The ESPR product identity value that links a product, model, batch, or item to the correct digital product passport.
Unique product identifier is often mistaken for a QR code, SKU, serial number, or product page, but ESPR gives it a specific passport role. It is the identity value that keeps required product data attached to the product level set by the applicable delegated act.
A unique product identifier is the unique string of characters used to identify a product and enable a web link to its digital product passport. It is not the scannable QR code, data carrier, generic SKU, GTIN, or passport itself.
A unique product identifier is the governed identity key used to identify a product and enable a web link to its digital product passport. Its practical job is to keep required DPP data attached to the right product model, batch, or individual item rather than drifting into disconnected product pages, SKUs, or documents.
The common mistake is to treat the UPI as any convenient product code. In DPP architecture, it must identify the regulated product scope and support passport access; the data carrier, URL, product page, internal SKU, and passport record are separate but connected pieces.
ESPR Article 2, point 30 defines unique product identifier as a unique string of characters for identifying a product that also enables a web link to the digital product passport. The term is narrower than generic commercial identifiers because it must support DPP access, while the exact product model, batch, or item level depends on product-category rules and delegated acts.
Implementation teams should treat the UPI as an identity-governance task: decide identifier level, uniqueness rules, issuing authority or system, mappings to product-master data, data carrier resolution, passport links, broken link handling, and lifecycle update behavior. The UPI can fail operationally when product variants, batches, supplier evidence, GTINs, or retired codes are not governed consistently.
Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for sustainable products
a unique string of characters for the identification of a product that also enables a web link to the digital product passport;
Reference: Article 2, point 30
Regulation (EU) 2024/1252 establishing a framework for ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials
a unique string of characters for the identification of products
CRMA Article 2 source-specific definition layer.
Reference: Article 2, point 55
Reviewed public draft page. Aligns with identity/access policy: separates identity, carrier, QR/access mechanism, passport record, item granularity, and service-platform infrastructure.
Implementation records should capture identifier level, issuing rule, product-master mapping, data carrier resolution, passport link, supplier-evidence connections, lifecycle update rule, duplicate-detection status, retired identifier status, migration path, and broken links remediation.
Unique product identifier is the anchor that keeps a DPP from becoming a loose product page. It is the product identity anchor that helps distinguish the product being described from the data carrier, passport record, product master, access rules, evidence graph, and the operator providing it, so lifecycle updates remain attached to the correct product scope.
Minespider’s product-passports overview explains how DPP access points, identifiers, permissions, and supply-chain data fit together in implementation.
Read on MinespiderLegal definition of unique product identifier as a unique string of characters for product identification that also enables a web link to the digital product passport.
Open referenceLegal context for the DPP framework, including access through data carriers and product-category delegated acts.
Open referenceNeutral implementation context for connecting identifiers, web links, and product information in interoperable product-data systems.
Open referenceIndustry context for globally unique trade item identification; useful for understanding when existing commercial identifiers may be adapted into DPP access architecture.
Open reference