Battery passport: frequently asked questions about Regulation (EU) 2023/1542
Everything you need to know about the digital battery passport required by Regulation (EU) 2023/1542: what it is, which batteries it applies to, from when, who is responsible for it and what data it must contain.
General information, not legal advice
These answers summarize our reading of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 for information purposes; they are neither legal advice nor a certification of compliance. Several implementing and delegated acts from the European Commission have yet to clarify certain points — this page will be updated as they are published.
Understanding the battery passport
What is the battery passport?
The battery passport (or digital battery passport) is an electronic record specific to each individual battery, created by Regulation (EU) 2023/1542. It brings together the key information about the battery — identification, composition, carbon footprint, recycled content, due diligence, performance and durability — and stays accessible throughout its life through a QR code on the battery. Unlike a label printed once and for all, it is kept up to date as the battery moves through its life cycle.
What does Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 say about batteries?
Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 concerning batteries and waste batteries replaces Directive 2006/66/EC. It entered into force on 17 August 2023 and has applied progressively since 18 February 2024. It is directly applicable in every Member State and covers the whole life cycle of batteries placed on the EU market: durability and safety, labelling, carbon footprint, recycled content, raw-material due diligence, collection and recycling. The battery passport, set out in its Article 77, is one of its cornerstones.
Why does the European Union require a battery passport?
The goal is traceability and a circular economy: giving buyers, repairers, second-life operators, recyclers and authorities reliable access to the information they need to use, reuse, repurpose or recycle a battery, and to check its compliance. The passport also makes environmental claims (carbon footprint, recycled content) and responsible raw-material sourcing verifiable.
Who is affected, and from when
Which batteries need a battery passport?
The passport obligation (Article 77) covers three categories of batteries placed on the market or put into service in the EU: light means of transport (LMT) batteries — e-bikes and e-scooters, for example — industrial batteries with a capacity above 2 kWh (including stationary battery energy storage systems), and electric vehicle batteries. Portable batteries and starting, lighting and ignition (SLI) batteries do not need a passport, but remain subject to other obligations of the regulation, such as labelling.
When does the battery passport become mandatory?
The battery passport is mandatory from 18 February 2027 for in-scope batteries placed on the market or put into service from that date. Some detailed requirements, in particular the technical data format, are still to be specified by the European Commission. Because gathering the information often involves several suppliers across the supply chain, it is wise to start preparing now.
Who is responsible for the battery passport?
The economic operator placing the battery on the market — usually the manufacturer, or the importer for a battery produced outside the EU — must ensure that the information in the passport is accurate, complete and up to date. It may hand this task, through a written mandate, to another operator acting on its behalf. When a battery is prepared for reuse or repurposing, repurposed or remanufactured, this responsibility transfers to the operator placing it back on the market or putting it into service.
Are manufacturers outside the European Union affected?
Yes, as soon as their batteries are placed on the EU market: the regulation applies wherever the battery was made. In that case the importer, as the operator placing the battery on the EU market, must ensure the passport exists and stays up to date — directly or through a mandated operator. Since most of the data comes from the manufacturer, it pays to organize how it will be shared well in advance.
Passport content and data access
What data must a battery passport contain?
Annex XIII of the regulation lists the required information. It includes: general information about the manufacturer and the battery (unique identifier, category, place and date of manufacture, weight, capacity, chemistry, hazardous substances, critical raw materials); the carbon footprint; due diligence information; the share of recycled and renewable content; performance and durability characteristics (capacity, voltages, power, expected lifetime); detailed composition, dismantling information and safety measures; and data on the battery's state of health. The required information varies by battery category.
Who can access the information in the battery passport?
Access is tiered. Part of the information is available to everyone, in particular through the QR code. More sensitive data — detailed composition, dismantling information, state of health — is reserved for persons with a legitimate interest (repairers, reuse and second-life operators, recyclers…) and the Commission. Finally, some information, such as the test reports proving compliance, is reserved for notified bodies, market surveillance authorities and the Commission.
How do you access a battery's passport?
Through a QR code printed or engraved on the battery visibly, legibly and indelibly. The QR code is linked to a unique identifier, specific to each battery, that gives access to its passport. Where the nature or size of the battery does not allow it, the QR code goes on the packaging and on the documents accompanying the battery.
Second life and recycling
What happens to the passport when a battery is reused or gets a second life?
When a battery is prepared for reuse or repurposing, repurposed or remanufactured, it receives a new passport linked to the passport of the original battery or batteries. Responsibility for this new passport lies with the operator placing the battery back on the market or putting it into service — so the battery's history is not lost from one life to the next.
Does the battery passport still exist after recycling?
No: the regulation provides that the passport ceases to exist once the battery has been recycled. Until then, it follows the battery through every stage — placing on the market, use, any second life — and its information helps treatment operators dismantle and recycle the battery safely.
Preparing your battery passport with AccuID
How does AccuID help you prepare your battery passport?
AccuID generates a unique identifier and the matching QR code for each battery (SVG, PNG or PDF export), structures nearly 60 fields across 7 regulatory categories that stay editable throughout the battery's life, enforces the regulation's tiered access server-side, and handles responsibility transfers and recycling declarations in a tamper-evident history. The requirement-by-requirement detail is on the Compliance page.
Want to see how each requirement is covered, or who steps in at each stage of the battery's life cycle?