What goes into the EU registry of product passports?
At least the unique identifiers, which the Commission stores in a registry set up by 19 July 2026, plus the commodity code for products released for free circulation and the identifiers of batteries. The operator uploads them and receives a unique registration identifier in return.
What the registry stores
Article 13 of regulation (EU) 2024/1781 requires the Commission to set up, by 19 July 2026, a digital registry storing in a secure manner at least the unique identifiers. For products intended to be placed under the customs procedure release for free circulation, it stores the commodity code as well, and it also stores the unique identifiers for batteries referred to in the batteries regulation.
Delegated acts may add data. The same article says the Commission specifies any other data to be stored there, weighing at least three criteria: verifying the authenticity of a passport, making market surveillance and customs controls effective, and avoiding a disproportionate administrative burden.
Who uploads, and what comes back
The economic operator placing the product on the market or putting it into service uploads the data. On upload, the registry automatically communicates a unique registration identifier associated with the identifiers uploaded for that product.
Two consequences for a product line. The registration identifier is a value your systems have to keep beside the product record, since customs work from it; and the text says plainly that its communication is not proof of compliance with the regulation or other Union law.
What customs do with it
Article 15 makes the registry part of import. A person placing a covered product under release for free circulation provides or makes available the unique registration identifier to customs, from the moment the registry is operational, and customs release the product only after verifying that the registration identifier and the commodity code correspond to the data stored.
The verification is meant to be electronic and automatic, through an interconnection with the customs single window, which the article requires to be operational within four years of the entry into force of the implementing act on the registry. Release for free circulation, the text adds, is not proof of compliance either.
What the registry is not
It is not the passport. The data a customer, a repairer or a recycler reads stays with the economic operator or the service provider, as the hosting page describes; the registry holds identifiers and what an act adds to them.
It is not a public catalogue either. Article 14 requires a separate publicly accessible web portal allowing stakeholders to search and compare passport data according to their access rights, which is the public face of the system, while access to the registry itself is for the Commission and for national and customs authorities.
Frequently asked questions
When does the registry exist?
The regulation requires the Commission to set it up by 19 July 2026, storing at least the unique identifiers in a secure manner.
What does an operator get back?
A unique registration identifier associated with the identifiers uploaded for the product. The text says that this is not proof of compliance.
Who can read the registry?
The Commission, competent national authorities and customs authorities, for their duties under Union law. The public side is a separate web portal.
Does the registry hold the passport data?
No. It holds identifiers, the commodity code where relevant, and whatever a delegated act adds. The passport itself is stored elsewhere.