Why this question is different from "how long does entry take"
Entering a digital product passport is one step; collecting the data that needs to go into it is another, and usually the longer one. There is no fixed timeframe for it: the regulation for digital product passports sets requirements for what a passport must contain and when it must be available, but not how much time a company needs internally to gather that data. That time is determined by you in practice, or rather: your suppliers, your files and the state of your administration determine it for you.
The core of the answer is therefore not a number, but a series of factors. How many product groups do you have, how many suppliers are there in the chain, is the technical information already digital, and is that information complete and up to date. For companies with one product group and a manageable supplier base, this goes faster than for companies that have to handle multiple product groups at the same time with suppliers outside the EU.
What exactly needs to be collected
The data for a passport does not come from a single source. It usually consists of technical specifications, material composition, origin of components, certificates and declarations of conformity, and information about repair, maintenance or end-of-life. You already have part of that yourself, because it was already needed for CE marking or other product safety rules. Another part must be requested from suppliers, and that is usually the part that determines the lead time.
Who exactly is responsible for providing which piece of data depends on the role that a party has in the chain. If you are unsure about that role distribution within your own company, it is useful to first clarify which obligations apply to you and which apply to a supplier or importer; see in a few questions which obligations apply to your situation provides a first indication.
The impact of the number of product groups
Companies that supply in multiple product groups notice that collection is not additive: each product group has its own requirements and often its own supplier that must be contacted separately. What is settled in two weeks for one product group can take months for another because the supplier is less digitally organized there or is located in another country.
Where it gets stuck in practice
The delay is rarely in your own company. Usually it stalls at suppliers who do not respond, documents that only exist on paper, or data that no longer matches the current product because an adjustment was made along the way without the documentation being updated. Also, lack of clarity about who within your own organization is the owner of this file — procurement, quality, or a designated responsible person — costs time, because data then has to go through multiple departments before it is complete.
A second recurring bottleneck is the handover to the party that technically compiles the passport. Data that seemed complete internally turns out not to quite match the requested format when filling in a template, after which a question has to go back to the supplier. If you make good agreements beforehand with the software supplier or the platform that compiles the passport, you can avoid some of that back and forth; how the data flows from submission to published passport shows where that transfer takes place.
What you can do to get ahead
There is no need to wait until all obligations for your product category are finalized before you start collecting data. Basic data such as material composition and existing certificates can usually be requested already, even if the exact layout of the passport is not yet determined. This saves time when the obligation for your product category becomes concrete.
It is therefore wise to maintain a list of which supplier provides which data and when it was last checked, so that you do not have to go through the entire process again with each change. An overview of which documents are usually requested, per product category, is described in the knowledge base with carefully selected information per topic.
In short
There is no legal deadline for the collection of data itself, but practice shows that this is often the longest step in the entire process, longer than technically entering the passport. The duration depends on the number of product categories, the cooperation of suppliers and the state of your current administration. If you are unsure where to start for your own situation, consult the text of the regulation itself or a lawyer for the precise explanation, and view the most frequently asked questions about the digital product passport for an initial orientation.
Do you want to quickly know where you stand with your own products? Take the free quick scan or browse through the topics in the knowledge base — both give you a first impression of what is relevant for your company without any obligations.