How does the tyre size relate to the unique identification code?

Tire size and unique code are not the same

The tire size is a technical designation of a tire — for example the width, aspect ratio and rim diameter — and the unique identification code is a separate characteristic that links a specific product or product model to its digital product passport. The size indicates something about the physical properties of the tire, the code indicates which passport belongs to it. A tire with size 205/55R16 can exist in multiple versions — from different manufacturers, with different compositions or production years — and each of those versions requires its own passport. The size alone is therefore not sufficient to uniquely identify a tire; the identification code serves that purpose.

Who this is relevant for, and what it is not

This distinction is relevant for everyone involved in compiling, consulting or linking a product passport for tires: importers, wholesalers and fleet managers who purchase, register or resell tires. This concerns the question of how a tire is identified within the digital product passport system, not the question of what technical requirements apply to a tire — those are set out elsewhere and have not yet been established for tires. It also does not concern type approval or homologation numbers for tires; that existing numbering is separate from the unique identification code from the ESPR, even though both data can ultimately end up in the same passport.

When this will apply

There is no fixed date yet for when the requirements for the tire product passport — including the way the unique identification code is applied — will actually come into force. According to the European Commission's work plan for the ESPR (2025-2030), the delegated act for tires is expected in 2027; only after publication of that act will a date follow on which the obligations take effect. Until that time, there is no legal obligation to provide tires with a uniquely identified product passport. What is established, however, is the general framework from the ESPR itself: Article 12 provides that a product passport contains a unique identification code by which the product or product model can be traced. That framework will apply in future to all product groups for which a delegated act has been adopted, so tires once that act is in place.

How this will work in practice later on

Anyone now considering how to connect to the digital product passport would be wise to continue distinguishing between the data that describes the tyre and the identifier that identifies the tyre. Tyre size, load index, speed category and the like are descriptive data that will appear in the passport as part of the technical information about the product. The unique identification code is additionally the means by which that specific passport is retrieved — for example via the QR code that is affixed to or with the tyre. In practice, this means that two tyres with exactly the same size can nevertheless each have their own code and their own passport, because they are from a different manufacturer, a different production model or a different composition, for example. For those having passports compiled, it is therefore important to be clear about the level at which the code is assigned: per product model, per batch, or — as is customary for many other product groups — per model with a shared passport for identical versions. As long as the delegated act for tyres is not yet in place, that detail remains unsettled, but the starting point from Article 12 of the ESPR — that the code makes a product or product model uniquely traceable — does provide the framework within which that choice will be made. For an importer or wholesaler, this is particularly relevant when setting up their own product administration: it is worthwhile to already register tyre size and other technical characteristics separately from manufacturer or model codes, so that a later link to a unique identification code can proceed without restructuring of the organisation's own data.

Where this is based on: Article 12 of the ESPR

This relationship between descriptive data and identification follows from Article 12 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (ESPR), which stipulates that the digital product passport contains a unique identification code for the product or product model. That article governs the identification element of the passport in general terms, for all product groups falling under the ESPR. The specific application for tyres — including the question of how tyre size and identification code will later be concretely presented alongside each other in the passport — follows from the delegated act that has yet to be adopted and published.

Anyone wanting to get started now would be best advised to start by separating technical tyre data (such as size) and model data in their own administration, and to follow developments around the delegated act for tyres via the official source. Once that act is published, this page will be supplemented with the concrete date and the precise requirements for the identification code for tyres.