What is My Digital Product Passport? A Consumer Guide
A plain-language guide to Digital Product Passports — what they are, what you can find out about the things you buy, and how to use them.
What is a Digital Product Passport?
A Digital Product Passport (DPP) is a digital record attached to a physical product that tells you — and everyone else — key facts about what it is made of, how it was made, and what to do with it when you are finished with it.
Think of it as an identity card for a product. Just as your ID card tells someone your name, date of birth, and nationality, a DPP tells anyone who scans it what materials are in the product, whether it contains any chemicals of concern, how repairable it is, and how to recycle it properly.
The EU is making Digital Product Passports mandatory for most physical products sold in Europe under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation — Regulation (EU) 2024/1781. The rollout begins from 2027 onwards, starting with product categories like textiles, steel products, and electronics.
How do you access a DPP?
The most common way you will encounter a DPP is through a QR code on the product itself, its packaging, or its label.
When you scan the QR code — using your phone's camera or a QR code scanner app — you are taken to the product's digital record. EU rules require this to be freely accessible to consumers without logging in or paying.
QR codes are not the only option. The regulation is technology-neutral, which means manufacturers can also use:
- RFID tags (radio-frequency chips readable by certain devices)
- NFC tags (near-field communication chips, scannable by most modern smartphones)
- Data matrix codes (similar to QR codes, often used on small items)
- Printed barcodes (for products where other options are not practical)
Whatever the data carrier, the information it links to must be accessible online throughout the product's entire useful life.
What information will you find?
The EU regulation sets out minimum information that must be available in every DPP. As a consumer, you can expect to find:
What it is made of The materials used to make the product, including whether it contains any recycled materials and what percentage. You may also see information about chemicals of concern — if a product contains any Substances of Very High Concern (chemicals flagged by the EU as problematic) above a very low threshold, this must be disclosed.
Where it came from The manufacturer's name and address, the country where it was produced, and in some cases traceability information about key components or materials.
How to repair it Repair and maintenance information, including whether spare parts are available, how long they will be available for, and — for products like electronics or appliances — where to access repair instructions.
How to recycle it Clear end-of-life instructions: which materials can be recycled, which components should be removed before recycling, and any special disposal requirements. This is especially useful for products with batteries, electronics, or mixed materials.
Environmental footprint For many products, the carbon footprint — the greenhouse gas emissions associated with making the product — will be available. This makes it possible to compare products on climate impact in a standardised, verified way.
Why does this matter when you are buying something?
Before DPPs, much of the information in a product's supply chain was invisible to consumers. You could not easily verify whether sustainability claims on packaging were accurate, or whether a product described as "recycled" genuinely contained recycled content.
DPPs change this. Because the information is standardised and must meet EU requirements, it becomes comparable across products. You can scan two similar products and see that one contains 40% recycled polyester while another contains none. You can see whether a brand's repairability claims are backed by actual spare part availability.
This does not guarantee that every product will be perfect. But it does mean that verified, standardised sustainability information will be available at the point of purchase — for those who want it.
Your rights under ESPR
The regulation gives consumers specific access rights to DPP data:
- You can access the DPP for free — manufacturers cannot put it behind a paywall or require registration
- The data carrier (QR code or equivalent) must be visible and scannable — it cannot be hidden on the inside of packaging that you have to destroy to access
- The DPP must remain available for the entire useful life of the product, and for a period after — so you can still access repair information years after purchase
- If a product is sold second-hand, the DPP travels with it — the new owner has the same access rights as the original buyer
When will DPPs appear on products?
DPPs are being introduced gradually, by product category. There is no single date when everything changes at once. The general timeline:
- July 2026: The EU's central DPP registry goes live (this is the infrastructure layer — behind the scenes for consumers)
- February 2027: Digital battery passports become mandatory for EV batteries, industrial batteries, and light transport batteries (e-bikes, e-scooters)
- 2027–2030: DPPs phase in across other product categories — textiles, steel products, electronics, furniture, and more
If you buy an electric vehicle battery, an e-bike battery, or certain industrial products, you may encounter a DPP sooner. For most everyday products, the rollout will be gradual over the next few years.
Sources
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (ESPR), Articles 9–11 — DPP access rights and data carrier requirements — EUR-Lex
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 (Battery Regulation), Articles 77–79 — Digital Battery Passport requirements — EUR-Lex
- ESPR Working Plan 2025–2030 (COM(2025) 187 final) — product category timelines — EUR-Lex