Does the digital product passport for tyres differ per EU country?
The short answer: the passport itself does not, the environment around it does. The ESPR Regulation is a European regulation and therefore applies directly in all member states, without each country needing to create its own version. A tyre that comes onto the market in the Netherlands with a digital product passport complies in principle with the same requirements as the same tyre in Germany, Poland or Spain. That is precisely the intention: one dataset, reusable across the entire internal market.
Where it does differ is not in the passport itself but in what is organised around it: which supervisory authority carries out checks, in which language supplementary documentation must be provided, and which national regulations remain alongside the passport. For a company selling or buying tyres in multiple EU countries, that distinction is relevant to know where you do and where you do not need to make adjustments per country.
What the regulation harmonises EU-wide
The regulation describes which data a product passport must contain at minimum and how the QR data carrier refers to it. That core — technical specifications, material data, information on origin and processing — should be the same in every member state, because the regulation leaves no room for national interpretation of that basic data model. This makes the passport in theory a one-off exercise: once correctly compiled, usable throughout the Union. If you first want to clarify for yourself what role your company plays in that chain, then the quick scan with an initial indication provides a starting point for that.
Where supervision and language do differ
What varies per country is implementation. Each member state designates its own supervisory authorities that check whether products on the market comply with the rules. In the Netherlands, that role typically lies with the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority or a comparable market surveillance authority; other countries have other authorities, with their own working methods and their own priorities. In doing so, supervisory authorities look at what the regulation prescribes, but the way of checking and the priorities set in doing so are not identical everywhere.
Language too is a point of attention that may differ per country. Accompanying information that is not laid down in the regulation itself as a mandatory data field must in some cases be available in the language of the country where the product is sold. That does not affect the core data of the passport, but it does affect the way you communicate with a dealer, garage or end-user in another country.
National regulations that remain alongside the passport
Tyres have long been subject in several EU countries to national regulations that are separate from the digital product passport and which remain in place. Think of a disposal contribution for recycling end-of-life tyres, such as the one that runs in the Netherlands through a designated organisation. Other member states have comparable schemes, but with their own rates, their own operators and their own registration obligations. The product passport does not replace those regulations and is separate from them; it is an additional obligation, not a replacement of existing national arrangements on recycling or producer responsibility.
The same applies to registration obligations with national market surveillance authorities or producer registers. A company bringing tyres onto the market in multiple countries may face different registration obligations per country, in addition to the one, EU-wide obligation to maintain a product passport. For those who need that overview per country, you will find in the knowledge base with topics per situation a starting point to find out which national regulations apply alongside the passport.
What this means if you are active in multiple countries
For companies that operate exclusively in the Netherlands, this distinction makes little difference: the passport is compiled and hosted here, and national regulations such as the disposal contribution continue as you already know them. For companies that import tyres from or export tyres to other EU countries, the distinction between the EU-wide core of the passport and the country-specific layer around it is something to keep in mind, precisely because those two layers can overlap in the practice of an order or a delivery.
How exactly those data are collected and where the source of each data field comes from can be traced on the page that shows where the information comes from. This makes it easier to assess during a delivery to another EU country whether only the passport is included, or whether a country-specific step is also involved.
What is not yet fixed
The delegated act that sets out the precise requirements for the digital product passport for tyres does not yet exist; according to the European Commission's work plan, it is expected around 2027, with expected application around 2029. How supervisory authorities in the various Member States will then check those requirements in practice, and which national regulations will continue to exist or change, cannot be said with certainty at this time. For the current state and for questions that affect your own situation, the official text on EUR-Lex or the competent supervisory authority is the appropriate source; for tailor-made legal advice, a lawyer is the point of contact.
If you would like to first get a general picture of what will apply to your company, do the free quick-scan or browse through the topics in the frequently asked questions about the tyre passport. That takes a few minutes and gives you an immediate indication of where you stand.