SIST EN 18221:2026

• Abstract:

  This document specifies requirements for data storage, archiving, and data persistence of digital product passports, all based on a decentralized approach. The archiving functionality securely stores historical passport data, preserving a comprehensive record of past information. Persistence ensures that data included in the digital product passport remains available even when the economic operator creating the digital product passport is no longer active.; This document also specifies requirements for the replication between economic operators and back-up operators as well as rules for data lifetime definition.

• Status: Published
• Public Enquiry End Date: 18-Sep-2025
• Publication Date: 15-Jun-2026
• ICS: 13.020.20 - Environmental economics. Sustainability
• ICS: 35.240.63 - IT applications in trade
• Technical Committee: DPP - Digital Product Passport
• Current Stage: 6060 - National Implementation/Publication (Adopted Project)
• Start Date: 05-Jun-2026
• Due Date: 10-Aug-2026
• Completion Date: 16-Jun-2026
• Directive: 2024/1781 - Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for sustainable products, amending Directive (EU) 2020/1828 and Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 and repealing Directive 2009/125/ECText with EEA relevance
• Directive:

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  (EU) 2024/1781 - Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for sustainable products, amending Directive (EU) 2020/1828 and Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 and repealing Directive 2009/125/ECText with EEA relevance
  OJ Ref: OJ L, 2026/1736 OJ Date: 15-Jul-2026
• Directive:

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  EUR-PUB - European Union - Public Standards
• Mandate: M/604 - COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION of 31.7.2024 on a standardisation request to the European Committee for Standardisation, the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation, and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute as regards digital product passports in support of Union policy on ecodesign requirements for sustainable products and on batteries and waste batteries
• Mandate: M/604 AMD 1 - COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION (EU) of 28.11.2025 amending Implementing Decision C(2024)5423 as regards the legal basis and the deadlines for the adoption of the standards.
• Ref Project: EN 18221:2026 - Digital product passport - Data storage, archiving, and data persistence

SIST EN 18221:2026 is the Slovenian adoption of EN 18221:2026 from CEN/CENELEC, and it covers digital product passport data storage, archiving, and data persistence. It specifies how a digital product passport is kept available in a decentralized setup, including historical archiving, back-up copying, replication, and data lifetime rules, for economic operators and digital product passport service providers.

What does SIST EN 18221:2026 specify?

SIST EN 18221:2026 specifies the requirements for storing digital product passport data, archiving past versions, and keeping the data available over time even if the creating economic operator is no longer active. It is written for a decentralized architecture, so it focuses on what must be preserved and made accessible rather than on one prescribed storage technology.

The document is organized into:

• Scope
• Normative references
• Terms and definitions
• General principles and requirements
• Annex ZA linking the European Standard to EU regulation

Annex ZA is informative and explains the relationship with Regulation (EU) 2024/1781.

Annex	What it covers
ZA	Relationship between this European Standard and the essential requirements of Regulation (EU) 2024/1781

What are the key requirements of SIST EN 18221:2026?

Storage of the digital product passport

SIST EN 18221:2026 requires the digital product passport to be stored by the actor responsible for its creation, or by service providers acting on that actor’s behalf. The stored data must stay accurate, complete, and updated to reflect relevant changes. In practice, this means the passport cannot be treated as a static record.

The standard also requires the passport to remain accessible online through exchange protocols from EN 18216 during the digital product passport lifetime. Storage must support both human-readable and machine-readable outputs, so the same stored information can be used by people and systems.

The document stays technology-neutral: it does not force a specific storage technology. That matters for implementation because organizations can use existing systems if they can meet the requirements for availability, integrity, authenticity, and protection against data loss, tampering, and unauthorized access.

Archiving of historical versions

SIST EN 18221:2026 defines archiving as the secure storage of historical passport data. Archiving starts when the first change to the initial digital product passport occurs, so version history begins as soon as the record changes.

All changes must be archived, except changes explicitly exempted by product-specific requirements such as real-time sensor data. Archived versions must be kept by the back-up digital product passport service provider and by the creator or a main service provider acting on its behalf. This gives users a traceable history for audits, investigations, or product support.

