No fixed response deadline, but a predictable pattern
A concrete deadline — "you will hear from us within ten working days" — is not specified anywhere in the regulations surrounding the digital product passport. The ESPR regulation itself describes obligations and powers, but leaves implementation to the member states and the market surveillance authorities they designate. As a result, there is no fixed processing time to cite for how quickly a supervisory authority responds when a mattress without a passport or with an incomplete passport is found on the market.
What is predictable is which factors determine the processing time: how the notification comes in, how the supervisory authority weighs risks, and how complete your own file is at the time questions arise. These three factors determine more in practice than any written deadline.
What the regulation does and does not govern
The ESPR gives market surveillance authorities powers: they may request documentation, have products inspected and require corrective measures. How quickly they do so, and in what order they handle cases, is up to the supervisory authority itself and depends on capacity and the priorities that apply in that country. For general product safety, the NVWA is a known player in the Netherlands; which authority will specifically supervise compliance with the passport requirement for mattresses remains to be seen once the delegated act for mattresses is published. Until then, this is not yet established.
What is also not established is the entry into force date itself. The European Commission's work plan mentions 2028 as the expected date for the delegated act for mattresses, with the obligation itself expected around 2030. Both dates are indicative. Once there is an official publication, we will update this on our site.
Why the processing time varies in practice
In most supervisory systems, a notification or inspection does not work via a fixed queue, but via risk assessment. A product that comes back with multiple complaints, or whose safety appears to be at issue, typically receives attention sooner than an administrative deficiency in a passport. This does not mean that minor shortcomings are ignored, but rather that the order in which matters are addressed is not predictable for an individual company.
In addition, it matters who in the chain is contacted. For mattresses that come to market under a private label, are imported through an importer or are resold by a wholesaler, it must first be clear which party bears which responsibility before a supervisory authority actually takes action. This clarification phase takes time that is not specified in any deadline.
Where it breaks down in practice
Companies that face a supervisory question usually do not run into problems with the law itself, but with their own file. Frequently heard issues are: nobody within the company knows exactly where the source data for the passport comes from, cooperation with the software supplier is not contractually established, or data was collected but never updated after a product change. Each of these points extends the time needed to respond to a question from a supervisory authority, even if the supervisory authority itself has not started the clock.
Precisely for this reason, it pays to know in advance what role you play in the chain — manufacturer, importer or distributor do not have the same obligations after all. in a few questions see which role and obligations belong to your company provides an initial direction there, without requiring you to delve into the legal matter yourself.
What you can prepare now
Even without a fixed entry date, it is possible to ensure that a file can be completed quickly: know who within your company is responsible for the source data, make agreements with your software supplier about who maintains what, and keep data up to date as soon as a mattress model changes. That work does not need to wait for the publication of the delegated act.
In the knowledge bank with topics sorted by situation the status of what is and is not yet established is explained per theme, including the location in the official text. For those who want to know how the information on matrapas.eu is created, that is explained on the page about how we process data into a passport.
For your own situation — for example an ongoing inspection or a question from a competent authority — a lawyer or the competent authority remains the appropriate party. This article describes the general picture, not advice for a specific case.
Start with an overview of your own situation
Do you want to know where your company stands in this chain before a competent authority ever asks? Take the free quick-scan or read the answers to frequently asked questions about the mattress passport to see which steps are relevant for your situation.