Glossary
Digital product passport and EU omnibus glossary: EU vs. USA, Canada and China
Definitions of the terms of the EU Digital Product Passport — the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, unique identifiers, data carriers, the DPP registry and the harmonized DPP standards — and of what a trustworthy passport needs inside a company: distributed ownership, access rights and business confidentiality, a source of truth, authentication, reliability and integrity, change control and reviewed AI support. The EU omnibus packages that simplify and amend EU rules are placed alongside, and each entry compares the EU approach with product traceability and transparency rules in the United States, Canada and China.
Overview
EU omnibus rules
Digital product passport: legal framework
Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR)
Regulation (EU) 2024/1781The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, is the EU framework regulation for sustainability requirements on almost all physical products, in force since July 18, 2024. It sets the rules for ecodesign requirements and the digital product passport, while the requirements for each product group are set later in delegated acts.
EU · DPP
Definition and examplesDigital product passport (DPP)
Art. 9–15 ESPRUnder the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, a digital product passport (DPP) is a structured set of product-specific data, linked to a unique product identifier and reachable through a data carrier on the product, packaging or accompanying documents. It is required for product groups whose delegated act prescribes it, with content and access rules set per group.
EU · DPP · Data governance
Definition and examplesESPR delegated act
Art. 4 ESPRAn ESPR delegated act is a Commission regulation adopted under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation that sets ecodesign and information requirements, including digital product passport requirements, for a specific product group. Without such an act, the ESPR framework creates no product-specific passport duty for that group.
EU · DPP
Definition and examplesBattery passport
Art. 77 Regulation (EU) 2023/1542Under Article 77 of the EU Battery Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, the battery passport is an electronic record for each individual LMT battery, industrial battery with a capacity above 2 kWh and electric vehicle battery placed on the market or put into service, applying from February 18, 2027. It is reached through a QR code and linked to a unique identifier.
EU · China · DPP
Definition and examples
DPP: data, identifiers and standards
Unique product identifier
Art. 2 ESPR; EN 18219:2026Under the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, a unique product identifier is a unique string of characters that identifies a product and enables a web link to its digital product passport. Depending on the delegated act, it identifies a product at model, batch or item level, alongside unique identifiers for operators and facilities.
EU · DPP · Data governance
Definition and examplesDPP data carrier
Art. 2 ESPR; EN 18220:2026In the EU digital product passport, a data carrier is a linear bar code symbol, a two-dimensional symbol or another automatic identification medium, such as a QR code, an NFC tag or an RFID tag, that can be read by a device and gives access to the passport through the unique product identifier. The delegated act sets where it must be placed.
EU · DPP · Technical documentation
Definition and examplesDPP registry
Art. 13 ESPRThe DPP registry is the central digital registry set up by the European Commission under Article 13 of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation. It stores at least the unique product, operator and facility identifiers of products with a digital product passport; the passport data itself stays with the economic operator or its service providers.
EU · DPP · Data governance
Definition and examples- Updated
Harmonized DPP standards (EN 18216, EN 18219–18223)
Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1736The harmonized DPP standards are European standards developed by CEN/CENELEC JTC 24 for the technical design of the digital product passport and listed in Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1736, with their references published in the Official Journal of the European Union. Applying them may support presumption of conformity with the ESPR requirements they cover.
EU · DPP · Data governance
Definition and examples - Updated
DPP security standards (EN 18239:2026 and EN 18246:2026)
EN 18239:2026; EN 18246:2026The DPP security standards are two final European standards for the digital product passport, made available by CEN/CENELEC on September 16, 2026: EN 18239:2026 on access rights management, information system security and business confidentiality, and EN 18246:2026 on data authentication, reliability and integrity. As of September 27, 2026 their references were not cited in the Official Journal of the European Union, so they do not confer presumption of conformity with the ESPR requirements they address.
EU · DPP · Data governance
Definition and examples
DPP in the company: ownership and trust
- Working term
DPP ownership
DPP ownership is the assignment of responsibility for a company's digital product passport. Because passport data comes from many functions, ownership is usually distributed — each team owns the data it knows best — with one central role coordinating scope, rules, conflicts and the overall state of the passport.
EU · DPP · Data governance
Definition and examples - Updated
DPP access rights
ESPR delegated acts; EN 18239:2026 (not cited)DPP access rights are the rules that define which audience may see or change which part of a digital product passport — typically the public, restricted users such as repairers and recyclers, market surveillance and customs authorities, and business partners. The delegated act sets the legal minimum; the company decides and documents the rest.
EU · DPP · Data governance
Definition and examples - UpdatedWorking term
Business confidentiality in the DPP
Business confidentiality in the digital product passport is the protection of trade secrets and commercially sensitive information, such as supplier identities, recipes or cost-relevant data, while meeting the passport's transparency duties. It is achieved by designing access levels and the data model so that only the required data is exposed to each audience.
