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.
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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Register Your Digital Product Passport →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.