do I need to indicate how to maintain or have a mattress repaired

Maintenance information is expected to be part of the passport in most scenarios

Probably yes: the ESPR is explicitly aimed at making products last longer, and maintenance and repair information is a direct means to that end. Articles 5 through 7 of the ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781) mention durability, repairability and product lifespan as core topics on which product requirements are established, and the digital product passport is the instrument through which that information reaches the user. For mattresses, it therefore stands to reason that a product category-specific delegated act will also require that the passport contains information about how to maintain a mattress (such as turning, airing, washing covers) and what to do if something breaks (for example a zipper, a removable cover or a replaceable part). Determining exactly what content that must be cannot be done now — that will be set out in the product-specific rules.

For mattresses specifically, not for every conceivable defect

This expectation applies to mattresses that fall under a future delegated act for this product group, and specifically to information relevant to the lifespan and repairability of the product as a whole — not to every conceivable situation an individual user may encounter. Maintenance tips are expected to cover generic matters such as turning or airing the mattress, and repair information probably covers parts that are practically replaceable or repairable, such as a cover with a zipper. What should not be included: a warranty arrangement or a contractual repair undertaking — that is something different from the factual information the passport provides, and it is not regulated by the ESPR but falls under other agreements between manufacturer, seller and customer. This expectation also applies only to mattresses placed on the market after the start date of the relevant rules; for what has already been sold, nothing changes with retroactive effect.

The exact content is not yet fixed, nor is the date

There is no published delegated act for mattresses yet, and therefore it is not yet determined which maintenance and repair information is precisely mandatory, let alone with how much detail. What is certain: the ESPR itself (articles 5 through 7) mentions durability, reusability, upgradeability and repairability as criteria on which the European Commission can regulate product groups, and article 10 of the ESPR determines that the passport must contain the information prescribed by the applicable delegated act. For mattresses, that act has not yet been published; according to the Commission's work plan, it is expected around 2028, but this is a planning date and not a legal deadline. As soon as the text is available, the concrete content and the date on which the obligation enters into force will be posted here. Until then, there is no legal obligation to include maintenance or repair information in a passport — matrapas.eu monitors publication and updates the platform as soon as requirements are known.

What the manufacturer or importer can prepare now

Waiting for the final text is advisable before anything is fixed, but a number of matters can be arranged now so that filling in later goes faster. As a first step, it is helpful to inventory what maintenance advice already exists — often that is already on an enclosed label, packaging or website, and that can serve as a basis. Next, it is worthwhile to look at which parts of the mattress are practically replaceable or repairable (a cover, a zipper, a removable topper), because that is probably the core of what a repair instruction should describe. This ties in with the question of how you substantiate the expected lifespan of a mattress, because maintenance and repairability directly influence how long a mattress lasts. After that, it is useful to determine who will manage this information within your own organization — often the same department that is also responsible for what data will be included in the product passport for mattresses — so that there is one point of contact when the delegated act is published. Finally, it is advisable to separate maintenance information from any business-sensitive production details, so that when filling in the passport it is clear what may be public and what may not be.

Justification: Articles 5 to 7 and Article 10 of the ESPR

The expectation that maintenance and repair information will be included in the mattress passport is based on two provisions. Articles 5 to 7 of the ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781) set out the ecodesign requirements according to which product categories are regulated, with sustainability and repairability as explicitly mentioned criteria. Article 10 of the ESPR stipulates that the digital product passport contains the information required by the applicable product-specific delegated act — so the precise content for mattresses will only follow from that act, not from the ESPR itself. Furthermore, Article 39 of the ESPR provides that data in the passport must be substantiated according to established test, measurement and calculation methods where applicable; for qualitative maintenance advice, such a measurement method is less straightforward than for example for how the values for the passport are measured, but that too will only become concrete once the mattress-specific rules are in place.

Manufacturers or importers who want to get started with the passport now can document and prepare maintenance advice and information about replaceable parts separately, so that this text can be adopted without much additional effort once the delegated act for mattresses is published; matrapas.eu will notify you of that publication and the resulting obligations as soon as they are known.

Where this is based on

The regulation itself is on EUR-Lex. We provide references per statement; you do not have to take our word for it.

