The short answer: the EU is introducing Digital Product Passports product group by product group. A date in a working plan is not automatically a compliance deadline; the binding scope, data fields and application date come from the relevant regulation or product-specific delegated act.
The first confirmed deadline is 18 February 2027
From that date, battery passports become mandatory for electric-vehicle batteries, light-means-of-transport batteries and industrial batteries above 2 kWh placed on the EU market. The responsible party is the economic operator placing the finished battery on that market.
Other sectors follow separate rules
The Commission’s indicative programme prioritises iron and steel, textiles, tyres, aluminium, furniture, mattresses, ICT and energy-related products. Each category still needs its own final rules. Under the current Commission timeline, operators receive at least an 18-month transition after an ESPR delegated act is adopted.
Does this affect manufacturers outside the EU?
Yes, when a covered product is placed on the EU market. The formal duty may sit with a manufacturer, importer or another responsible economic operator, but the necessary material, supplier and product data must still come from the supply chain.
What to prepare before your category is called
Map the data you already have, assign an owner to every field, choose the product or batch identification level and test a structured digital passport on a real item. Do not guess the final legal schema: build a flexible data model and monitor the official product-specific act.
The Only Original pilot applies a flexible data model and unique codes to one product batch. You apply the codes in your process, while the pilot helps expose missing data and operational constraints before the rules for your category take effect.