What happens to the digital product passport if my business closes?
The product passport survives the company that stops
The digital product passport for a mattress does not disappear automatically if the manufacturer or importer who supplied the data ceases to exist. The passport is linked to the product — to a specific mattress model and the unique identification code that belongs to it — and not to whether the company behind that product is still active. The data are hosted by a party set up for that purpose, separate from the business operations of the manufacturer itself, and there is a central EU register in which passports remain findable. This is precisely why hosting exists as a separate service: the continuity of the information must not depend on the continued existence of one enterprise.
What this does and does not regulate
This topic concerns the accessibility of the passport data themselves: material composition, maintenance instructions, recycling information and the like, and the question of whether that data can still be consulted via the QR code after ten years. It does not concern warranty, liability for defects or the right of return — those matters fall under other law and do not change because a company stops or because a product passport exists. It is also important to distinguish between two different parties: the manufacturer or importer responsible for keeping the passport available, and the service provider who handles the actual hosting. If a manufacturer stops, the question shifts to who assumes that responsibility — the hosting party executes an agreement, but is not automatically the one who remains legally responsible.
No fixed date yet for mattresses
For mattresses, no definitive date has yet been set for when the digital product passport becomes mandatory. The ESPR itself is the framework and is already in force, but the specific requirements for mattresses must still be worked out in a separate delegated act. According to the European Commission's work programme for 2025-2030, that act is expected in 2028, but that is an expectation from a planning document, not an established date. As long as the act has not been published, there is no legal obligation for mattresses to have a passport. Companies that start now are doing so in anticipation of the regulation, for example to be ready when the obligation comes into force or because buyers such as hotel procurement or specialist retailers are already asking for it.
How the passport remains findable and up to date
Anyone who wants to prepare for this should look at the sequence set out below. First: who, according to the agreements with the hosting party, is responsible for keeping the passport available if your own company ceases to exist — is this laid down in a contract, and what happens in the event of takeover, merger or insolvency. Then: is the hosting period agreed (for example a fixed period of years) made independent of the status of your own company, so that a change of ownership or business cessation does not affect accessibility. Next: the QR code on the product itself continues to work, even if the underlying data move to a different host or if the company changes its name — the code points to a fixed location, not to the company itself. Finally, it is useful to know that the EU register offers an independent search location: even if a website goes offline, the registration of the passport remains findable there.
The basis: Articles 10 and 13 ESPR
Article 10 of the ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781) describes the requirements that a digital product passport must meet, including the accessibility of data for a certain period after a product is placed on the market. This obligation is linked to the product and to the party responsible for placing it on the market, not to the continued existence or otherwise of a specific business. Article 13 of the same regulation governs the central EU register of digital product passports, which is separate from the website or service provider that actually hosts the passport and is intended to keep passports findable and verifiable, even if something changes regarding the party that originally supplied the data.
If you are already working with a product passport or are about to start, it is advisable to ask in the hosting contract what specifically happens in the event of business closure — of your own business and of the hosting party — and to consult the exact texts of Articles 10 and 13 on EUR-Lex as soon as the delegated act for mattresses is published and the requirements become concrete.
Where this is based on
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (ESPR), Article 10 (requirements for the digital product passport)
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (ESPR), Article 13 (register of digital product passports)
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
Data must remain accessible, even after the business stops operating
Article 10 of the ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781) sets requirements for the digital product passport, including data availability. This requirement is not linked to the continued existence of the manufacturer or importer who had the passport drawn up. For a business with 10 to 100 employees, this concretely means that stopping the business, a merger, a takeover or insolvency is not a valid reason to take the passport offline. The mattresses already sold remain with the consumer or hotel buyer, and the QR code on those mattresses must continue to point to functioning data. How long must a digital product passport remain available? continues on the period applicable for this.
The data must be traceable via the register
Article 13 of the ESPR regulates the register of digital product passports. Each passport that is created is registered here, with the product identification code and a reference to where the data actually resides. For a business, this means that registration in the register is separate from its own business operations: even when the business no longer exists, the entry in the register remains, and that entry must remain correct. Anyone wishing to delve deeper into exactly what is recorded can read about it in What is the register of digital product passports and what must I enter in it?
Responsibility for the data shifts, but does not disappear
When a business stops, the legal entity disappears, but not automatically the obligation attached to the previously sold mattresses. In the case of a takeover, this responsibility usually transfers to the acquiring party; in the case of insolvency, this is more sensitive, because there is then no obvious legal successor to manage the data. For a mid-sized business, this is primarily a practical problem: someone must continue to manage the hosting, the link with the register and the content of the data, even if there is no business that does this automatically.
Where things go wrong in practice
Hosting stops at the same time as the business. A manufacturer who used their own website and servers for the product passport often also closes that website when the business ceases. QR codes on mattresses already with customers then point to a domain that no longer exists.
A takeover is not reflected in the register. In a merger or takeover, attention usually goes to customers, inventory and personnel. Registration in the register of digital product passports is overlooked in this process, so the entry still refers to the old, no longer existing party.
A liquidator does not know that product passports are running. In the event of insolvency, a liquidator inventories the known obligations of a business. Digital product passports are a relatively new phenomenon and are not always on the radar, so hosting can expire without anyone flagging it.
The domain name expires after business closure. Even when the data itself is still somewhere, the domain name to which the QR code points can expire due to a missed annual payment. The result is the same: a QR code that no longer leads anywhere.
A restart under a different name does not take the old passports with it. In a restart, a new legal entity is often established. The old product passports, linked to the old business name and old trade register number, are sometimes not transferred, while the mattresses previously sold under the old name are still in circulation.
What you can record
- A transfer agreement for the hosting of product passports, to be included in takeover or merger documentation, so that it is clear who is responsible for data availability after the transaction.
- A contact person for the ongoing hosting obligation, even when the rest of the business is wound down, so that someone remains accountable for the period applicable for this.
- An overview of all issued product passports with corresponding identification codes, so that in case of a takeover, continuation or bankruptcy it is quickly clear which mattresses still have an active passport. Those who still need to set up this overview can connect to this here How do I give each product a unique identification code?
- An established agreement with the hosting party about what happens when the business is terminated, including the question of whether the hosting party can let the data continue independently without involvement of the original client. More information on this can be found in what happens to my product passports if the hosting party stops operating
- A current link between the business data in the register and the Chamber of Commerce registration, so that a change of name, merger or acquisition is also carried out in the register entry.
- , A preserved copy of the underlying product data, separate from the system in which the passport was originally built, so that the data can also be rebuilt without the original ERP or inventory system of the discontinued business. How this link looks in practice is described in Can I link the digital product passport to my ERP or inventory system?
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, checked by a human on 2026-08-22. Is something wrong? Let us know — corrections are given priority.