• Regulatory Guide

EU Central DPP Registry — What Manufacturers Need to Know

Last reviewed: August 2026 · PassoNext Team

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Set up under Article 13 of the ESPR (Regulation 2024/1781), the EU Central DPP Registry serves as the European Commission’s official directory for every Digital Product Passport on the EU market. It tracks a unique product code, the URL pointing to each passport, and required metadata for regulatory access. The Commission confirmed that the Registry, its developer sandbox, and User Guidelines went live on 20 July 2026. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1778 governs daily operations and requires every DPP service provider to integrate their software platforms accordingly.

Key Takeaways
  • The EU Central Registry is the official Commission-run index that will log all product passports. Under ESPR Article 13(1), the European Commission had to build the infrastructure by 19 July 2026, which marked an internal setup target rather than a public rollout. The Commission later confirmed the Registry, testing sandbox, and User Guidelines officially launched on 20 July 2026. Industry-specific obligations will roll out under category-level delegated acts adopted under Article 4 of the ESPR on their own individual schedules. This central index allows market surveillance agencies to verify product compliance across the entire EU. Its practical workflows are set by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1778, and PassoNext supports automated registry synchronization via that regulation’s registration API.

​A Single Registry for All EU Product Passports

​Article 13 of the ESPR (2024/1781) mandates the creation of a unified, EU-wide Digital Product Passport registry, widely referred to as the EU DPP registry. Targeted for structural setup by the European Commission by 19 July 2026, this directory will act as the master index for all DPPs across every covered industry, beginning with batteries and expanding into textiles, consumer electronics, building materials, and beyond.

​Updated 17 July 2026: The Commission’s primary DPP Registry portal confirms that the Registry, testing sandbox, and User Guidelines went live on 20 July 2026—one day after the 19 July 2026 Article 13(1) infrastructure deadline, which was always a Commission-facing technical deadline rather than a general public launch. The Commission also adopted the binding framework governing registry operations: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1778, adopted on 16 July 2026 and active from 6 August 2026. Read the full details in our coverage of the confirmed launch.

​Crucially, the registry will not store actual passport data. Instead, it functions as a search directory: when queried with a specific product code (via a GS1 Digital Link), the registry returns the exact web address where the product’s DPP data lives, hosted by the manufacturer or their chosen DPP software partner.

​Technical Architecture, Per the Adopted Implementing Regulation

​Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1778 lays out the structural design and operational policies for the central index. Under Articles 3, 4, 8, and 9 of that framework:

  • ​Registry components: A secure portal interface, a developer API for lodging DPPs and querying data, an identity verification system, a mechanism for issuing unique registration codes, storage modules for product IDs and customs commodity numbers, a public directory of verified DPP vendors, a semantic repository, system log archives, and user authentication modules.
  • Identity verification, not EORI lookup: To lodge a DPP, a business must first gain “verified economic operator” status under Article 4. This is proven using a qualified electronic signature (for sole traders) or a qualified electronic seal issued by a certified trust provider (for corporate entities) under the eIDAS Regulation (EU 910/2014). That verified standing stays valid for three years before requiring renewal. Supply chain actors—including repairers, refurbishers, remanufacturers, and recyclers—must complete an equivalent verification path under Article 5.
  • ​Automated registration checks: Submitting a DPP entry via API or secure online platform activates the automatic Commission verification process, in which the software looks for semantic data consistency, proper level of granularity (model, batch, or single item), proper commodity codes, and working web links to hosted passport documents before generating a unique registration ID. The text indicates that passing this automated validation does not imply that the regulators have verified full legal compliance, as this is a separate function of market monitoring.
  • Availability, not a fixed uptime figure: Article 15 states that the registry should always be available except for planned maintenance and that malfunction reports should be kept for at least five years. The text does not state any uptime percentage or minimum SLA requirement.

​Article 78: Essential Requirements for the Battery Passport’s Technical Design and Operation

The index set up under ESPR Article 13 is where a battery passport gets registered and searched. Article 78 of the EU Battery Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1542) defines how the passport software itself functions. Both provisions are vital when choosing or building a battery passport software system: Article 13 governs the registration surface, while Article 78 governs the passport application hosted behind it.
​Article 78 outlines eight core requirements that passport software design and operation must satisfy. The breakdown below translates the consolidated EUR-Lex text (02023R1542, consolidated version of 31 July 2025, incorporating amendments from ESPR Regulation (EU) 2024/1781):

  • (a) Interoperability with other DPPs. The battery passport must maintain complete technical, semantic, and organizational interoperability with other digital product passports required under EU ecodesign laws for seamless data transfers.
  • ​(b) Free access based on Annex XIII rights. Consumers, commercial operators, and other stakeholders must be granted free access to the passport, with visible data fields strictly controlled by Annex XIII access levels and implementing rules under Article 77(9).
  • ​(c) Data storage responsibility. Passport records must be stored directly by the economic operator responsible under Article 77(4) or (7), or by authorized third parties managing data on their behalf.
  • ​(d) Restrictions on authorised operators. Where third-party service providers store or host passport data, they are legally barred from selling, reusing, or processing that information, in whole or in part, beyond what is strictly necessary to deliver hosting services.
  • ​(e) Continuity after the operator exits. Stored passport files must remain online and accessible even if the responsible manufacturer goes out of business or halts commercial activities inside the European Union.
  • ​(f) Restricted write access. Administrative rights to add, edit, or modify recorded information must remain restricted based on Annex XIII permissions and implementing rules under Article 77(9).
  • ​(g) Authentication, reliability, integrity. Software systems must maintain strict technical safeguards to guarantee data authenticity, reliability, and protection against unauthorized tampering.
  • ​(h) Security, privacy, anti-fraud. The passport system must enforce high standards of cybersecurity and user privacy while deploying active anti-fraud controls.

