. The 2025 to 2030 working plan prioritizes iron and steel, aluminium, textiles and apparel, furniture, tyres and mattresses.
What information goes into a Digital Product Passport?
The exact list is set for each product group in its delegated act. It typically covers the product's identity and manufacturer, materials and substances of concern, recycled content, carbon or environmental footprint, durability and repair information, and instructions for use, recycling and disposal.
Who can see the data in a Digital Product Passport?
Some information is public to anyone who scans the code. Other information is reserved for people with a legitimate interest, such as repairers, recyclers and other businesses, or for market surveillance and customs authorities. The delegated act sets which data belongs to which group.
Does a Digital Product Passport need to be stored in the EU registry?
The passport itself stays with the economic operator or the DPP service provider they choose. The EU's central DPP registry stores the identifiers that link to it, such as the unique product, operator and facility identifiers, so customs and authorities can check that a passport exists.
How long must a Digital Product Passport stay available?
For the period set in the product group's delegated act, which reflects the product's expected lifetime. The passport has to remain available even if the company that created it goes out of business, which is why ESPR requires a back-up copy with a DPP service provider.
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