What happens if I don't have a digital product passport for my aluminium?
Without a passport, the product cannot be placed on the market
An aluminium semi-finished product for which the digital product passport has been made mandatory must not be offered or placed on the European market without that passport. Market surveillance authorities monitor whether products comply with applicable requirements and have tools to intervene in the case of non-compliant products: they may require corrective measures, restrict or prohibit placing on the market, and in the most extreme case have products recalled or withdrawn from the market. This follows from the general framework for market surveillance that applies to product legislation in the EU. The absence of a passport is not in that sense an administrative detail, but concerns the core of the question whether a product may be legally traded once the obligation for aluminium comes into force.
Which aluminium this applies to, and which it does not (yet)
This obligation is intended for manufacturers and importers of aluminium semi-finished products: profiles, castings and packaging aluminium that will fall under a delegated act of the ESPR. It applies at the moment when a product is placed on or offered on the market, not to aluminium already in use with a user before the obligation came into force. It is also important what does not currently apply: no delegated act for aluminium has yet been published that makes the product passport concretely mandatory. The ESPR itself (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781) is in force and provides the framework, but the specific requirements for aluminium — which data, which thresholds, which exemptions — still need to be established. Anyone currently trading in aluminium semi-finished products is therefore not yet subject to an enforceable passport obligation for this product area; that will only change once the delegated act for aluminium is published and becomes applicable.
The date is not yet fixed
There is no fixed date on which the passport obligation for aluminium comes into force. According to the ESPR work programme 2025-2030, the delegated act for this product area is expected in 2027; the obligation itself is, calculated from a typical implementation period, expected around 2029. These are plans from the work programme, not commitments — the European Commission may adjust the order and pace of the work programme. Until the delegated act is actually published, there is no concrete obligation for aluminium and therefore no concrete point at which the absence of a passport can lead to intervention. Once the text is published, the exact date will appear here.
What this means for those who want to look ahead now
Anyone producing or importing aluminium semi-finished products is well advised to proceed as follows. First: check whether your own product already falls under a published delegated act — for aluminium that is not yet the case, for other product groups sometimes already. Next: follow the progress of the ESPR work programme 2025-2030, so that the publication of the delegated act for aluminium does not go unnoticed. After that: start collecting the data that will need to go into the passport at the time of publication — material origin, composition, recycling information — rather than waiting until the obligation already applies. And finally: take into account that market surveillance takes place afterwards. A product that has been placed on the market without the required passport may later still be challenged by a surveillance authority, even if that does not happen immediately when the product is placed on the market. Starting early with data collection prevents the introduction of the obligation from catching a manufacturer or importer off guard.
What this is based on: market surveillance and preventing circumvention
This line is based on two sources. Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 regulates market surveillance and product compliance in the EU in general terms: it gives surveillance authorities the power to check products and to take action when a product fails to meet the requirements applicable to that product, including requirements arising from the ESPR as soon as they apply. Furthermore, Article 40 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (ESPR) stipulates that measures are taken to prevent circumvention of requirements and deterioration of performance — this underlines that the obligations from the ESPR, including a future passport requirement for aluminium, are not optional and that evasive behaviour is part of what surveillance authorities are targeting. Together, these provisions show that the absence of a mandatory passport is not an isolated issue, but becomes part of the broader system of market surveillance as soon as the aluminium-specific rules are published.
If you want to prepare now, the best approach is to get your own product data in order and follow the publication of the delegated act for aluminium via the ESPR work plan; this page will be updated as soon as that act and the corresponding date are known.
What this is based on
- Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 (market surveillance and product compliance)
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (ESPR), Article 40 (prevention of circumvention and degradation of performance)
The regulation itself is on EUR-Lex. We refer per statement; you do not have to take our word for it.
What you must concretely do
What is expected of you
The ESPR builds on the prohibition of placing a product on the market without a mandatory passport. Once the delegated act on aluminium enters into force, a product passport must accompany the product in the same way as a CE marking: it is not a separate administrative step that you can still catch up on afterwards without consequences, but a prerequisite for being allowed to trade the product. What this concretely means breaks down into a few separate obligations.
