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This article reflects the current status as of July 2026.
The Digital Product Passport framework has entered a new phase. Since the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) entered into force, the European Commission has continued publishing the legal, technical and operational building blocks that support Digital Product Passport rollout across the European Union.
Several major milestones have been reached in 2026. The Digital Product Passport Registry is now operational, the first harmonised standards have been published, and the technical infrastructure supporting implementation continues to expand. At the same time, product-specific delegated acts remain the next step before Digital Product Passport obligations begin applying across additional product groups.
This article summarises the latest Digital Product Passport updates and explains the current state.
ESPR Working Plan: Identifies the first priority product groups and indicative implementation timeline - ADOPTED (April 2025)
Registry Implementing Regulation: Defines how the DPP Registry operates, including registration, validation and governance rules - ADOPTED (July 2026)
DPP Registry: Enables Digital Product Passports to be registered, identified and discovered across the EU - OPERATIONAL (July 2026)
Harmonised CEN-CENELEC Digital Product Passport standards: Provide technical specifications supporting Digital Product Passport implementation - FIRST 6/8 REFERENCES PUBLISHED (the 2 missing expected for September)
Product-specific delegated acts: Define the requirements that apply to each product group, including datasets, timelines and access rules - IN PREPARATION (depending on product group, Q4 2026-2029)
First mandatory Digital Product Passports: Introduce Digital Product Passport obligations for specific product groups - FROM FEBRUARY 2027 (Batteries)
The core building blocks for Digital Product Passports are now in place. The legal framework is established, the common Registry infrastructure is operational and the first technical standards have been published. The next major step is the adoption of product-specific delegated acts, which will define the Digital Product Passport requirements for each product group.
The launch of the EU Digital Product Passport Registry marks a major milestone.
On 16 July 2026, the European Commission adopted Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1778, establishing the implementation arrangements for the Registry. It became operational on 20 July 2026.
The Registry does not store Digital Product Passports themselves. Instead, it provides the shared infrastructure used for registering Digital Product Passports, generating unique identifiers, metadata validation and enabling passport discovery across the European Union. It also introduces operational concepts such as Verified Economic Operators, validation and proof of registration.
Alongside the Registry, the European Commission has launched a dedicated portal. The portal gives economic operators access to register, a testing environment, User Guides, technical documentation and Help Desk support.
The Registry defines how Digital Product Passports are registered. The technical standards define how they should be structured and exchanged.
Another key development May 2026 brought was the publication of the first references to harmonised standards supporting Digital Product Passports under the ESPR. These standards establish technical specifications covering areas such as identifiers, data carriers, interoperability and data exchange. Digital Product Passports complying with the referenced harmonised standards benefit from a presumption of conformity with the relevant ESPR requirements.
The European Commission is also publishing implementation resources, including semantic assets, technical documentation and guidance that will support consistent DPP projects across sectors. Together with the Registry, these elements provide the shared technical foundation on which future Digital Product Passports will be built.
While the common architecture is now largely in place, the operational requirements for individual product groups are still being defined.
Under the ESPR, Digital Product Passport obligations become applicable through delegated acts. These measures will determine which products require a Digital Product Passport, the mandatory data to be included, the applicable level of data granularity, access rights, transition periods and any sector-specific requirements.
The ESPR Working Plan has already identified the first priority product groups, while the Commission’s indicative timeline points to future delegated acts beginning with iron and steel at the end of 2026 before additional sectors such as textiles, by 2027, or furniture, by 2028, etc., follow. Economic operators will generally benefit from a transition period of at least 18 months after the adoption of each act.
While the ESPR establishes the horizontal framework for Digital Product Passports, several pieces of EU legislation already introduce or refer to Digital Product Passports for specific product groups. The Batteries Regulation will be the first to make Digital Product Passports mandatory from February 2027, the Construction Products Regulation introduces a Digital Product Passport for construction products, and the proposed Toy Safety Regulation also includes Digital Product Passports as part of its future requirements.
This broader approach is also reflected in the Registry Implementing Regulation. It establishes shared arrangements that may also apply where other Union legislation refers to the same infrastructure, unless sector-specific rules provide otherwise.
Rather than creating separate Digital Product Passport systems, these regulations rely on common structures wherever possible.
While each regulation determines the information required for its own product groups, the underlying Registry infrastructure, registration mechanisms and technical specifications provide common principles across multiple legislative frameworks.
Although product-specific requirements are still under preparation, organisations can already act. Current developments provide enough direction to begin:
These activities are largely independent of future product-specific datasets and help reduce implementation effort once DAs are adopted.
The Digital Product Passport infrastructure continues to evolve through implementing regulations, delegated acts, harmonised standards, technical documentation and Commission guidance.
Understanding which developments have practical implications for implementation is becoming just as important as following the legislation itself.
The Renoon Digital Product Passport Newstracker provides a monthly analysis of the latest regulatory and technical updates, explaining what has changed, why it matters and what organisations should prepare next.
Explore the first public editions here and request access to the upcoming releases.
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