The EU just published the Blueprint for Digital Product Passports. Here’s what it means.

The rulebook manufacturers have been waiting for, has been released.

On 18 March 2026, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) published a document that many manufacturers, compliance teams, and supply chain professionals have been anticipating for months. 

The Methodology for Defining Data Requirements for the Digital Product Passport under the ESPR Framework (JRC145830) is not a consultation, a proposal, or a policy paper; it is the approved, official methodology that will govern how Digital Product Passports are designed for every regulated product category entering the EU market.

At TAZAAR, we’ve read it in full. Here’s what you need to know.

What the Report Actually is

The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) came into force in July 2024, extending the EU’s product sustainability framework far beyond its previous focus on energy efficiency. 

Under the ESPR, almost every physical product sold on the EU market will be mandated to carry a Digital Product Passport; a structured, machine-readable digital record containing information on durability, repairability, recyclability, material composition, substances of concern, environmental footprint, and more.

What has been missing until now is the definitive answer to a central question: How exactly is the content of those passports decided?

This methodology is that answer. It’s the step-by-step process that specialist study teams will follow when determining what data goes into the DPP for each product group: what’s mandatory, what’s voluntary, who can access what, who is responsible for keeping it updated, and how it must be structured to be legally compliant.

Timeline

The EU DPP Registry, the centralised system every product passport must be registered with, must be operational by 19 July 2026 - four months away.

Product groups are rolling in behind it. Textiles and energy-related products are among the first in scope, with delegated acts from 2027. ICT products follow from 2029, with batteries, governed under a separate regulation but using the same DPP infrastructure, mandatory from early 2027. 

Three Key Takeaways

1. Every product needs a physical data carrier

The ESPR requires a data carrier, a QR code, RFID tag, or equivalent physically present on the product, its packaging, or accompanying documentation. This carrier must enable a reliable, verifiable link between the physical item and its digital passport in the EU registry. This is a hardware requirement. It cannot be solved with software alone.

2. Item-level tracking is where the value lives

The report dedicates a full technical annex to granularity, the question of whether a DPP is established per product model, per production batch, or per individual item. Item-level is the most capable option, and for products that accumulate unique data over their lifetime (repair history, performance data, maintenance records, ownership transfers) it’s the only option that fully serves the regulation’s circular economy objectives.

The report is explicit that item-level granularity significantly increases implementation complexity. 

3. DPP is a living record

One of the report’s most important contributions is its lifecycle data governance framework. A DPP is divided into two parts:

• An immutable Core DPP: The manufacturer’s declared data at point of sale

• Life-cycle Log: A dynamic record updated throughout the product’s life by different authorised actors in the value chain e.g. distributor, dealer, owner, recycler, etc. 

Repair events, firmware updates, refurbishment, ownership transfer, end-of-life collection: each of these is a defined trigger point where new data must be authenticated and added.

What this means for Manufacturers

If your products will be sold on the EU market and they fall within any of the product groups identified in the ESPR Working Plan, you will need a DPP. 

The questions to be asking right now:

• Do you have item-level product identification in place?

• Can you attach a compliant data carrier to your products in production?

• Do you have a system capable of recording lifecycle events (repairs, refurbishments, ownership changes) in an authenticated, auditable way?

• Is your product data structured in a way that can be made available to different actors with different access levels, from consumers to recyclers to market surveillance authorities?

TAZAAR’s Position

Our AssetID platform is designed from the outset around the principles that this JRC methodology now formalises: item-level identification, persistent lifecycle data, physical data carriers embedded in products, and structured digital product passports that travel with a product through its entire working life.

The manufacturers who move early and build compliant infrastructure now rather than scrambling for it later will have a significant advantage, both in terms of compliance readiness and in the commercial value that verifiable, complete product data creates.

The team at TAZAAR have been working closely with manufacturers on data auditing, labelling requirements, coordination across business departments and how manufacturers can leverage Digital Product Passports beyond compliance e.g. integrating GPS tracking, warranty management and customer journeys. 

As a specialist team, TAZAAR is currently offering 8 hours of tailored consultancy to support SME manufacturers signing up to AssetID by the end of March to support DPP readiness and implementation plans.

To discuss how TAZAAR’s solutions support ESPR compliance, contact us.