What you concretely must do

What is expected of you

The ESPR is clear about the direction: the digital product passport must enable the user to use a product for longer. Maintenance and repair information fits precisely within that objective. Articles 5 to 7 of the ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781) mention sustainability and repairability as requirements for which information must be available, and Article 10 of the ESPR elaborates on what the passport must concretely contain. For mattresses, the precise product category specification has not yet been established, but the direction of the regulation leaves little room to leave maintenance and repair entirely out of consideration.

Include maintenance information

In practice, this means that a manufacturer or importer thinks about what a user needs to know to keep a mattress in good condition: turning, airing, washing covers, suitable protective material. For a company with 10 to 100 employees, this is usually not new work — this information is often already on an enclosed leaflet or in the packaging. The change lies in the structure: the information must be linked to the data carrier of the passport, in a form that can be traced back to the specific product model. This requires a fixed place in the internal file per mattress model, so that the text does not remain loose in a marketing brochure but is included in the dataset that goes to the passport.

Repair and spare parts information

Repair is more nuanced. A mattress is not comparable to an appliance whose parts are replaced; there is generally no repair service with spare parts. What can be relevant: information about whether a cover is replaceable, whether a core can be obtained separately, and which trade partner should be contacted for this. For a manufacturer with a modular mattress concept, this is more concrete than for a manufacturer of a solid foam mattress. In either case, it is important to assess this per product line rather than copying generic text that does not apply to the specific model.

Relationship with lifespan and separation

Maintenance and repair information is connected to other parts of the passport. Who substantiates the expected lifespan of a mattress, will notice that maintenance advice and lifespan claim touch on each other: a mattress that is properly maintained will presumably last longer, and that assumption must be defensible. The separation instructions also link to this, because at the end of the lifespan the question of how a mattress is disassembled becomes relevant again, even though it concerns the phase after use rather than during use.

Where things go wrong in practice

A first situation: a company pastes the existing maintenance text from the packaging one-to-one into the passport, without checking whether that text still applies to the current model. With model changes — different foam type, different cover — the maintenance advice often changes too, and outdated text in a passport that is online for ten years is an easy error to point out.

A second situation: maintenance information is only provided in Dutch, while the mattress is also sold through a foreign bedding specialist. The passport can be consulted by anyone with the QR code, so a language choice that is tailored only to the domestic market stands out as soon as the product is sold elsewhere.

A third situation: a manufacturer lists repair options that do not exist in practice, for example "cover replaceable" while the replacement cover is no longer available. That is a difference between what is written on paper and what a customer can actually have done, and such differences are more likely to be noticed when information is in a structured passport than when it was hidden in a loose brochure.

A fourth situation: companies include maintenance information but forget to link it to the correct model in the dataset. With multiple mattress variants with small differences — different core, different firmness level — this results in a passport in which the maintenance text is present, but does not belong to the correct product. This raises the question which data belong in the passport of mattresses and how those are uniquely assigned per model.

A fifth situation: a company thinks that maintenance advice is "free text" and therefore not subject to the same accuracy requirements as, for example, material composition. Where testable or measurable properties are concerned — for example a claim about how often a mattress should be turned in relation to a lifespan claim — the substantiation is relevant. Article 39 of the ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781) describes that methods used for testing and calculating values must be traceable, which also applies as soon as maintenance advice is linked to a measurable property instead of remaining a non-binding text block.

What you can record

A fixed maintenance text per mattress model, linked to the model number in the internal product file, so that changes to the model automatically trigger a review of the text
An overview of which parts (cover, core, finish) are separately available and through which party, with a check point to verify that this availability is still current
The language versions in which maintenance information must be available, aligned with the markets where the product is sold
A reference to how often this information is reviewed, in line with the arrangements made elsewhere on how current the data in the passport must be
A brief substantiation for each claim that touches on measurable properties (for example a link between maintenance advice and lifespan), so that the origin of that claim is traceable
An internal template in which maintenance and repair information per product line is recorded, to be used as a basis for the dataset that goes to the passport

This is not legal advice. This page provides general information about the legislation this platform concerns. We do not know your situation. If you are in doubt about your own case, consult a lawyer or the competent supervisory authority.

Written with AI based on the sources above, reviewed by a human on 2026-09-05. Is something not correct? Let us know — corrections are given priority.