Six DPP standards cited in the EU Official Journal

On 15 July 2026, six European standards for the Digital Product Passport were cited in the Official Journal of the European Union. The basis is Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1736 of 14 July 2026.

What was cited

These are six standards of the EN 18216 ff. series, drawn up by the joint committee CEN-CLC/JTC 24 under the standardisation request of the European Commission and published as final European standards on 27 May 2026:

• EN 18216 - data exchange protocols
• EN 18219 - unique identifiers for products, economic operators and locations
• EN 18220 - data carriers on the product
• EN 18221 - data storage, archiving and persistence
• EN 18222 - APIs for lifecycle management and discovery
• EN 18223 - system interoperability

Two standards of the series are still missing: EN 18239 on access rights and information security, and EN 18246 on data authentication and integrity. Neither had been published at the beginning of September 2026.

What this changes

Citation in the Official Journal turns a technical standard into a harmonised standard carrying a presumption of conformity. Anyone who builds their product passport in line with a listed standard is presumed in law to meet the corresponding requirements of the Ecodesign Regulation (EU) 2024/1781. The burden of proof is reversed: the company does not have to demonstrate technical suitability - the market surveillance authority would have to prove the opposite.

For brands selling in the EU, this is first of all a procurement matter. From now on, DPP software can be required, verifiably, to implement identifiers, data carriers and interfaces in line with EN 18219, EN 18220 and EN 18222. Before that, it was a question of trust with no reliable yardstick.

What does not change

Citation creates no obligation. Harmonised standards remain voluntary; a different technical route is permitted, but conformity then has to be demonstrated independently. It also says nothing about which content a product passport must carry - that is governed by the delegated act for the respective product group, and at the beginning of September 2026 none had been adopted. The standards also remain chargeable and are sold per document through the national standards bodies.

Which standard governs what, and where the limits of the series lie, is set out in the guide The European standards for the Digital Product Passport.