The Digital Product Passport is not switched on all at once. It is phased in over several years, set by different pieces of EU law and by a separate delegated act for each product group. Here is the dated picture as it stands, with a clear flag wherever a date is still indicative.
2024: the ESPR enters into force
The rollout starts with the framework law. The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, entered into force on 18 July 2024. It creates the Digital Product Passport but leaves the binding dates to be set product group by product group through delegated acts, each with its own transition period. There is no single date on which every product needs a passport.
2026: the EU registry goes into service
The Commission's central DPP registry went into service on 20 July 2026, and its implementing regulation, Regulation (EU) 2026/1778, has applied since 6 August 2026, setting the registration procedure, identity verification, proof of registration and logging. Nothing changes for any product group yet: no ESPR delegated act has been published, so no ESPR passport obligation has arisen. The registry is an index rather than a host: it maps a product identifier to a resolvable web address, and the passport data stays with the operator. Registering a passport will require a verified economic operator, a one-off enrolment step that carries no product group deadline of its own.
2027: batteries, the first mandatory passport
The first mandatory passport does not come from the ESPR: it comes from the EU Batteries Regulation (EU) 2023/1542. From 18 February 2027, a digital battery passport is required for:
- electric-vehicle (EV) batteries;
- industrial batteries above 2 kWh;
- LMT batteries (light means of transport, such as e-bikes and e-scooters).
This is a firm, regulation-level date, which makes batteries the earliest product group with a live passport obligation.
2027-2028: textiles
Textiles, apparel in particular, are the top priority of the ESPR working plan. The textile delegated act is expected around 2027. Because delegated acts usually include a transition period of roughly 18 months, the DPP obligation for textiles is expected to apply from around 2028 (potentially later, depending on the final act).
Exact dates are not yet fixed. Treat these as planning horizons rather than confirmed deadlines.
Construction products: a separate law, on its own clock
One family sits outside all of this. Construction products take their passport from the Construction Products Regulation (EU) 2024/3110, not from the ESPR: in force since 7 January 2025, applying in stages from 8 January 2026, with delegated acts expected from 2026 and obligations phasing by product family through 2032. Looking for insulation or cladding in the ESPR working plan and finding nothing means you are reading the wrong law. See DPP for construction products.
Later this decade: the other priority groups
The 2025-2030 ESPR working plan lines up further product groups, with delegated acts expected on a staggered schedule. Alongside textiles, the priority groups include:
- iron and steel;
- aluminium;
- furniture;
- tyres;
- mattresses.
Horizontal measures are also expected across the same period: a repairability score and recyclability requirements for electrical and electronic equipment. Each group's obligation begins only once its own delegated act is adopted and its transition period ends, so real-world start dates will be spread across the second half of the decade. Expect further delegated acts, but no confirmed year should be assumed until each act is published.
How to prepare now
Even without every date confirmed, the direction is clear. Companies selling into the EU can get ahead by:
- mapping which product groups they sell and tracking the matching delegated act;
- collecting passport data early: identity, materials, substances of concern, repairability and end-of-life information;
- choosing an interoperable data carrier (QR or NFC) built on open standards, so the same passport works across the value chain.
For a full explanation of what a passport contains and how it works in practice, see our main guide to the Digital Product Passport.