Archived attributes remain under the same access restrictions as the current passport. The archived version for a given time point must be retrievable by authenticated and authorized actors, and its integrity and originality must be maintained.

Persistence and replication

SIST EN 18221:2026 requires a back-up copy of the most up-to-date passport version and all required historical versions when a product is placed on the market. The back-up digital product passport service provider must make the passport available to specifically authorized users during the lifetime of the passport.

If the economic operator is no longer active on the market, general access must be available from the back-up provider. For users, this is the main continuity requirement: the passport should remain reachable even after the original operator disappears.

Replication between the economic operator and the back-up provider must be frequent enough to minimize data loss, and the document points to a maximum Recovery Point Objective (RPO) as an example. Replication may use the standardized lifecycle API from EN 18222 or another mutually agreed secure method, but it must run over an EN 18216 data exchange protocol.

Additional digital documentation

SIST EN 18221:2026 also covers additional digital documentation attached to the digital product passport. When such documentation is provided, it must be included directly or by reference and made accessible through the passport. It must be downloadable and savable on an electronic device, and remain accessible online during the digital product passport lifetime.

What terms does SIST EN 18221:2026 define?

• economic operator - The manufacturer, authorized representative, importer, distributor, dealer, or fulfilment service provider involved with the product.
• digital product passport (DPP) - A digital record of product characteristics throughout the product life cycle.
• digital product passport service provider - An independent third party authorized by the economic operator to process passport data and make it available to authorized actors.
• main digital product passport service provider - The service provider hosting the passport on behalf of the economic operator when the operator does not host it directly.
• back-up digital product passport service provider - The service provider hosting the back-up copy of the digital product passport.
• digital product passport lifetime - The period during which the passport must be available by regulation to authorized operators or other persons with a right to access it.

Who uses SIST EN 18221:2026?

SIST EN 18221:2026 is used by economic operators that place products on the market or put them into service, and by the digital product passport service providers that host, back up, or replicate the data. It is also relevant to organizations that manage product information for manufacturers, distributors, repairers, recyclers, and consumers across the value chain.

In practice, it supports teams that need to design passport storage, set up archival copies, define back-up replication, manage access over time, and keep the passport available after a company stops operating.

Which standards are used with SIST EN 18221:2026?

• EN 18216:2026 - Provides the data exchange protocols used for online access and replication.
• EN 18220:2026 - Provides the data carriers that this document says its storage must support.
• EN 18222:2026 - Provides the lifecycle API used as a standardized replication option.
• EN 18223 - Provides interoperability specifications, data formats, and semantic data models for storage.
• EN 18239 - Covers access rights management, information system security, and business confidentiality.
• EN 18246 - Covers data authentication, reliability, and integrity.
• ISO 14721:2025 - Provides OAIS guidance for archiving practices and preservation concepts.

What does the SIST EN 18221:2026 document contain?

The document contains requirements for storage, archiving, persistence, additional digital documentation, and replication between economic operators and back-up service providers. It also contains terms and definitions, plus Annex ZA linking the standard to Regulation (EU) 2024/1781.

For implementation work, the useful parts are the storage principles, the archiving and back-up rules, and the references to EN 18216, EN 18220, EN 18222, EN 18223, EN 18239, EN 18246, and ISO 14721. These sections support system design, operational procedures, and regulatory alignment.

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-julij-2026
Digitalni potni list izdelka - Shranjevanje podatkov, arhiviranje in obstojnost
podatkov
Digital product passport - Data storage, archiving, and data persistence
Digitaler Produktpass - Datenspeicherung, Archivierung und Datenpersistenz
Passeport numérique des produits - Stockage, archivage et persistance des données
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN 18221:2026
ICS:
13.020.20 Okoljska ekonomija. Environmental economics.
Trajnostnost Sustainability
35.240.63 Uporabniške rešitve IT v IT applications in trade
trgovini
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

EUROPEAN STANDARD EN 18221
NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
May 2026
ICS 35.240.63
English version
Digital product passport - Data storage, archiving, and data
persistence
Passeport numérique des produits - Stockage, Digitaler Produktpass - Datenspeicherung,
archivage et persistance des données Archivierung und Datenpersistenz
This European Standard was approved by CEN on 3 May 2026.
This European Standard was corrected and reissued by the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre on 2 June 2026.

