Who is responsible for the product passport for products?
The manufacturer bears responsibility for the passport
The manufacturer of a product is the party responsible for the digital product passport. This follows from Article 27 of the ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781), which sets out the obligations of manufacturers. The manufacturer must ensure that the passport is created, that the data in it is correct, that it is linked to the correct data carrier on the product, and that the information remains up to date as long as the product is on the market. This is not a task you tick off once: the passport should be a living document that accompanies the product, even if something changes later in composition, origin or maintenance.
Who this applies to and what it does not
This obligation applies to the party acting as a manufacturer within the meaning of the ESPR: the one who designs or has the product manufactured and places it on the market under its own name. Article 27 is specifically directed at that role. Other links in the chain — importers and distributors — have their own obligations under the ESPR, but these are set out in provisions other than the two articles that are central here. Anyone acting purely as a trader or reseller without themselves being considered a manufacturer does not automatically fall under Article 27; the precise role someone plays depends on the actual situation and the definitions the ESPR uses for that purpose. It is also important to note that this obligation in itself says nothing about which product groups actually need a passport — that is regulated separately for each product group.
When this comes into force is not yet fixed for every product group
The ESPR is the framework regulation that introduces the digital product passport and describes what it should look like; Article 9 sets out the general requirements for such a passport. Whether and when a specific product group must mandatorily have a passport is regulated separately for each product group via a delegated regulation. For some product groups such a regulation has already been adopted or announced, for others not yet. What is fixed is the framework itself: the role allocation from Article 27 and the basic requirements for the passport from Article 9 apply as a starting point as soon as a product group falls under the regulation. Until a product group is specifically designated, there is no obligation for a passport under the ESPR for those products. Anyone wanting to know if and from when this will apply to a specific product group will find that in the delegated regulation for that group, not in the ESPR itself.
How this is handled in practice
The first step is to check whether your own role corresponds to that of a manufacturer as the ESPR means it, and not to that of an importer or distributor without its own production responsibility. The second step is to find out whether a delegated regulation has already been adopted or is in preparation for your own product group, as this determines the actual obligation and the content of the passport. The third step is to collect the data needed: technical documentation, material information, origin, repair and recycling data — often coming from multiple parties in the supply chain, not just from the manufacturer itself. The fourth step is to compile the passport based on that data and link it to a data carrier, usually a QR code on or near the product. The fifth step is to maintain the passport: as soon as data changes, the information in the passport should be updated accordingly, and the documentation must remain available as long as the product is on the market. That last point is precisely where hosting and management play a role, separate from the question of who is substantively responsible for the accuracy of the data.
Where this is stated: Article 27 and Article 9 of the ESPR
The manufacturer's responsibility for the product passport derives directly from Article 27 of the ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781), which regulates the obligations of manufacturers. Article 9 of the same regulation describes what a digital product passport must contain in general terms and how it must be accessible. Together, these two articles form the basis: who is responsible, and what is expected of the passport. The specific content and timing of obligation for a specific product group follow from a separate delegated regulation for that group, which is not covered in this article.
Anyone who wants to know whether this applies to their own product should start by determining whether they are a manufacturer within the meaning of the ESPR and then ascertain whether a delegated regulation has already been published or announced for their product group; the text of that regulation will then provide definitive information on the content and entry into force date.
Where this is based on
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (ESPR), Article 27 (obligations of manufacturers)
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (ESPR), article 9 (digital product passport)
The regulation itself is on EUR-Lex. We provide references for each claim; you do not have to take our word for it.
What you must do concretely
What is expected of you
The ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781) places responsibility for the digital product passport primarily with the manufacturer. This is the party that designs the product or has it produced and places it on the market under its own name or brand. Article 27 of the ESPR sets out what is expected of manufacturers; Article 9 of the ESPR describes what the passport itself must contain and how it must be made accessible. For a company with 10 to 100 employees, this amounts in practice to a number of separate tasks that are often spread across different departments.
Ensure that the passport exists before the product reaches the market
The passport must be present at the moment a product becomes available. This means that data collection is not something handled afterwards, after production or import, but a step that must be built into the process before launch. For a company with multiple product lines, this usually means that someone — often in quality, compliance or product management — becomes the owner of this process per product group, because the requirements can differ per group.
Ensure that the data is correct and remains up to date
The manufacturer is responsible for the accuracy of what is stated in the passport, even if the actual import or hosting is carried out by a third party. This affects not only technology but also the organisation: who may provide data, who checks it, and what happens if a specification changes following an adjustment in the production process. Smaller companies often lack a fixed point of contact for this, with the result that changes are not implemented consistently.
Ensure that the QR data carrier is present on the product and is legible
Article 9 of the ESPR links the passport to a physical data carrier on or with the product. This is a practical obligation that affects packaging, labelling and sometimes the product itself. For companies that sell assortment through multiple channels, it is important that this carrier is present in every version and every packaging variant, including minor changes in the product line.
Know who plays what role in the supply chain
Not every company is necessarily a manufacturer by definition. A company that imports products from a third country, or that sells products from another company under its own brand, may suddenly be assigned the role of manufacturer under the ESPR, with all the associated obligations. Companies that are in doubt about their own position in the supply chain can work this out further via Am I an importer or manufacturer according to the ESPR?. For companies that do not manufacture themselves but do sell, there is a separate issue to be found in What obligations does a distributor or trader of products have?.
Where things go wrong in practice
A first situation that often occurs: a company believes that responsibility lies with the supplier or producer abroad, while the company itself is the importer and thus the party that must be able to demonstrate the data in Europe. This applies in particular when products are purchased from a factory outside the EU without agreements being made about who will compile the passport.
A second situation: a brand owner has a product manufactured by a third party but sells it under its own name. Responsibility then shifts towards the brand owner, even if that party does not have a factory itself. This is regularly underestimated, with the result that no one in the supply chain feels ownership of the passport until a question comes from a supervisor or trading partner.
A third situation arises when product changes are not communicated to the party managing the passport. An adjustment in material choice or supplier of a component is handled internally by procurement or engineering, without the compliance department being informed. The passport then continues to display data that no longer match the delivered product.
A fourth situation arises with companies that operate through multiple sales channels, including an online marketplace. This creates uncertainty about who is responsible for displaying the product passport at the point of sale, especially when the platform itself also manages parts of the offering. More on this can be found at What does the digital product passport mean if I sell products via an online marketplace?.
A fifth, often underestimated situation: with private label products, it is assumed that the factory that manufactures the product is also responsible for the product passport, whereas according to the regulation this role may lie with the brand owner. This directly touches on the question who is liable for the product passport in the case of private label products.
What you can document
- An overview per product category of who within the organization is the owner of the product passport process, including a replacement in case of absence.
- A written agreement with suppliers or production partners about who supplies which data and at which step in the process this takes place.
- An established procedure for implementing changes in product properties, so that modifications in material, composition or origin are automatically reported to the party managing the product passport.
- An overview of all sales channels in which the product is offered, with a note per channel about who manages the QR data carrier and the associated data.
- When collaborating with a brand owner or client: a written agreement on which of the two parties acts as a manufacturer within the meaning of the ESPR, something that is also relevant when developing I sell products under my own brand — what obligations do I incur?.
- A file per product line with the underlying source files of the data in the product passport, so that if requested by a supervisory authority or trading partner it is clear where the information came from and who provided it.
This is not legal advice. This page provides general information about the regulations that this platform concerns. We do not know your situation. If you are in doubt about your own case, consult a lawyer or the competent supervisory authority.
Written with AI on the basis of the sources above, checked by a human on 2026-08-22. Is something incorrect? Let us know — corrections are given priority.