EU makes identity verification mandatory to register products in the digital product passport registry
Only operators who complete the registry's identity verification can register or modify digital product passports, and verification must be renewed within three years
Change
On 16 July 2026, the European Commission adopted Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1778 setting the technical and operational rules for the EU digital product passport registry under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation: only economic operators and value chain actors that complete an eIDAS-aligned identity verification may register or modify digital product passports, verified status lasts at most three years before re-verification, and Member States must appoint a designated national administrator by 18 February 2027.
Why it matters
The Regulation makes identity verification the gate to the registry: an economic operator becomes a 'verified economic operator' only by proving identity through a qualified electronic signature or seal, an eIDAS high-assurance electronic identification means, or an equivalent EU electronic attestation under Regulation (EU) No 910/2014, and only then may it register digital product passports or correct existing registrations. Value chain actors (repairers, refurbishers, remanufacturers, recyclers) must clear the same verification to access the registry and perform the actions their role allows. Verified status expires when the operator's electronic identification means expire, and in any case after three years, at which point the operator can no longer register or modify data until it re-verifies; registrations can be transferred to another verified operator on expiry or on organisational change. Registration is at model, batch or item granularity per the applicable Union law, the Commission runs automatic structural and granularity checks, data is versioned and time-stamped, proof of registration stays available for 90 days, and registration data is deleted 10 years after registration where no other period applies. Member States must designate a single national administrator to manage access rights, and the Commission, as registry owner and data controller, carries log-retention, security, helpdesk and reporting obligations. The registry covers ecodesign-delegated products, batteries, construction products, toys, and detergents and surfactants.
Implications
- — Economic operators placing covered products on the EU market must complete the registry's identity verification — a qualified electronic signature or seal, an eIDAS high-assurance electronic identification means, or an equivalent EU electronic attestation under Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 — to obtain 'verified' status, without which they cannot register or modify digital product passports; verified status lapses when their identification means expire or after three years, whichever is first, and must be renewed to keep registering.
- — Value chain actors acting in the registry (repairers, refurbishers, remanufacturers, recyclers) must complete the same identity verification to gain access and perform their role's permitted actions — unverified actors cannot access the registry, and their verified status is likewise capped at three years before re-verification.
- — Member State governments must appoint and notify to the Commission a single designated national administrator to manage registry access rights for all their competent national and customs authorities by 18 February 2027 — without the appointment, national access-rights management has no central contact point as the Regulation requires.
- — Commission registry operations must implement the specified log-retention schedules (six months for authentication events; five years for administrative and data-exchange actions; the full registration duration for data-modification events), maintain the security, versioning and proof-of-registration functions, run the helpdesk, and deliver the automated 24/7 support tool by February 2029.
Who is affected
- — Economic operators placing covered products on the EU market
- — Value chain actors acting in the registry (repairers, refurbishers, remanufacturers, recyclers)
- — Member State designated national administrators managing registry access rights
- — Commission registry operations and IT teams
What to watch
- — Effective: 6 August 2026 — the Regulation enters into force on the twentieth day following its 17 July 2026 publication and applies directly in all Member States.
- — Appointment deadline: 18 February 2027 — Member States must appoint and notify their designated national administrator by this date.
- — Deadline: February 2029 — the Commission must make the automated 24/7 technical support tool available.