What is a product passport identifier under ESPR?

A product passport identifier (PPID) is a unique code that identifies a specific Digital Product Passport record. It links the physical product (via its data carrier) to the DPP data stored in the EU registry or manufacturer's system. The PPID must be unique at the product instance level for categories requiring serialisation, or at the model level for categories where batch-level identification is sufficient.

How is a product passport identifier different from a GTIN?

A GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) identifies a product model or variant — all units of the same product share the same GTIN. A product passport identifier identifies a specific DPP record, which may be at the instance level (unique per unit) or model level (shared across a batch). For products requiring serialisation under ESPR, each unit needs a unique PPID linked to a unique GTIN + serial number combination.

What format should a product passport identifier use?

The Commission is developing technical specifications for PPID formats as part of the DPP registry architecture. GS1 Digital Link (encoding GTIN + serial number or batch number) is the expected standard for most product categories. UUID (Universally Unique Identifier) formats may also be used for DPP records in the registry system.

Who assigns product passport identifiers?

Manufacturers are responsible for assigning PPIDs to their products. For GS1-based identifiers, manufacturers must obtain a GS1 Company Prefix from their national GS1 organisation. The EU DPP registry will provide a registration mechanism for PPIDs once it becomes operational.

ESPR Glossary

Product Passport Identifier

A product passport identifier is a unique code that identifies a specific Digital Product Passport record. Under ESPR, every DPP must have a unique product passport identifier that is encoded in the data carrier (QR code or NFC tag) on the product.

Legal Basis: ESPR Article 2(33) and Annex III. EUR-Lex CELEX:32024R1781

Full Definition

The product passport identifier is defined in ESPR Article 2(33) as "a unique identifier for the product passport." It must be unique at the level specified in the applicable delegated act — which may be at the product model level, the batch level, or the individual unit level. The product passport identifier is encoded in the data carrier (QR code or NFC tag) on the product and is used by the EU DPP Registry to retrieve the correct DPP record when the QR code is scanned.

The most common implementation of the product passport identifier uses GS1's GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) as the primary identifier, combined with a serial number for instance-level uniqueness. This combination — GTIN + serial number — creates a globally unique identifier for each individual product unit, which is then encoded in a GS1 Digital Link URL. The GS1 Digital Link URL serves as both the product passport identifier and the data carrier URL.

The product passport identifier must be stable throughout the product's lifetime — it cannot change after the DPP is registered. If a product is repaired or remanufactured in a way that changes its compliance profile, the DPP record must be updated, but the product passport identifier remains the same. This ensures that the product's compliance history is maintained throughout its lifetime.

Related Terms

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Product Passport Identifier: Technical Specification

The product passport identifier is the unique identifier assigned to each Digital Product Passport. It is distinct from the product identifier (GTIN or other product code) — the product identifier identifies the product model, while the product passport identifier identifies the specific DPP record. The product passport identifier must be globally unique, persistent (it must not change over the lifetime of the product), and resolvable (it must be possible to retrieve the DPP data using the identifier). The EU Commission's implementing acts will specify the format of the product passport identifier — it is expected to be based on the W3C DID (Decentralised Identifier) specification or a similar globally unique identifier scheme.

Product Passport Identifier vs GTIN

The GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) identifies a product model — all units of the same product model have the same GTIN. The product passport identifier identifies a specific DPP record — each product unit may have a unique product passport identifier if the DPP contains unit-specific data (such as State of Health for batteries or serial number for electronics). For products where the DPP contains only model-level data (the same data for all units of the same model), a single product passport identifier may be used for all units of the model. For products where the DPP contains unit-specific data, each unit must have a unique product passport identifier. The GS1 Digital Link standard provides a mechanism for encoding both the GTIN (model identifier) and the serial number (unit identifier) in a single QR code.

The product passport identifier must be unique at the individual product instance level for serialised products, or at the product model level for non-serialised products. For serialised products, the identifier is typically composed of the product's GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) combined with the serial number — this combination is guaranteed to be globally unique if the GTIN is registered with GS1 and the serial numbers are assigned sequentially or randomly without repetition. For non-serialised products, the identifier is typically the GTIN alone, which identifies the product model but not the individual instance. The ESPR implementing acts will specify the format requirements for product passport identifiers — manufacturers should monitor these implementing acts and ensure that their product identification systems are capable of generating identifiers in the required format.