CEN and CENELEC members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for
giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical
references concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to
any CEN and CENELEC member.
This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by
translation under the responsibility of a CEN and CENELEC member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC
Management Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN and CENELEC members are the national standards bodies and national electrotechnical committees of Austria, Belgium,
Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy,
Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia,
Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and United Kingdom.

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre:
Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2026 CEN/CENELEC All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means Ref. No. EN 18221:2026 E
reserved worldwide for CEN national Members and for
CENELEC Members.
Contents Page
European foreword . 3
Introduction . 4
1 Scope . 5
2 Normative references . 5
3 Terms and definitions . 5
4 General principles and requirements . 6
4.1 Requirements for storage of the digital product passport data . 6
4.2 Archiving and rules for archiving . 7
4.3 Data persistence and rules for data persistence . 7
4.4 Additional digital documentation attached to digital product passport . 7
4.5 Replication between economic operators and back-up digital product passport
service providers. 8
Annex ZA (informative) Relationship between this European Standard and the essential
requirements of (EU) Regulation No 2024/1781 aimed to be covered . 9
Bibliography .10
European foreword
This document (EN 18221:2026) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/CLC/JTC 24 “Digital
Product Passport – Framework and System”, the secretariat of which is held by DIN.
This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an
identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by November 2026, and conflicting national standards shall
be withdrawn at the latest by November 2026.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
This document has been prepared under a standardization request addressed to CEN by the European
Commission. The Standing Committee of the EFTA States subsequently approves these requests for its
Member States.
For the relationship with EU Legislation, see informative Annex ZA, which is an integral part of this
document.
Any feedback and questions on this document should be directed to the users’ national standards body.
A complete listing of these bodies can be found on the CEN website.
According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organisations of the
following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia,
Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland,
Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North
Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and the United
Kingdom.
Introduction
A digital product passport (DPP) is a key enabling mechanism to make product information traceable and
accessible across value chains - supporting economic operators, manufacturers, distributors, repairers,
recyclers and consumers to make informed decisions and to support a circular economy. The
implementation of digital product passports will be carried out progressively. Sector-specific initiatives
will determine the precise DPP content and requirements for individual product groups.
To support the implementation of DPPs, 8 standards have been developed so far:
— EN 18219:2026 – Digital product passport – Unique identifiers
— EN 18220:2026 – Digital product passport – Data carriers
— EN 18216:2026 – Digital product passport – Data exchange protocols
— EN 18222:2026 – Digital Product Passport – Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for the
product passport lifecycle management and searchability
— EN 18223:2026 – Digital Product Passport – System interoperability
— EN 18221:2026 – Digital product passport – data storage, archiving, and data persistence (this
document)
— EN 18239:— – Digital Product Passport – access rights management, information system security,
and business confidentiality
— EN 18246:— – Digital Product Passport – Data authentication, reliability and integrity

Under preparation. Stage at the time of publication: prEN 18239:2025.
Under preparation. Stage at the time of publication: prEN 18246:2025.
1 Scope
This document specifies requirements for data storage, archiving, and data persistence of digital product
passports, all based on a decentralized approach. The archiving functionality securely stores historical
passport data, preserving a comprehensive record of past information. Persistence ensures that data
included in the digital product passport remains available even when the economic operator creating the
digital product passport is no longer active.
This document also specifies requirements for the replication between economic operators and back-up
operators as well as rules for data lifetime definition.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
EN 18216:2026, Digital product passport - Data exchange protocols
EN 18220:2026, Digital product passport - Data carriers
EN 18222:2026, Digital Product Passport - Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for the product
passport lifecycle management and searchability
EN 18239:— , Digital Product Passport - access rights management, information system security, and
business confidentiality
EN 18246:— , Digital product passport - Data authentication, reliability and integrity
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at http://www.electropedia.org/
3.1
economic operator
manufacturer, a
...