Digital product passport for batteries: which batteries need a passport from 2027?
As of · sourced from primary law · not legal advice · Auf Deutsch lesen
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This English version was prepared with AI from the German page. No native speaker or lawyer has read it. Found a mistake? Write to office@proofpass.eu.
The short answer
Three categories need one. From 18 February 2027, every LMT battery, industrial battery with a capacity above 2 kWh and electric vehicle battery placed on the market or put into service must have a battery passport (Art. 77(1) Regulation (EU) 2023/1542). All other batteries carry a QR code with required information from the same day, but no passport (Art. 13(6)).
Art. 77(1) and 13(6) Regulation (EU) 2023/1542
The battery passport is the first binding product passport
No other industry has a passport date this early in the law. What counts is placing on the market or putting into service from 18 February 2027, not the sale to end-users. The passport holds data on the battery model and the individual battery under Annex XIII, with tiered access rights (Art. 77(2)).
The details are in separate guides. This page only places batteries among the industries, so you do not read the same thing twice:
- Battery passport or QR code: content, identifier, access
- Battery QR code from 18 February 2027: what sits behind the code when there is no passport
- Battery passport check: the short answer for one battery
Timeline with status
| Step | Date | Status | Provision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Separate collection symbol | 18 August 2025 | binding | Art. 13(4) |
| Battery passport for LMT, industrial above 2 kWh and electric vehicle batteries | 18 February 2027 | binding | Art. 77(1) |
| QR code on all batteries | 18 February 2027 | binding | Art. 13(6) |
| Label with general information | 18 August 2026 or 18 months after the implementing act, whichever is later | planned | Art. 13(1) to (3), (10) |
Where the battery sits does not decide the passport
The Regulation also covers batteries incorporated into products (Art. 1(3)). The category decides. Batteries used for traction in rail, waterborne and aviation transport and home storage batteries count as industrial batteries; toy vehicles have portable batteries (recital 15). How that looks per industry is shown on the pages electronics, automotive and aviation.
A procedure to amend the Battery Regulation is under way. As of 3 November 2026, the Commission proposal COM(2025) 981 and the Council mandate of 25 June 2026 do not change the date in Article 77.
What you can do today
- Assign every battery to a category. Weight and capacity often decide.
- With a passport duty: plan identifier, data carrier and data storage per battery.
- Without a passport duty: prepare the page behind the QR code with the declaration of conformity and waste battery information.
- If you build batteries into your products, agree with suppliers who provides the code and the data.
- Check the status in the deadline tracker before printing.
Further reading
- The product passport module: permanent address, QR code and documents per product
- The basics in the guide Digital product passport: deadlines and product groups
- Every date per product group in the deadline tracker
- All industries at a glance: product passport by industry
Frequently asked questions
Does a battery manufactured before 18 February 2027 need a passport?
Art. 77(1) attaches to placing on the market or putting into service from 18 February 2027. If the battery is only placed on the market after that date, it needs the passport, even if it was manufactured earlier.
Does an e-bike battery need a passport?
Yes, if it is an LMT battery. Under the Regulation that is a sealed battery up to 25 kg designed for the traction of wheeled vehicles such as e-bikes and e-scooters (Art. 3 Regulation (EU) 2023/1542).
Is the battery passport a product passport under the ESPR?
No. It rests on Article 77 of the Battery Regulation. Its identifiers are held in the same registry, though (Art. 13(1) ESPR), and the vehicle circularity passport has to be interoperable with it (Art. 13(1) Regulation (EU) 2026/1738).
With ProofPass
For batteries without a passport duty, ProofPass is built for the QR code: the declaration of conformity and the notices sit with the product, and the page behind the code always shows the current version. ProofPass does not provide the full battery passport with an individual identifier per battery.
The terms and legal notices are in German, and the German version is binding.
Sources
As of 11 November 2026. The legal text in force prevails. This page is not legal advice; sources are given above.