The EU Digital Product Passport (DPP)
The Digital Product Passport is the data layer of ESPR: a machine-readable record that accompanies a regulated product through its lifecycle. This page covers the central registry, the published DPP standards, and the battery passport, which is the most mature category.
The DPP Registry
The EU DPP registry must be operational by 19 July 2026. This is fixed in Article 13 of ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781).
Locked
The Commission central Registry went live to users on 20 July 2026, meeting the 19 July operational deadline. Its operating rules are set by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1778, adopted 16 July 2026, published 17 July 2026, and in force 6 August 2026.
Locked
The registry is an index, not a data warehouse. It stores the unique identifier, the data-carrier reference, and pointers. Passport content sits with the manufacturer, a service provider, or another platform. Market surveillance and customs use it to verify that a passport exists and is valid.
Locked
The economic operator placing the product on the market is responsible for registering the passport and retains legal responsibility even when a third-party PIM or DPP service provider performs the registration and lifecycle updates.
Locked
Registration metadata is set by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1778. Expected fields include the unique product identifier (UPI) in GS1 Digital Link URI format, EORI-linked operator records, CN commodity codes, and a link to the declaration of conformity.
Signaled
The Registry has been live since 20 July 2026, so this is now a readiness gap rather than a countdown. If your products fall in a regulated category, three questions should already have answers: who registers (in-house or a service provider), whether you can issue compliant unique identifiers and GS1 Digital Link data carriers, and whether your EORI and conformity documentation are ready to link. If any of the three is still open, that is the work in front of you, because no category deadline will wait for it.
Signaled
DPP Standards and Data Carriers
CEN and CENELEC published the first six horizontal DPP standards on 27 May 2026 (EN 18216, 18219, 18220, 18221, 18222, 18223) under Standardisation Request M/604. Two more (EN 18239 and EN 18246) closed their CEN-CENELEC formal vote on 16 July 2026, with final publication imminent and OJ citation still pending (indicative 15 September 2026). Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1736 is dated 14 July 2026; the citation of all six standards took effect on 15 July 2026, so conformity with them now carries a presumption of conformity with the DPP requirements in Articles 10 and 11 of ESPR (Article 41(2)). The six cover data exchange protocols (18216), unique identifiers (18219), data carriers (18220), storage and persistence (18221), lifecycle and search APIs (18222), and system interoperability (18223).
Locked
In batteries and automotive, the Catena-X / IDTA AAS battery passport guideline (February 2026) is the most concrete buildable specification available.
Locked
The Battery Passport
Battery passports are mandatory from 18 February 2027 for EV batteries, LMT batteries, and industrial batteries over 2 kWh under Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, Article 77.
Locked
IDTA and Catena-X released the Digital Battery Passport Use Case Guideline of the AAS in February 2026. It provides open semantic submodel templates and API architecture, with Eclipse Tractus-X as the reference application. This is the most concrete buildable specification in the battery DPP space as of mid-2026.
Locked
Annex XIII of the Batteries Regulation sets the battery passport content in four access tiers: public information on the battery model; information for persons with a legitimate interest and the Commission; information for notified bodies and market surveillance authorities; and individual-battery data. It draws in the Annex VI Part A identification data, the Article 7 carbon footprint, Article 8 recycled content, Article 10 performance and durability parameters, and the Article 52(3) due-diligence report. The regulation itself states no field count; flattened against those referenced lists, industry counts (for example the Battery Pass consortium) put the total at roughly 90 data attributes.
Locked
The Global Battery Alliance's 2026 Operational Trials are running with 17 value-chain consortia. Results were originally expected June 2026; as of this review no results publication has been confirmed. The trials map supply chains, collect data against the GBA Battery Benchmarks and Greenhouse Gas Rulebook, and test digital solutions with independent assurance providers.
Signaled
The EV battery carbon-footprint calculation methodology act remained in draft as of 10 August 2026, roughly eighteen months past its originally targeted February 2025 adoption. It gates real enforcement of the carbon-footprint declaration requirement. Do not finalize your carbon-footprint reporting approach until this act is adopted.
Speculative
Readiness is strongest in the automotive and large-cell segment (Catena-X, IDTA, GBA ecosystems). The gap risk sits with smaller producers and segments outside that ecosystem, including light-means-of-transport and industrial-storage, where implementation remains pilot-stage and fragmented.
Signaled