Digital Product Passport (DPP): Which Year Is Your Product Scheduled For?
The Digital Product Passport (DPP) is a system created by the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR, Regulation (EU) 2024/1781): products must carry a data carrier (a QR code or GS1 Digital Link) that links to a data set on materials, carbon footprint, reparability and recycling. It does not arrive all at once; each product group gets its own delegated act. Under the working plan, steel is scheduled for 2026, aluminium, textiles and tyres for 2027, and furniture for 2028, and each act has a transition period of at least 18 months after adoption before it becomes mandatory. The first to go live is the battery passport (18 February 2027, under the Battery Regulation).
Also known as: Digital Product Passport, DPP, EU product passport, ESPR, Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation
Timeline
- 2026Delegated act for iron and steel (scheduled in the working plan)
- 2027Delegated acts for aluminium, textiles and tyres
- 2028Delegated act for furniture; each act has a transition period of at least 18 months after adoption before it becomes mandatory
Industries affected
- Steel and aluminium
- First wave: the steel delegated act is scheduled for 2026, aluminium for 2027.
- Textiles and apparel
- 2027, focused on material composition, durability and recycling.
- Tyres
- 2027. Overlaps with the rubber origin data required under EUDR.
- Furniture and mattresses
- Furniture in 2028.
- Batteries
- Earliest: the battery passport, 2027-02-18.
What your EU buyer will ask for
- A product data set (materials, carbon footprint, repairability, recycling information)
- A data carrier: a QR code / GS1 Digital Link printed on the product or packaging
What to do now
- No need to rush into building a passport now, but start organising product data in a structured way: material composition, weight, origin, suppliers. Data sitting in an Excel notes column will not connect when the time comes.
- Give products stable identifiers. Passports work at model, batch or item level, and GTIN is the most widely used choice.
- Follow the draft delegated act for your product group — the required data items are put out for public consultation at the draft stage.
Passport data and QR data carrier in the product master. This part is still in development and not yet available.
FAQ
When does the Digital Product Passport become mandatory?
There is no single date. ESPR is a framework regulation: each product group waits for its own delegated act, and becomes mandatory at least 18 months after adoption. Under the current working plan, acts are scheduled for steel in 2026, aluminium, textiles and tyres in 2027, and furniture in 2028. The only confirmed date so far is the battery passport: 18 February 2027.
What data goes into a DPP?
Each product's delegated act sets it out, but it typically includes product identification, material composition, substances of concern, carbon and environmental footprint, durability and reparability, recycled content and end-of-life handling. The data must be reachable through a data carrier on the product (such as a QR code).
Do small and medium exporters need to build their own system?
Not necessarily. Passport data can be hosted by the manufacturer or by a service provider. The hard part is not the system but whether you can produce the data — and most of it has to be collected from further up the supply chain. That is where the time goes.
Legal sources
This page is based on the original EU legal texts, verified on 2026-09-21. The rules are still being amended and we review them monthly. HS classification is subject to customs rulings. This guide is meant to help you understand where you stand and is not legal advice — please confirm your actual obligations with your EU buyer and customs broker.