Digital Product Passport Deadlines

The DPP does not arrive for all products at once — it is phased in by product group. Below is a clear picture of what is already in force, what is confirmed, and what is coming.

Already in force

• The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR, (EU) 2024/1781) entered into force on 18 July 2024 — it is the framework that introduces the Digital Product Passport.
• From 19 July 2026, large companies may not destroy unsold clothing and footwear (medium enterprises have a transition until 2030; small and micro are exempt).

Confirmed deadlines

• The battery passport becomes mandatory from 18 February 2027 for LMT batteries, industrial batteries above 2 kWh, and EV batteries (Battery Regulation (EU) 2023/1542).

Priority product groups (expected 2027–2030)

The first ESPR working plan (2025–2030) sets the first product groups for which DPP requirements will follow via delegated acts. The exact dates will be fixed in those acts, but the priorities are already clear:

• Textiles (apparel and footwear)
• Iron and steel
• Aluminium
• Tyres
• Furniture

A common misreading: “from July 2027 every garment will have a passport”

This claim circulates widely and is inaccurate. No Digital Product Passport obligation for textiles takes effect in July 2027. On the Commission's indicative timeline the textile delegated act is expected in the third or fourth quarter of 2027 — and a delegated act is the moment requirements are adopted, not the moment they apply.

A transition period of at least 18 months runs after adoption. That places actual mandatory compliance for textiles around 2029, not 2027.

The confusion has a reasonable source: 2027 genuinely is a textile year — but as the year of the act. Separately, two real July dates do exist, in 2026: the EU central registry became operational on 20 July 2026, and the ban on destroying unsold clothing and footwear applies to large companies from 19 July 2026. Neither is a passport obligation for textiles.

What this means for you

The data a passport requires is collected slowly — years back up the supply chain. So the practical rule is simple: don’t wait for the exact date for your product group. Whoever starts collecting data now meets the deadline prepared.