ESPR
ESPR, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, is the EU regulation that sets ecodesign requirements for products placed on the EU market and establishes the Digital Product Passport as the way to make that information available. Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 entered into force on 18 July 2024, so it is already in effect, not an upcoming rule.
ESPR replaces the older Ecodesign Directive, which mostly covered energy-related products, with a framework that can set requirements for durability, reusability, repairability, recycled content and resource efficiency across almost any product group.
Chapter III of the regulation, Articles 9 to 15, defines the Digital Product Passport: what information it must carry, how it must be made accessible to customers and authorities, and the technical standards it must meet for interoperability.
The regulation does not make every product carry a passport on day one. Concrete requirements only apply once the European Commission adopts a delegated act for a specific product group under Article 4, and those delegated acts are being adopted and phased in gradually, starting with the Commission's first working plan. The central EU digital product passport registry, which records each passport's unique identifier and location, went live on 20 July 2026.
ESPR is distinct from the earlier, sector specific Battery Regulation passport, whose own digital passport obligation becomes mandatory for electric vehicle, light means of transport and industrial batteries above 2 kWh from 18 February 2027.
Related terms
Is ESPR already in force?
Yes. Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 entered into force on 18 July 2024, and the central digital product passport registry went live on 20 July 2026. What is still being phased in are the product specific delegated acts under Article 4 that trigger the actual Digital Product Passport obligations for each product group.