Digital Product Passport (DPP): Rules and Dates (2026)

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A digital product passport (DPP) records a product’s materials, origin, and information on repair or recycling.

The EU’s DPP Registry is now operational. If you manufacture or sell physical goods in the EU, the product category decides which requirements apply and when. The first compliance deadline is February 18, 2027, for electric vehicle batteries, light transport batteries (such as those in e-bikes), and industrial batteries over 2 kWh placed on the EU market or put into service.

Learn what digital product passports contain, how customers and other users access their data, and how to prepare your business for the rollout.

What is a digital product passport?

A digital product passport (DPP) is a record of a physical product’s identity, materials, environmental performance, and repair or recycling information. The EU sets data requirements for each product group through product-specific rules or separate legislation, such as the Batteries Regulation.

You can access a DPP by scanning a QR code linked to the product with your smartphone. The code opens the digital information associated with that product.

Not everyone who scans a passport sees the same information. Some battery passport data is public, while compliance test reports are restricted to designated authorities and assessment bodies. Detailed access rules for other users, including repairers and recyclers, are still being finalized, according to the European Commission’s battery passport FAQ.

Information included in digital product passports

Required information varies by product category. For batteries, the European Commission’s August 2026 guidance identifies mandatory, optional, and conditional fields. Examples include:

• Product identity and origin. The unique identifier, model, manufacturer, and manufacturing location and date.
• Material composition. The battery’s chemistry, hazardous substances, and critical raw materials.
• Performance and durability. Capacity, expected lifespan, and energy efficiency, with requirements that vary by battery type. Commercial warranty information applies where a warranty is offered.
• Maintenance and repair information. Component part numbers, spare-parts supplier contacts, disassembly instructions, and safety measures.
• Recycling or disposal guidelines. Information on separate collection, reuse, and recycling.
• Product lifecycle information. Battery condition and usage data where applicable, plus its status as original, reused, repurposed, remanufactured, or waste.
• Compliance documentation. The EU declaration of conformity and test results demonstrating compliance, with different access permissions for each.

Carbon footprint and recycled content reporting have separate application dates. The Commission’s current guidance says these fields will not yet be required when battery passports become mandatory in February 2027.

Why is the European Union introducing digital product passports?

The EU is introducing digital product passports to make product information accessible throughout an item’s life. The European Commission says the purpose is regulatory enforcement. Authorities will use passport data to check whether products meet EU requirements.

The EU’s goals are:

• Encouraging circularity. Material information, spare-parts details, and disassembly instructions can help businesses repair products and recover materials for reuse or recycling.
• Bolstering consumer confidence. Shoppers can consult product information before buying, then access maintenance and disposal guidance after purchase. The available information will depend on the product’s requirements.
• Combatting greenwashing. Standardized product information can help buyers assess a brand’s environmental claims. For textiles, the Commission intends DPPs to give businesses a way to demonstrate their products’ sustainability through comparable data.
• Creating market opportunities. Access to product information can help businesses develop repair, refurbishment, and resale services.
• Improving compliance checks. Market surveillance authorities can retrieve product documentation and identify goods that fail to meet applicable requirements.

When do digital product passport rules apply to your products?

DPP requirements take effect by product group. A category’s appearance in the EU’s working plan means the Commission intends to evaluate it and develop rules. The final legislation determines which consumer products are covered, what data is required, and the compliance date.

An adoption date is when the Commission adopts a rule. A compliance date is when businesses must meet its requirements. The Commission’s guidance has a transition period of at least 18 months after adopting product rules under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). Check the final act for the applicable deadline.

The Commission’s current schedule shows these milestones. Planned dates are indicative and subject to change.

For example, the Commission’s textile page gives Q4 2027 as the planned adoption date. Apparel businesses will need the final rules to establish their compliance deadline.

Record both dates in your preparations so a legislative milestone does not become an incorrect launch target.

Does your business need a digital product passport?

Your business has DPP obligations when a product falls within an applicable EU rule, and its compliance date has arrived. Those obligations apply to covered goods made in the EU and imported from elsewhere.

The business placing the product on the EU market is primarily responsible for creating the passport and keeping its information accurate. Depending on the product rules and supply arrangement, that business could be the manufacturer or importer.

Distributors and retailers also have duties to check that required passports are available. Hiring a provider to create a battery passport does not transfer the responsible business’s legal obligations.

For three common retail categories, the position as of October 2026 is:

• Textiles and apparel. The Commission plans to adopt textile-specific rules in Q4 2027. The final act will establish the exact scope, information requirements, and application date.
• Cosmetics. The Commission’s rollout schedule doesn’t set a deadline for cosmetics-specific DPPs.
• Footwear. The EU treats footwear separately from textile apparel. Its 2025–2030 working plan schedules a study to be completed by the end of 2027.

On Shopify, you can organize additional product information, such as care instructions, with metafields and metaobjects. Product disclosures display warnings and safety information on product pages and other supported sales channels.

You still need to meet the applicable passport requirements for registration, identifiers, data access, and ongoing updates. Adding product fields or displaying a disclosure doesn’t, by itself, establish DPP compliance.

Before implementation, identify your product’s governing rule and confirm who will create, register, and maintain its passport.

How to prepare for digital product passports

The EU’s DPP Registry is operational, and the first battery passport deadline is February 18, 2027. Prepare around your product category’s requirements, the information you already hold, and the data you need from suppliers.

Familiarize yourself with DPP regulations

Check the European Commission’s rollout schedule for your product categories. The ESPR establishes the foundational framework, under which product-specific rules specify compliance timelines and required data. Batteries follow separate legislation. Record the compliance deadline alongside any planned rule-adoption date.

Review the Registry’s registration process and the DPP standards with your technical team or provider. The standards address how systems identify products, exchange information, and preserve records. Assign responsibility for registration and test the process through the Commission’s testing environment.

Implement advanced data collection systems

Audit the product information you already hold. Your Shopify catalog can contain Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs), product categories, and country-of-origin information. Metafields and metaobjects store additional details, such as care instructions and structured product attributes.

To implement these collection systems:

• Correlate those records to the fields required for your product category
• Identify missing information and ask the relevant suppliers for evidence
• Agree on consistent field names, units, and file formats so you can import and validate supplier records
• Assign someone to approve corrections and update affected passports

Then assess third-party DPP platforms against those requirements. Ask providers to demonstrate data imports, Registry registration, access controls, and updates. Confirm how you can export your records and how passport data will stay available over the required period. Your business is responsible for the duties assigned to it under the applicable product rules.

Choose high-tech data carriers

Plan for three parts of the DPP system:

Product-specific rules decide the permitted carrier and its placement. For instance, battery passports require a QR code. For other categories, confirm the applicable rules before selecting QR codes, barcodes, NFC tags, or another supply chain technology.

The EN 18220:2026 carrier standard addresses encoding, print quality, durability, and readability. EN 18219 addresses unique identifiers. Ask your provider to explain how its implementation meets the relevant standards.

Give customers free, easy access to public passport information before purchase, including online. Configure access to restricted records according to the applicable permissions for authorities, repairers, and other authorized users.

Consider DPP requirements when looking for new revenue streams

Evaluate how passport data could inform repair, resale, or take-back services. For example, component identifiers could help a repair team locate the correct replacement part. Assess each service’s customer demand and operating costs before investing.

In BCG’s April 2026 survey of more than 20,000 consumers across 11 European countries, only 17%—about one in six—said they were willing to pay a premium for sustainable products.

Test an offer with a financial benefit for customers, such as a repair priced below the cost of replacement. Compare revenue with parts, labor, and shipping costs to determine whether the service can be profitable.