A machine-readable access point, such as a QR code, barcode, RFID tag, or other AIDC medium, used to retrieve product or passport information.
Data carrier is the physical or machine-readable access point through which passport or product information becomes retrievable in the real world. It is essential to DPP and battery-passport implementation, but it is not the passport, not the unique identifier, not the user experience, and not the underlying data set.
A data carrier is the machine-readable access point, such as a QR code, barcode, RFID tag, or other AIDC medium, used to retrieve product or passport information. It is the doorway to the data, not the identifier, not the passport, and not the underlying product data itself.
A data carrier is a physical or machine-readable medium attached to or associated with a product, packaging, label, or accompanying document. Under ESPR, it can be a linear barcode symbol, two-dimensional symbol, or other automatic identification data capture medium that can be read by a device. In passport architecture, the data carrier is the physical access mechanism that routes a user or system to the relevant digital record. It may encode or transmit a URL, identifier, or lookup reference, but it does not itself define the data structure, the unique identifier, the access-rights model, the underlying data quality, or the passport record.
The common mistake is to call the visible QR code, barcode, or tag the digital product passport or battery passport. The data carrier is only the gateway. The passport is the regulated data set or structured record behind that gateway. The data carrier is also different from the unique identifier: the carrier is the symbol, tag, chip, or other medium that is scanned or read, while the identifier is the unique string or identity value used to distinguish the product model, batch, item, or battery. It is also not the whole user experience; software, permissions, data quality, link resolution, and rendering determine what a user can actually see after scanning.
ESPR Article 2, point 29 defines data carrier as a linear barcode symbol, a two-dimensional symbol, or another automatic identification data capture medium that can be read by a device. This technology-neutral wording is important because the regulation does not reduce DPP access to one QR-code format or one vendor technology. The EU Battery Regulation applies the same operational logic in battery-passport deployment: the QR code must be printed or engraved visibly, legibly, and indelibly on the battery where possible, or otherwise placed on packaging and accompanying documents.
For implementation teams, managing the data carrier means bridging digital data engineering with physical marking, printing, labelling, and manufacturing. The carrier has to remain physically usable and logically connected to the correct record. Teams need to consider scanability, durability, placement, print quality, engraving or label method, link resolution, persistence through system migrations, offline handling, replacement procedures, tamper risk, cloning risk, fallback routes, and what happens if the carrier becomes unreadable. A passport can be perfectly structured, but if the physical data carrier fails to resolve to the correct record, downstream actors and market surveillance authorities may not be able to access the required information.
Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for sustainable products
a linear barcode symbol, a two-dimensional symbol or other automatic identification data capture medium that can be read by a device;
Reference: Article 2, point 29
Regulation (EU) 2024/1252 establishing a framework for ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials
a linear bar code symbol, a two-dimensional symbol or other automatic identification data capture medium that can be read by a device
CRMA Article 2 source-specific definition layer.
Reference: Article 2, point 54
This term matters when teams design how a QR code, barcode, or equivalent identifier will connect the physical product to its digital record. Choices about QR codes, RFID tags, or equivalent AIDC media affect scanability, durability, placement on the product or packaging, link persistence, tamper detection, replacement procedures, and whether downstream actors can reliably reach the right passport or compliance information.
Data carrier is easy to overvalue and undervalue at the same time. It is not the passport or the evidence system, but the passport can fail in the real world if the scan must resolve to the correct product record and instead points to the wrong page, stale data, or an inaccessible system. For Minespider, data carrier is the bridge from digital compliance architecture to the object a user can actually scan.
Minespider’s product-passports overview explains how DPP access points, identifiers, permissions, and supply-chain data fit together in implementation.
Read on MinespiderBattery-sector context for passport data, battery identity, access mechanisms, and the evidence layer behind battery-passport implementation.
Read on MinespiderLegal definition of data carrier as a linear barcode symbol, two-dimensional symbol, or other automatic identification data capture medium readable by a device.
Open referenceBattery-sector deployment context for visible, legible, indelible QR-code access to battery information and the battery passport.
Open referenceImplementation context for barcode and data-carrier technologies used to identify products and connect physical items to digital information.
Open reference