do I need a mandated representative in the EU for the product passport

What you must do concretely

An authorized representative — referred to in the ESPR as "authorized representative" — is not mandatory for everyone. The question mainly arises for companies placing products on the EU market while the manufacturer itself is located outside the EU. Article 28 of the ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781) regulates when and how such an authorized representative is appointed, and what that person or organisation then takes on.

In short: if there is already an importer in the EU placing the product on the market, a separate authorized representative is usually not needed — the importer then bears part of the obligations that would otherwise rest with the manufacturer. An authorized representative becomes relevant in arrangements where the manufacturer outside the EU directly has products sold in the EU, for example via their own webshop or via a marketplace, without there being an importer in the classical sense in between. For those in such a situation, see my manufacturer is located outside the EU — who arranges the product passport then? how that division of roles works out in practice.

What is expected of you

Determining whether an authorized representative is needed at all

For a company with 10 to 100 employees, this means first and foremost: gaining clarity on its own role in the supply chain. Whoever imports the product themselves and places it on the EU market is an importer and has the obligations that come with it — no appointed representative needed, but the own responsibilities under Article 29 of the ESPR. Uncertainty about that role distribution is precisely where things often go wrong; the page am I an importer or manufacturer under the ESPR? provides a first point of reference.

Drawing up a written mandate

If a manufacturer outside the EU does appoint a representative, Article 28 requires a written mandate stating which tasks the representative performs. For a company, this means there must be a concrete document in place — not a verbal agreement or a loose email, but a mandate that specifies which obligations are transferred and which are not.

The representative must actually be able to act

It is not just a nameplate. The representative must be able to provide documentation upon request from supervisory authorities, including data that belongs to the digital product passport. For a company, this means the representative must have access to the underlying technical documentation and not just the passport itself.

Serving as a point of contact during customs inspections

Article 15 of the ESPR links the digital product passport to customs inspections for products entering the EU market. A representative performing this role may face questions from customs about the presence and content of the passport. For a company with limited legal capacity, this means someone with relevant knowledge must be reachable at the moment a shipment is held.

Keeping track of who has which task

With multiple product groups and multiple manufacturers outside the EU, it can occur that a different representative is appointed per manufacturer, or that some products go through an importer and others do not. For a company of this size, this means an internal overview — which product, which manufacturer, which role, which representative — is not a luxury but the basis for being able to respond quickly during an inspection.

Where things go wrong in practice

A company assumes that the webshop of the manufacturer outside the EU has 'automatically' arranged a representative, without this ever being documented in writing. During an inspection, it turns out there is no one identifiable who can provide the documentation.

An importer thinks that because they already purchase from a manufacturer outside the EU, they automatically qualify as a representative. However, the role of importer and the role of representative are two different things with different obligations, and in practice they are often conflated.

A company sells products under its own brand that are manufactured by a manufacturer outside the EU, and incorrectly assumes that the trademark holder role makes the question about a representative unnecessary. If you do business here, you will find at I sell products under my own brand — what obligations do I have? an addition to what does and does not change in this situation.

A mandate is drawn up, but formulated so generally ('the representative looks after all the manufacturer's interests in the EU') that it cannot be inferred whether the digital product passport is specifically covered.

The representative is appointed at the beginning of the collaboration, but no one reviews that agreement when the product range expands to new product groups with different requirements — with the result that the mandate no longer aligns with what is actually being sold.

What you can document

• A written mandate that specifically names which tasks regarding the digital product passport rest with the representative, in line with Article 28 of the ESPR.
• An internal overview per product group and per manufacturer of who performs which role: manufacturer, importer or representative.
• Contact details of the authorised representative that are actually reachable at the moment customs asks questions about a consignment, in line with what article 15 of the ESPR expects at border checks.
• An agreement on who has access to the technical documentation behind the product passport, so that the authorised representative can provide it on request.
• A fixed date to review the authorisation and the allocation of roles, for example when the product range is expanded or the import structure changes.
• A note on what happens if the cooperation with the manufacturer or the authorised representative stops — who then takes over the ongoing obligations.

Whoever combines this documentation with a clear picture of their own position in the supply chain prevents the question "who is actually responsible for this" from only being raised at the moment when a supervisory authority is already asking about it. For companies that, in addition to this question, also have doubts about their broader responsibility, offers who is responsible for the product passport of products? a broader overview of the allocation of roles within which the authorised representative is one of the possible links.