On 17 July 2026, the Official Journal of the European Union published Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1778, which establishes the technical and operational arrangements for the European Digital Product Passport Registry, as provided for under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, ESPR.
What the Regulation provides
The Registry will be managed by the European Commission. It will enable Digital Product Passports to be registered at model, batch or individual-item level, assigning unique identifiers to products and their related registrations.
It will also make it possible to verify the existence and formal completeness of Digital Product Passports, securely identify economic operators and other authorised parties, and track access, amendments and exchanges of information.
Interoperability between different systems will be ensured through standardised data models, vocabularies and definitions.
Identity verification: the role of eIDAS
A central aspect of the Regulation concerns user accountability. Economic operators and other actors across the value chain, including repairers, remanufacturers and recyclers, will be required to complete an identity verification procedure using: a qualified electronic signature or seal compliant with eIDAS; electronic identification means with a “high” assurance level; or an electronic attestation of attributes issued in accordance with European Union law.
Verified status will remain valid for a maximum of three years, or until the credentials used for verification expire.
Only verified economic operators will be authorised to register new Digital Product Passports or modify existing data. Other actors in the value chain will be able to access and perform operations within the Registry, within the limits established by the legislation applicable to the relevant product.
A decentralised model
The Registry will not contain the complete content of Digital Product Passports. It will store at least the unique identifiers and the minimum registration data required by the applicable legislation. The system will therefore remain decentralised: the purpose of the Registry is to identify, locate and verify the Digital Product Passport associated with each product, rather than replace the systems in which the full content is hosted.
Which products are covered?
The Registry is intended for products for which European legislation requires a Digital Product Passport.
Its scope includes products that will be regulated through ESPR delegated acts, as well as products already covered by specific sectoral legislation, including batteries, construction products, toys, detergents and surfactants.
However, the inclusion of a product category within the scope of the Registry does not mean that the Digital Product Passport is already mandatory for all products in that category. The actual scope, required information and applicable deadlines will depend on the legislation governing each individual sector.
What does not change, yet
The publication of Regulation (EU) 2026/1778 does not automatically make the Digital Product Passport mandatory for all products.
The actual obligations, required data, registration granularity and relevant deadlines will continue to be established by the legislation applicable to each product group. For example, this Regulation is not the delegated act that will introduce the Digital Product Passport for the textile and apparel sector. It defines the common infrastructure, rather than individual sector-specific obligations, which will be introduced through dedicated legislative measures.
Operational implications
Companies concerned will need to prepare for identity verification, DPP registration and the organisation of product data in accordance with the structures and interoperability requirements established by the applicable legislation and the Registry’s semantic repository.
Analytical supports companies in preparing for the Digital Product Passport by helping them identify the applicable requirements, organise product data, review the documentation already available and define the activities required to comply with future sector-specific obligations.