Status as of 21 September 2026
In July the Commission adopted the rules for the DPP Registry, cited the first harmonised standards and switched the Registry on. This month the last two standards in the set were published. The first mandatory passports, for certain large batteries, apply from 18 February 2027.
The Registry is live
Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1778, adopted on 16 July 2026 and published in the Official Journal the next day, sets out how the Registry works. It enters into force on the twentieth day after publication, so 6 August 2026. The Registry itself went live on 20 July 2026, together with a testing environment.
The Regulation covers:
- Scope. Products under ESPR delegated acts, batteries under Article 77 of the Batteries Regulation, construction products, toys, and detergents and end-user surfactants.
- Who registers. Only a verified economic operator can register a passport. Verification uses a qualified electronic signature or seal, or a qualified electronic attestation of attributes. It lasts until the identification means expire, and never more than three years.
- How. Registration goes through a secure web interface or an API. The Registry automatically checks semantic conformity, granularity level (model, batch or item), commodity codes and the link to the service-provider back-up.
- Granularity. An item-level passport must be linked to its batch and model identifiers. If several laws require different levels, you register at the most granular one.
- Proof of registration. A sealed, time-stamped electronic document, available for 90 days and regenerable. It shows third parties that you met the registration obligation.
- Retention. Registration data is deleted after 10 years unless Union law sets another period.
- Support. A helpdesk runs year-round from 08:00 to 20:00 Brussels time, and an automated support tool is due by February 2029.
- Free access. The semantic repository and its APIs are free to use.
The Registry stores identifiers and registration metadata. The passport content stays with the economic operator or its service provider. The Regulation also says the automated checks are not proof of compliance, because market surveillance authorities still verify whether the data is correct.
Member States must appoint a designated national administrator by 18 February 2027.
Standards: all eight published, six cited
The eight horizontal DPP standards were developed by CEN/CLC/JTC 24 under standardisation request M/604. Their status now differs in two ways: whether they are published, and whether they are cited.
Six are published and cited. Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1736 of 14 July 2026 was published on 15 July and entered into force the same day. It cites:
| Standard | Topic |
|---|---|
| EN 18216:2026 | Data exchange protocols |
| EN 18219:2026 | Unique identifiers |
| EN 18220:2026 | Data carriers |
| EN 18221:2026 | Data storage, archiving and persistence |
| EN 18222:2026 | APIs for lifecycle management and searchability |
| EN 18223:2026 | System interoperability |
Two are now published but not yet cited. The CEN work programme shows both as Published, with ratification on 17 August 2026 and availability of the definitive texts on 16 September 2026:
- EN 18239:2026 covers access rights management, information system security and business confidentiality. It specifies requirements for access rights management, including IT security, data protection and responsibility transfer between economic operators. It sets the framework for controlling access to confidential information and acknowledges that public DPP data needs no access restrictions to be read.
- EN 18246:2026 covers data authentication, reliability and integrity. It defines requirements for secure information processing and communication, aimed at limiting product fraud and counterfeiting. It introduces a secure electronically signed data construct (ESDC) that works alongside existing data constructs. System architecture, use cases, secure elements on data carriers and cryptographic features of unique identifiers are out of its scope.
For both, the CEN listing still shows citation in the Official Journal as expected.
What is mandatory and when
The Registry being live does not make DPPs mandatory. A product needs a passport only when the relevant ESPR delegated act or sector law requires one. The Commission’s own timeline says:
- 18 February 2027: the first implementation deadline, for certain types of large batteries.
- ESPR delegated acts: operators get a transition period of at least 18 months after adoption. Most product-specific acts are still being prepared.
Summary
| Milestone | Status |
|---|---|
| Implementing Regulation 2026/1778 | Adopted 16 July, in force 6 August 2026 |
| Implementing Decision 2026/1736 | Adopted 14 July, in force 15 July 2026 |
| DPP Registry | Live since 20 July 2026, with testing environment |
| EN 18216, 18219, 18220, 18221, 18222, 18223 | Published and cited in the Official Journal |
| EN 18239 and EN 18246 | Published (available 16 September 2026); citation pending |
| First mandatory DPPs | 18 February 2027, certain large batteries |
References
Legislation
- Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1778 of 16 July 2026 laying down the implementation arrangements for the digital product passport registry set up under Regulation (EU) 2024/1781. OJ L, 2026/1778, 17.7.2026. http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2026/1778/oj
- Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1736 of 14 July 2026 on harmonised standards for digital product passports drafted in support of Regulation (EU) 2024/1781. OJ L, 2026/1736, 15.7.2026. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2026/1736/oj
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for sustainable products (ESPR). OJ L, 2024/1781, 28.6.2024. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1781/oj/eng
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2023 concerning batteries and waste batteries. OJ L 191, 28.7.2023. http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1542/oj
European Commission
- European Commission, DG GROW, “The Digital Product Passport Registry is now live”, news announcement, 20 July 2026. https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/news/digital-product-passport-registry-now-live-2026-07-20_en
- European Commission, “Digital Product Passport” (timeline and DPP Registry information). https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/single-market/digital-product-passport_en
- European Commission, “Digital Product Passport (DPP)”, harmonised standards page under Regulation (EU) 2024/1781. https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/single-market/goods/european-standards/harmonised-standards/digital-product-passport-dpp_en
CEN and CENELEC
- CEN-CENELEC, “Digital Product Passport, the cornerstone for the implementation of sustainability and circularity on the European Single Market”, 15 July 2026. https://www.cencenelec.eu/news-events/news/2026/en-in-the-spotlight/2026-07-15-dpp/
