Yes. Once a product needs a Digital Product Passport (DPP), customers must be able to look at it before they buy, including when shopping online. The shop selling the product, which the law calls the dealer, has to make that easy. Customers see the public part of the passport, not everything in it. As of October 2026, no product group under the Ecodesign Regulation has a passport duty yet. The first passports due, for batteries from February 2027, are reached through the QR code on the battery, though the battery law sets no before-purchase rule.
How does it work in a shop?
Each product group’s rules will set how customers reach the passport before they agree to buy or hire. In a shop, that will typically mean scanning the QR code or other carrier on the product, its packaging or its documents. The dealer has to make sure the passport is easily accessible to customers and to people who are only thinking of buying.
And online?
The online shop needs a way to show what the customer cannot scan. The business that placed the product on the EU market must give dealers and online marketplaces a digital copy of the carrier or identifier, or a web link. It is free of charge and due within five working days of being asked. The shop then makes it available on its own pages. More on the duties of dealers and online marketplaces.
The Commission’s FAQ goes further and says online marketplaces will have to show the passport on the product page. The regulation itself does not say that, so for now it is guidance.
What will the customer see?
Only the data the product group’s rules make public. Repairers, recyclers and authorities may see more; see who can access which data. A customer’s personal data never goes into the passport without their explicit consent.
What do the first passports show before purchase?
| Product | How a customer reaches the passport | From |
|---|---|---|
| Batteries | The public part, through the QR code on the battery; no before-purchase rule | 18 February 2027 |
| Detergents | A carrier visible before purchase, online too, with no registration or password | 23 September 2029 |
| Toys | A clearly visible carrier, online too | 1 August 2030 |
The Commission also mentions other routes for customers: a planned EU web portal, kiosks in some shops and, for some information, a paper copy on request.
Where this comes from: Ecodesign Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, Articles 2(55), 9(2)(e), 10, 11(b), 31(2) and 36(1); Battery Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, Article 77; Detergents Regulation (EU) 2026/405, Articles 21 and 22; Toy Safety Regulation (EU) 2025/2509, Articles 19 and 20; Commission DPP FAQ.