Digital Product Passport Standards
Since 15 July 2026, a Digital Product Passport built to the six cited standards (EN 18216 and EN 18219 to 18223:2026) is presumed to conform with ESPR Articles 10 and 11. The presumption matters to manufacturers, brands, importers, and the platforms that build passports for them.
Make EN 18216 and EN 18219 to 18223:2026 your passport build specification.
Who it covers
Manufacturers and own-label brands with the passport obligation, importers who must ensure it exists for goods made outside the EU, and their DPP platforms and service providers. No deadline moves, but operators can build ahead with more confidence.
In detail
ESPR Article 41 presumes that passports built to harmonized standards referenced in the Official Journal meet the matching ESPR requirements, and authorities must accept this without further proof. Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1736 cited the first six DPP standards (EN 18216 and EN 18219 to 18223:2026) there on 15 July 2026, so the presumption now covers data exchange, unique identifiers, data carriers, storage and persistence, lifecycle APIs, and system interoperability. Operators may forgo this safe harbor but then bear the burden of showing conformity.
The six cited standards
- EN 18216, Data exchange protocols: how passport data moves between systems to be read and updated across the value chain
- EN 18219, Unique identifiers: how the identifiers for the product model, batch, and item are structured
- EN 18220, Data carriers: the data carrier linking the physical product to its passport, such as a QR code or DataMatrix, and how it is applied
- EN 18221, Data storage, archiving, and persistence: how passport data is stored and kept available, including after the product or operator is gone
- EN 18222, Lifecycle APIs and searchability: the interfaces for creating, updating, and searching passports across their lifecycle
- EN 18223, System interoperability: how different passport systems and the registry work together so passports function across platforms
What to do
- Build passports to EN 18216 and EN 18219 to 18223:2026 to gain the Article 41 presumption of conformity with ESPR Articles 10 and 11
- Make conformity to the six cited standards a firm contract and RFP requirement for your DPP platform or service provider
- Watch EN 18239 (access rights and security) and EN 18246 (data authentication and integrity), which CEN published on 15 September 2026, until they are cited
- Budget for standards access: the EN texts are behind the CEN and CENELEC paywall, though the citation is public
Key dates
Locked
Locked
Locked
Signaled
How it connects
- Backs ESPR Articles 10 and 11: the six standards cover the DPP requirements those articles set
- Works with the DPP Registry (Art. 13), which indexes passports while the standards define how passport data behaves
- Batteries reuse the same DPP infrastructure; the battery passport (18 February 2027) is the first category where a compliant passport binds
- Not the Authorized Representative provision, which is ESPR Article 28 and often confused with Article 41