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EU Digital Product Passport Foundation

Compliance playbook

Selling into the EU: market access and the digital product passport

You do not need a company in the EU to sell products there, but you do need an EU footprint: someone established in the Union who answers for the product, papers that prove conformity, and, sector by sector, a digital product passport. This guide covers the rules that decide whether your goods can enter the EU market at all, whether you manufacture in the EU or import into it.

Placing on the market, the concept that triggers everything

EU product law hinges on the moment a product is placed on the market: the first time an individual item is supplied for distribution or use in the Union. For goods manufactured outside the EU, that moment comes with the import, when the product first changes hands inside the Union.

Every obligation in this guide, and the digital product passport itself, attaches to that moment. It does not matter where the product was made or where the seller is based; what matters is that the product reaches the EU market.

You need an economic operator established in the EU

Two horizontal regulations make an EU-established responsible operator a condition of market access:

  • For consumer products, the GPSR. The General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988, applying since 13 December 2024, prohibits placing a consumer product on the EU market, including selling it online into the EU, unless a responsible economic operator established in the Union exists for it.
  • For CE-marked products, Article 4 of the Market Surveillance Regulation. Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 requires an EU-established operator responsible for compliance tasks for toys, electronics, machinery and most other CE-marked categories: keeping the declaration of conformity available, providing technical documentation to authorities, and cooperating on corrective action.

The four roles that can carry the duty

The responsible operator can be any of four actors, defined in the New Legislative Framework:

  • Manufacturer established in the EU. Carries the duties directly.
  • Authorised representative. An EU-established company holding a written mandate from the non-EU manufacturer. The usual choice for a non-EU brand that wants to keep control of its own compliance.
  • Importer. The EU business that places third-country goods on the market. If you sell through an EU importer, the importer carries the duties, and its name and address go on your product.
  • Fulfilment service provider. An EU warehousing and dispatch service counts as the responsible operator only when none of the other three exists in the Union. Relying on this is a fallback, not a strategy.

CE marking and the conformity file

For products in CE-marked categories, market access rests on the conformity chain of the New Legislative Framework:

  • Conformity assessment. Self-assessment against harmonised standards where allowed, or third-party assessment by a notified body where the legislation requires it.
  • EU Declaration of Conformity. The manufacturer's signed declaration that the product meets the applicable legislation. It must exist before the CE mark goes on.
  • Technical documentation. Design data, risk assessments and test reports, kept available to authorities, typically for ten years.
  • Traceability and labelling. Product identification plus the name and address of the manufacturer, and of the importer for imported goods.

Where the digital product passport fits

The digital product passport extends this same architecture: the economic operator placing the product on the EU market must ensure the passport exists, is accurate, and is registered in the Commission's central DPP registry before the product is placed on the market.

  • For imported goods, the duty follows the operator of record. Your importer or authorised representative answers for the passport, so put the DPP into your supply contracts early.
  • Customs will be able to check. The registry gives customs authorities the means to verify electronically that an imported product has a valid registered DPP and its commodity code before release for free circulation.
  • Timing is sector by sector. Batteries come first, from 18 February 2027; other sectors follow as their delegated acts apply.

Check when your products are due in the delegated-acts tracker

On the horizon for importers

  • EUDR, from 30 December 2026. Due-diligence statements proving cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soya and wood products are deforestation-free, filed before placing on the market. Simpler rules apply to micro and small operators.
  • Greenwashing rules, from 27 September 2026. The Empowering Consumers Directive (EU) 2024/825 bans generic environmental claims that cannot be substantiated. DPP data is the natural evidence base.
  • Forced Labour Regulation, from 14 December 2027. Products made with forced labour are banned from the EU market, with investigations and customs enforcement under Regulation (EU) 2024/3015.

Checklist for a company outside the EU

  • Decide who your EU economic operator of record is: importer, authorised representative, or your own EU entity.
  • Put the operator's name and address on the product or its packaging, as the legislation requires.
  • Hold a complete conformity file: declaration of conformity, technical documentation, test reports.
  • Verify which of your products fall under a DPP sector and when the obligation applies.
  • Make the DPP a contract line with your importer or representative: who creates it, who registers it, who updates it.
  • Watch the EUDR and forced-labour deadlines if your products contain wood, leather, rubber or other covered commodities.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a company in the EU to sell products there?

No, but you need an economic operator established in the EU that answers for your product: an importer, an authorised representative with a written mandate, or your own EU entity. For consumer products this is required by the GPSR; for CE-marked products by Article 4 of the Market Surveillance Regulation.

What is the difference between an importer and an authorised representative?

The importer is the EU business that physically places your goods on the market and carries its own conformity duties, with its name on the product. An authorised representative is an EU company you mandate in writing to hold documents and deal with authorities on your behalf, while you remain the manufacturer of record.

Who must ensure the digital product passport for imported goods?

The economic operator that places the product on the EU market: in practice the importer, or the manufacturer acting through its authorised representative. The passport must exist and be registered in the Commission's central DPP registry before the product is placed on the market.

Does the GPSR apply to online sales shipped directly to EU consumers?

Yes. Offering a product online to consumers in the Union counts as making it available on the EU market, so a responsible economic operator established in the EU is required even for direct-to-consumer shipments from outside the EU.

When will customs check digital product passports at the border?

The central DPP registry gives customs the technical means to verify a registered passport and commodity code before release for free circulation. Checks become real sector by sector as DPP obligations apply, starting with batteries from 18 February 2027; full interconnection with the EU Customs Single Window follows.