ESPR Compliance Guide — Step-by-Step for Manufacturers and Exporters

Step 1 — Determine Whether ESPR Applies to Your Products

The first step in ESPR compliance is determining whether your products are within scope and, if so, which delegated act applies or is expected to apply. ESPR applies to all physical products placed on the EU market, with limited exceptions for food, feed, medicinal products, veterinary medicinal products, and living plants and animals. Products that are already covered by sector-specific EU regulations (such as the EU Battery Regulation for batteries, or the Medical Devices Regulation for medical devices) may have their ESPR requirements addressed through those regulations rather than through ESPR delegated acts.

To determine whether a delegated act currently applies to your products, consult the ESPR Working Plan published by the European Commission. The working plan identifies product groups by NACE code and product description. If your product is in the working plan, check the delegated act tracker on this site for the current status and expected timeline. If your product is not in the current working plan, it may be addressed in a future working plan — manufacturers should monitor the Commission's ESPR programme and prepare in advance.

Step 2 — Identify Your Role in the Supply Chain

ESPR imposes different obligations on different economic operators. Your compliance obligations depend on your role in the supply chain. If you are a manufacturer (including a non-EU manufacturer who places products on the EU market), you bear the primary compliance burden — you must ensure products meet the ecodesign requirements, compile technical documentation, create the DPP, and issue the EU Declaration of Conformity. If you are an EU importer, you must verify that non-EU manufacturers have met their obligations before placing products on the EU market. If you are a distributor, you must verify that products bear the required markings and documentation before making them available in the supply chain.

For non-EU manufacturers, the practical compliance pathway typically involves appointing an EU-based authorised representative who can act on behalf of the manufacturer in dealings with EU market surveillance authorities. The authorised representative must be established in the EU and must have a written mandate from the manufacturer. The authorised representative does not take on the manufacturer's legal obligations — the manufacturer remains responsible for product compliance — but the authorised representative serves as the point of contact for EU authorities.

Step 3 — Build Your Data Infrastructure

The most time-consuming aspect of ESPR compliance is building the data infrastructure required to support the Digital Product Passport. This involves establishing systems to collect, verify, and maintain the data that must be included in the DPP for your product group. The key data categories to address are: materials composition (including recycled content percentages for each material); substances of concern (identifying and quantifying any substances of concern present in the product above threshold concentrations); performance data (energy efficiency, durability, repairability score, carbon footprint — as required by the delegated act); and supply chain data (country of origin for each material, supplier certifications, chain of custody documentation for recycled content claims).

Building this data infrastructure requires engagement with your supply chain. Suppliers must be able to provide materials composition data, substance declarations, and recycled content certifications. This is a significant undertaking for manufacturers with complex, multi-tier supply chains. Starting this process early — before the delegated act enters into force — is essential. Many manufacturers find that their supply chain data is incomplete or inconsistent, and that significant work is required to bring it to the standard required for DPP compliance.

Step 4 — Select a DPP Registry and Implement the Data Carrier

Once you have established your data infrastructure, you need to select a DPP registry and implement the data carrier. The DPP registry is the system that hosts your DPP data and makes it accessible to market surveillance authorities, customs officials, consumers, and recyclers. You can either develop a self-hosted DPP system or use a third-party DPP registry such as digitalproductpassports.co.za.

The data carrier — typically a QR code or NFC chip — must be physically attached to the product, its label, or its packaging. The data carrier must link to the DPP record in the registry. QR codes must conform to ISO/IEC 18004 and must be large enough to be reliably scanned (minimum 2 cm × 2 cm for most applications). The QR code must be placed in a location where it is accessible without disassembling the product. For products where QR code placement on the product itself is not practical, the QR code may be placed on the packaging, provided that the packaging remains with the product throughout its lifecycle.

Step 5 — Compile Technical Documentation

ESPR Article 23 requires manufacturers to compile technical documentation demonstrating compliance with the applicable ecodesign requirements. The technical documentation must be compiled before the product is placed on the EU market and must be kept available for inspection by market surveillance authorities for a minimum of ten years after the last unit is placed on the market. The technical documentation must include: a general description of the product; design drawings and manufacturing information; a list of harmonised standards applied; test reports; and a copy of the EU Declaration of Conformity.

Technical documentation is not submitted to any authority — it is compiled and retained by the manufacturer and made available to market surveillance authorities on request. The documentation must be in a language accepted by the market surveillance authority of the Member State where the product is placed on the market. In practice, English is accepted by most EU Member States for technical documentation.

Step 6 — Complete the Conformity Assessment and Issue the EU Declaration of Conformity

Before placing a product on the EU market, the manufacturer must complete the applicable conformity assessment procedure (Annex VI or Annex VII, as specified in the delegated act) and issue an EU Declaration of Conformity. The EU Declaration of Conformity is a formal statement by the manufacturer that the product complies with all applicable ecodesign requirements. It must be signed by an authorised signatory and must include all the information specified in Article 24 of ESPR.

Step 7 — Affix the CE Marking (Where Required)

Where the delegated act requires CE marking, the manufacturer must affix the CE marking to the product before placing it on the EU market. The CE marking must be affixed visibly, legibly, and indelibly to the product or its data plate. The CE marking must not be affixed unless all applicable ecodesign requirements have been met and the EU Declaration of Conformity has been issued.

Step 8 — Maintain Ongoing Compliance

ESPR compliance is not a one-time exercise — it requires ongoing monitoring and maintenance. Manufacturers must monitor changes to the applicable delegated act and update their products, technical documentation, and DPP data accordingly. They must maintain the DPP data for the full lifecycle of the product, including after the product is no longer manufactured. They must respond promptly to requests from market surveillance authorities for technical documentation or product samples. And they must monitor the delegated act pipeline for new requirements that may apply to their products in the future.