What is actually
required.
Without the vendor fog. Including the parts nobody can implement yet.
Three things, not one.
A unique identifier
Carried on the product, resolvable by anyone who reads it, and registered centrally so a machine can find where the data lives.
Structured data
Defined per product category — composition, footprint, repair, recycling, documents — held in a form a system can read, not a brochure.
Access by role
Consumers, authorities, repairers, recyclers and purchasers each see a defined part. The data itself stays decentralised.
Batteries first, then the rest.
Each product category arrives on its own act and its own date.
| Category | When | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Batteries above the size threshold | 18 February 2027 | Date fixed |
| Textiles & apparel | Expected 2027 onward | Act pending |
| Furniture | Expected 2027 onward | Act pending |
| Electronics & ICT | Expected 2028–2029 | In preparation |
| Steel & industrial materials | Sequenced with related rules | In preparation |
For anything shipped by sea, the binding date is months earlier than the one in the table. Why →
Three things nobody can do yet.
Any vendor telling you otherwise is selling a road that has not been built.
Register a battery passport
The registry is open, but battery registrations cannot yet complete — the underlying definitions are unpublished.
Know exactly who may read what
The detailed rules on legitimate-interest access are overdue. Everyone is implementing to the law as written.
Be a certified provider
No approval scheme for passport providers exists. Claims of being certified or approved today describe nothing.
What is worth doing now.
The unsettled parts are days of work. The settled part takes months.