​Two of these provisions carry immediate consequences for software selection. Requirement (a) dictates that any passport hosted in a closed format that cannot exchange data with other ESPR-family platforms fails compliance before category testing even starts. Requirement (e) establishes a data-escrow burden: if a DPP software vendor shuts down or pulls out of the EU, your passport records must remain accessible online. Manufacturers should get written confirmation from prospective software vendors detailing how data continuity is guaranteed under both scenarios.

​Article 78 does not pick specific software brands or communication protocols. Technical specifications are issued through secondary implementing acts and managed via the Commission’s semantic repository under DPP Registry Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1778.

​Source: Consolidated text of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, Article 78, version 02023R1542, EN, 31.07.2025, 002.002 (published on EUR-Lex).

​What This Means for Manufacturers

​In most operational workflows, you won’t need to manually log into the central registry portal. Modern DPP software platforms handle registry submissions automatically whenever you publish a record. However, you must confirm that your company (or your platform vendor) can successfully complete the eIDAS-based identity verification mandated by the implementing rules, and that your product data is hosted on server infrastructure the central index can reach.

Timeline

​Under ESPR Article 13(1), the European Commission was legally obligated to build out the registry infrastructure by 19 July 2026. The Commission confirmed that the Registry, testing sandbox, and User Guidelines officially launched on 20 July 2026. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1778, which sets registry operating standards, entered into legal force on 6 August 2026. Battery passport registration becomes legally mandatory starting 18 February 2027, which is also the deadline for EU Member States to appoint national administrators to manage local registry access permissions. The registry is engineered to scale across all ESPR product sectors as their respective delegated acts come into effect.

Related Reading

What This Means For Your Business

​The EU Central Registry represents a mandatory technical layer of the broader DPP architecture. As soon as a product sector is brought into scope by a delegated act under Article 4 of the ESPR, passports for those items must be indexed in the central registry, and market surveillance teams across all 27 EU Member States will use it to confirm that goods on the market carry valid passports.

​Under Article 13(1), the Commission was required to establish the registry by 19 July 2026; the Commission confirmed the Registry itself opened on 20 July 2026. There is no broad requirement for all businesses to register on that single date; company-level obligations are triggered category by category as specific delegated acts take effect. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1778, adopted on 16 July 2026, defines the registry’s operational rules, including mandatory identity checks for every economic operator before lodging a passport. Organizations that structure and publish their passport data early will be able to integrate cleanly as deadlines approach.

Action Steps

Build and publish your digital product passports now, structured to link to the central index without friction. Prepare your corporate credentials for the eIDAS identity verification required under Article 4 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1778: obtain a qualified electronic signature if operating as a sole trader, or a qualified electronic seal from a certified trust service provider if managing a legal entity. Watch the EU Official Journal for category-specific delegated acts that will determine when passport registration becomes legally binding for your product lines, now that the registry’s own implementing regulation is active. Choose an enterprise DPP platform that guarantees automated registry synchronization in full alignment with the adopted implementing regulation.

EU DPP Regulatory Hub
Battery Passport
Days
Feb 18, 2027

Frequently asked questions

What is the EU Central DPP Registry?

Established according to Article 13 of the ESPR (Regulation 2024/1781), the EU Central DPP Registry is the European Commission’s directory of all Digital Product Passports (DPPs) on the market. It stores a unique product identifier, the URL of each passport, and metadata for access by authorities. The Commission has confirmed that the Registry, its testing environment and User Guidelines will be available from 20 July 2026.

No. The registry acts only as a directory: given a product identifier via GS1 Digital Link, it returns the location of the product’s DPP data, which is hosted by the manufacturer or their designated DPP platform. The passport data itself is stored by the operator or platform, not the Commission.

Only a verified economic operator can register a passport. According to Articles 4 and 5 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1778, an operator proves their identity via eIDAS: a qualified electronic signature for a sole trader, or a qualified electronic seal from a qualified trust service provider for a legal entity. A verified status remains valid for up to three years before being renewed.

No. On submission the Commission will automatically verify that the data is semantically conformant, has selected the appropriate level of granularity (model, batch or item), has a valid commodity code and a link to the hosted passport data. The regulation is clear that this automatic check does not constitute proof of substantive regulatory compliance. Substantive compliance remains a market surveillance function.

Battery passport registration becomes mandatory from 18 February 2027, the same date by which every EU Member State must appoint the national administrator that manages that country’s registry access rights. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1778, which governs how the registry operates, comes into force on 6 August 2026.

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