There is no single date on which every product needs a digital product passport. ESPR sets up the system, and the obligation for a product group starts only once the EU adopts specific rules for that group and their transition period ends. Some other EU laws, such as the Batteries Regulation, have their own passport with their own dates. This guide explains how that works and where things stand.

How ESPR rolls out

ESPR, Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, entered into force in July 2024. On its own it does not oblige any product to have a passport. For each product group, the Commission adopts a delegated act with ecodesign requirements. That act says whether a passport is required, what it must contain and from when.

As a rule, those requirements apply no earlier than 18 months after the act enters into force. So for any product group, the order is: the working plan names it, the Commission prepares and adopts the act, and then the transition period runs.

The working plan: which groups come first

The first ESPR working plan, published in April 2025, lists the groups the Commission will work on first:

  • textiles, starting with apparel;
  • furniture;
  • mattresses;
  • tyres;
  • iron and steel, and aluminium, as intermediate products.

It also plans cross-cutting rules, such as repairability for electronics and household appliances. The plan gives target years for adopting each act, not compliance dates. Treat those years as indicative, and check the adopted act before you plan around a deadline.

Passports outside ESPR

Several product laws introduce their own passport, with dates that do not depend on the ESPR plan:

  • Batteries. EV batteries, light means of transport batteries such as e-bike batteries, and industrial batteries over 2 kWh need a battery passport from 18 February 2027. See the battery passport guide.
  • Construction products. The Construction Products Regulation, (EU) 2024/3110, provides for a passport. Its rollout depends on further acts per product family, so expect it from 2028 at the earliest.
  • Detergents. The new Detergents Regulation, (EU) 2026/405, includes a passport and generally applies from 23 September 2029.
  • Toys. The revised EU toy safety rules also introduce a passport, with a long transition period.

What is out of scope

ESPR excludes food, feed, medicinal products and living plants, animals and micro-organisms, among others. Vehicles are covered by their own rules. You can still publish a voluntary passport for these products, for example to share origin or care information, but no ESPR passport is required.

What to do now

If your products are in one of the first groups, the most useful thing you can do is collect the data that every likely requirement depends on: materials and their origin, suppliers, care and repair instructions, and the documents that back up your claims. That work does not change much once the final rules are published.

DPP Ready shows category-specific guidance and regulatory checklists while you create a passport, with links to the source texts. They help you organise evidence, but they are not legal advice, so check your own obligations for the markets you sell in. Our guide to preparing product information lists what to collect.