A Digital Product Passport has to be technically interoperable across the whole EU, which is why the Commission asked CEN, CENELEC and ETSI — through joint technical committee JTC 24 — to write standards for it. The first references were cited in Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1736, published in the Official Journal on 15 July 2026.
The six standards
| Standard | What it covers |
|---|---|
| EN 18216:2026 | Data exchange protocols |
| EN 18219:2026 | Unique identifiers |
| EN 18220:2026 | Data carriers — the QR code or equivalent on the product |
| EN 18221:2026 | Data storage, archiving and persistence |
| EN 18222:2026 | APIs for passport lifecycle management and searchability |
| EN 18223:2026 | System interoperability |
What presumption of conformity means
Conformity with a cited harmonised standard gives a presumption of conformity with the corresponding legal requirements — here Articles 10 and 11 of the ESPR. It is not the only way to comply, but it is the route that does not require you to argue your case: a passport built to these standards is taken to meet the requirements they cover.
What is not covered yet
Frequently asked
Do I have to follow EN 18216 to EN 18223?
You do not have to, but conformity with them gives a presumption of conformity with ESPR Articles 10 and 11. Any other route means demonstrating equivalence yourself, which is slower and riskier.
Are the access rights for battery data standardised?
Not yet. Access-rights management is one of the two standardisation areas not covered by the standards cited in July 2026, and the access-rights implementing act under the Batteries Regulation is still in preparation. Field-level access tiers should be treated as a best current reading, not a settled specification.