This article explains what a Digital Product Passport is, why the EU requires it and what information it holds. It applies to all brand owners selling products on the EU market.
Let's get started.
Watch this short video for a quick summary of the Digital Product Passport. The sections below explain each point in more detail.
1. A DPP in one sentence
A Digital Product Passport is a digital record of a product's key information, which anyone can open by scanning a data carrier (for example a QR code) placed on the product, its packaging or its accompanying documents.
- It replaces scattered paper documents with one structured, machine-readable record per product.
- It follows the product through its whole life cycle: sale, use, repair, resale and recycling.
2. The legal basis
The DPP is introduced by EU law, not by a voluntary label scheme.
- Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, in force since 18 July 2024. It sets the general DPP framework for most physical products sold in the EU.
- Batteries Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2023/1542. It introduces the battery passport, the first DPP that becomes mandatory (18 February 2027).
- Other EU laws now reuse the DPP model, for example the new Toy Safety Regulation (EU) 2025/2509, which requires a DPP for each toy model from 1 August 2030.
The ESPR is a framework. It does not list the data fields for every product. Those are defined product group by product group in separate acts called delegated acts. See Does My Product Need a DPP, and When? for the timeline.
3. Why the EU requires it
The DPP supports the EU's circular economy goals.
- Consumers can compare products on durability, materials and environmental impact before buying.
- Repairers and recyclers get the information they need to repair, refurbish, dismantle and recycle the product.
- Market surveillance and customs authorities can check compliance faster.
- Brands and their supply chain partners share product data in one standard format instead of exchanging documents.
4. What information a DPP contains
The exact content depends on the delegated act for your product group. Typical information includes:
- A unique product identifier (at model, batch or item level, as the delegated act specifies)
- Information about the manufacturer, importer or other responsible economic operator
- Material composition, including recycled content
- Substances of concern
- Environmental footprint data, for example the carbon footprint
- Care, use, repair and disassembly instructions
- End-of-life information: reuse, collection and recycling
- Compliance documentation, for example the EU declaration of conformity or certificates
5. Where DPP data is stored
The DPP uses a decentralised model.
- The economic operator (or a service provider acting on its behalf) hosts the product data.
- The EU DPP Registry, live since 20 July 2026, stores only the unique identifiers and the metadata needed to find and verify each passport. It does not store the full product data.
- The passport must stay available for the period set in the delegated act, even if the company stops trading.
6. How a DPP differs from an e-label
You may already know e-labels from wine and spirits (ingredients and nutrition shown via QR code). A DPP uses the same principle of a scannable code linked to online information, with three differences:
- It covers many product groups, not only food and drink.
- It must follow common EU standards for identifiers, data carriers and data exchange.
- Each passport must be registered in the EU DPP Registry.
7. How Scantrust supports DPP
Scantrust provides the main building blocks of a DPP: a product identifier and QR code designed in line with DPP standards (a GS1 Digital Link when you add a GTIN), and a hosted passport page that you fill in with the DPP Editor.
To get started, see the Digital Product Passport (DPP) articles. Still need help? Contact our support team at support@scantrust.com.
Comments