EU · DPP · Data governance
Definition and examples - Working term
DPP source of truth
A DPP source of truth is the system designated as authoritative for one type of digital product passport data, such as materials, supplier declarations or repair information. Other systems, including the passport platform, hold copies that yield to it when they disagree.
EU · DPP · Data governance
Definition and examples - Updated
DPP data authentication, reliability and integrity
EN 18246:2026 (not cited)In the digital product passport, data authentication shows where a value comes from, reliability shows whether it can be trusted for its purpose, and integrity shows that it has remained correct and unchanged since approval. Together they make passport data traceable to evidence: source, owner, approval status, version and update process.
EU · DPP · Data governance
Definition and examples - Working term
DPP change control
DPP change control is the governed process that keeps a digital product passport current when the product, its supply chain or the rules change. It defines which changes trigger a passport update, who approves it, how fast it must be published, how earlier versions are archived and how outdated entries are prevented.
EU · DPP · Data governance · Technical documentation
Definition and examples AI in DPP work
AI in DPP work is the use of AI systems to help prepare and maintain digital product passport data, for example by extracting values from documents, mapping them to a data model, classifying materials, detecting gaps and inconsistencies, preparing audience-specific summaries and translating. It supports people; it must not invent product facts.
EU · DPP · Data governance
Definition and examples
DPP and technical documentation
DPP vs. technical file
The distinction between the digital product passport and the technical file: the passport is a partly public, horizontal layer of product information required by EU data and sustainability law, while the technical file is the manufacturer's conformity evidence under product safety law, kept for market surveillance authorities. One does not replace the other.
EU · DPP · Technical documentation
Definition and examplesDPP vs. instructions for use
The distinction between the digital product passport and digital instructions for use: digital instructions under the Machinery Regulation are safety information for users of the machine, while the passport is sustainability and product data under the ESPR. They may share identifiers and data carriers but have different legal purposes, audiences and content rules.
EU · DPP · Omnibus · Technical documentation
Definition and examplesMachinery Regulation vs. DPP
The distinction between the EU Machinery Regulation and the digital product passport: the Machinery Regulation is safety law that governs machinery through risk assessment, technical documentation, conformity assessment and instructions, while the passport is a product-information layer under the ESPR for materials, repair, circularity and product identity. The two stay legally separate; only the product data behind them is shared.
EU · DPP · Technical documentation · Data governance
Definition and examplesProduct data systems for the DPP (PLM, PIM, QMS, ERP, MDM)
Product data systems for the DPP are the company systems that hold the data behind machinery safety evidence and digital product passport content — typically PLM, PIM, QMS or eQMS, ERP, product master data management (MDM), supplier portals, sustainability tools, documentation systems and a DPP platform. Each owns part of the product truth; no single system covers both layers alone.
EU · DPP · Data governance · Technical documentation
Definition and examples
United States
Canada
China
From AI TechDoc Press
The analysis behind these terms
- Who owns the EU Digital Product Passport?Why the EU DPP touches almost every function in the company — and the seven checks to run now, from access rights to change control.Read on Substack
- Beyond PIM: building the product data bridge between MR and DPPWhy Machinery Regulation safety evidence and DPP product data must stay legally separate — and how PLM, PIM, QMS, MDM and supplier data can connect them.Read on Substack
- Machine AI regulation begins in 2027 — not 2028Why machinery-law assessment of AI functions begins on January 20, 2027, while the AI Act high-risk profile follows in 2028.Read on Substack
Updates in this glossary
Entries corrected or brought up to date after publication. Each ID refers to the previous version in the editors’ archive.
- DPP access rights · glossary-term/dpp-access-rights@2026-09-27T01-49-38Z (DD-0001)
- Business confidentiality in the DPP · glossary-term/dpp-business-confidentiality@2026-09-27T01-49-38Z (DD-0001)
- DPP data authentication, reliability and integrity · glossary-term/dpp-data-authentication-reliability-integrity@2026-09-27T01-49-38Z (DD-0001)
- DPP security standards (EN 18239:2026 and EN 18246:2026) · glossary-term/dpp-security-standards-pending@2026-09-27T01-49-38Z (DD-0001)
- Harmonized DPP standards (EN 18216, EN 18219–18223) · glossary-term/harmonized-dpp-standards@2026-09-27T01-49-38Z (DD-0001)
Definitions follow the cited standards and specifications. Where a source is a copyrighted publication, such as an ISO, IEC or EN standard, the definition is a close paraphrase, not a verbatim quotation, so as not to infringe copyright. We recommend reading the original publication. The sections “How it applies” are editorial commentary by AI TechDoc Blog and are not part of any standard.