Digital Product Passports: What Owners Will See and What to Track Yourself
The EU's digital product passport puts a product's materials, repair and battery details behind a QR code. It won't hold your receipt or your repair history. Here's what arrives when, and what to keep yourself.
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What a digital product passport is
A digital product passport is a record of a product that you open by scanning a code on it, usually a QR code. The EU created it in the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, which came into force in July 2024. Each product group gets its own rules saying what goes in the passport, and the passport has to stay available for the product's expected life.
Depending on the product, a passport can describe the model, a production batch or the single item in your hands. The regulation required the EU's central registry, which links products to their passports, to be in place by July 2026.
When passports reach the things you buy
Passports arrive one product group at a time, and most dates depend on detailed rules the European Commission is still writing.
| When | What needs a passport |
|---|---|
| 18 February 2027 | Batteries for electric cars, e-bikes and e-scooters, and industrial batteries over 2 kWh |
| 2027 onwards, as rules are adopted | Clothing and textiles first, then groups such as furniture, tyres, mattresses, steel and aluminium |
| Later, no date yet | Electronics and household appliances |
Phones and laptops aren't on the 2027 battery list, which only covers the bigger batteries. Phones and tablets sold in the EU since June 2025 do carry something related: an energy label with a repairability class from A to E and the number of charge cycles the battery is rated for.
What you'll be able to look up
The exact fields are set for each product group, but most passports are expected to cover:
- the model, the manufacturer and where it was made
- what it's made of, including any substances of concern
- how to repair it, which spare parts exist and how to take it apart
- how much recycled material it contains and how to recycle it
- environmental data such as the carbon footprint, where the rules ask for it
Battery passports go further. An EV or e-bike battery passport covers the battery's chemistry, capacity, expected lifetime and carbon footprint. State-of-health data, such as how much capacity is left, is meant for the owner and for repairers or buyers acting for them, not for anyone who scans the code.
What the passport won't record
A passport describes the product. It doesn't describe your copy of it or your deal with the shop.
It won't hold your receipt, the price you paid or where you bought it. It won't know when your two-year legal guarantee started, which repairs you paid for or did yourself, or whether the item is insured. Passports aren't meant to hold personal data at all.
That's good for privacy, but it leaves proof of ownership with you. If a seller asks for proof of purchase in 2030, scanning the QR code on the product won't answer the question.
Buying a used electric car or e-bike
The battery passport only applies to batteries placed on the market from 18 February 2027. A used EV or e-bike you buy in the next few years almost certainly won't have one, and the second-hand market will stay mixed for a long time after that.
Until then, do it by hand:
- Ask the seller for a battery state-of-health report. Many EV dealers and brand workshops can read one from the car's battery management system.
- Ask for the service book and the invoices for any battery work.
- Check the battery warranty. Many EV makers cover the battery for eight years with a minimum capacity, and the cover often passes to the next owner.
- Keep copies of everything you're given. When it's your turn to sell, the same papers help your price.
What to track yourself, starting now
None of this has to wait for 2027.
- Keep the receipt or invoice for anything with a battery, a warranty or resale value.
- Note the serial number and model number. Passports are looked up by product, and you'll want to know exactly which one is yours.
- Write down battery health every few months. iPhones show it in Settings under Battery, many laptops report a cycle count, and EVs and e-bikes show it in their app or at a service.
- Log repairs with the date, who did them and what was replaced.
- For a phone or tablet bought since June 2025, save the repairability class from the label. Makers have to keep spare parts available for seven years after a model leaves the market, which is worth knowing when the battery wears out.
Where HoldMyBill fits
HoldMyBill keeps the owner's side of the record: the bill, the warranty, the serial number and every repair, on one timeline per product. When passports arrive, they'll tell you about the model. Your HoldMyBill record tells you about the one you own, and that's the part a warranty claim or a buyer will ask for.
Download HoldMyBill, free on iPhone and Android. If something breaks in the meantime, the repair or replace calculator helps you decide whether the fix is worth paying for.
Frequently asked questions
When does the EU digital product passport start?
The first passports required by law are for batteries in electric vehicles, e-bikes and e-scooters, and industrial batteries over 2 kWh, from 18 February 2027. Other product groups follow as the EU adopts rules for each one, starting with textiles.
Will my phone have a digital product passport?
Not yet. Phone batteries are outside the 2027 battery passport rules, and electronics come later under the ecodesign rules. Phones sold in the EU since June 2025 do show a repairability class on their energy label.
Does a digital product passport store my personal data?
No. Passports describe the product: materials, repair information, recycling and, for batteries, performance data. Your name, address and purchase details aren't part of it.
Do I still need to keep receipts once products have passports?
Yes. The passport doesn't record where or when you bought something, so it can't prove purchase for a warranty or legal guarantee claim.