Ensure that the passport exists before the product is traded
For a company with 10 to 100 employees, this is primarily a planning matter: the passport must be ready at the moment the aluminium leaves the facility, not afterwards. If you let this depend on a supplier or service provider who is only brought in late in the process, you run the risk that the delivery is already on its way before the data are complete. Companies with multiple product lines or locations notice this first — see also who is responsible for the passport if I produce in multiple EU countries.
Be able to demonstrate who has which role
Market surveillance is not only about whether a passport exists, but also about who is responsible for it. Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 gives supervisory authorities the power to identify market actors and ask them to demonstrate compliance. For a medium-sized company, this means that the division of roles — manufacturer, importer, distributor — must be clearly documented internally, not only in a contract with a supplier but also in who within the company can be called to account for it. Uncertainty about one's own role is a common problem; see am I an importer or manufacturer according to the ESPR? and what obligations does a distributor or trader of aluminium have?.
Do not let the passport deteriorate or be circumvented
Article 40 of the ESPR is aimed at preventing circumvention and deterioration of performance — a passport that exists but whose content no longer matches the product is as much a problem for a supervisory authority as a missing passport. For a manufacturing company, this means that changes to the production process, the composition of the alloy or the source of raw materials are also reflected in the passport. This requires a fixed procedure between production and the person who supplies the data, not a one-time action when the product is introduced.
Respond if a piece of information no longer applies
A passport that has been published once does not remain automatically correct. If you switch suppliers, change alloys, or add a new component, you face the question of whether the existing passport is still an accurate representation of the product. See on this what must I arrange for the passport if I change supplier.
Where things go wrong in practice
The passport is drawn up only after the first delivery. Especially with rush orders or with a new customer, aluminium is shipped while the passport is still "in preparation". At the moment a supervisory authority asks about it, there is no longer any possibility to catch up for that particular delivery.
Nobody knows anymore who provided the data. In companies that work with changing suppliers, it turns out afterwards that the source data of the passport come from an older, now replaced supplier. This is particularly the case with private label arrangements; see who is responsible for the passport if I supply aluminium to a brand owner and I sell aluminium under my own brand — what obligations do I have?.
A manufacturer outside the EU no longer provides updated data. Once contact with a manufacturer outside the EU slackens, the question of who maintains the passport falls to the European party in the chain. See my manufacturer is located outside the EU — who arranges the product passport then?.
Selling via a marketplace without anyone linking the passport to the offering. When selling via an online platform, the passport is sometimes created but not linked to the product page that the customer actually sees. See What does the product passport mean if I sell aluminium via an online marketplace?.
Incorrect data are not corrected because it is unclear who is allowed to do so. An error in the passport — for example an incorrect alloy code — sometimes remains uncorrected for a long time because no one feels authorised or responsible for making the correction. See who is liable if there is incorrect data in the product passport.
What you can document now
- An internal procedure that specifies at which point in the order process the product passport must be ready, before shipment.
- An overview of your own role per product line or facility — manufacturer, importer or distributor — including the justification for it.
- A fixed point of contact at each supplier for submitting and updating passport data.
- A change log in which changes in alloy, composition or origin are recorded, linked to the corresponding update of the passport.
- An agreement framework with parties outside the EU on who keeps the passport current once direct supply ceases.
- A control point when linking the passport to a product page, particularly when selling via a marketplace.
- A documented procedure for reporting and correcting inaccurate data in a published passport, including who is authorized to do so.
More on the basis of all this can be found in what is a digital product passport for aluminium? and does the digital product passport apply to my aluminium?.
This is not legal advice. This page provides general information on the legislation that this platform covers. We do not know your situation. If in doubt about your own case, consult a lawyer or the competent supervisory authority.
Written with AI based on the sources above, checked by a human on 2026-08-22. Is something not right? Let us know — corrections are prioritised.