Part 6. How one actually works

From the code on the product to the data behind it. The identifiers, the carriers, the resolver and the formats.

This part holds 17 documents in 6 subjects. It is part 6 of 9. All parts.

The whole path, end to end

How a digital product passport works A scan reads an identifier, a service turns it into a web address, and the data comes back from the company, not from the EU.

What a product identifier is, and what the law requires A unique product identifier names one product and nothing else. EU law names the ISO/IEC 15459 series, and no vendor scheme.
What a GTIN is, and whether you already have one A GTIN is the number under a retail barcode. It names a product model, and the EU ecodesign regulation names it through ISO/IEC 15459-6.
Which identifier schemes are permitted, and what is verified The ESPR names the ISO/IEC 15459 series and no vendor scheme. This site does not know how many identifier schemes EN 18219 permits, because the text is sold.
The EU does not require a GS1 Digital Link GS1 Digital Link writes a product identifier as a web address. The EU ecodesign regulation does not name it anywhere in its text.

What is an economic operator identifier, and do you need one? An operator identifier names the company, not the product. No adopted EU act tells a New Zealand exporter which one to hold.
Can a New Zealand Business Number be your operator identifier? No verified source accepts a New Zealand Business Number as an EU operator identifier, and no source rules it out. Do not assume it works.
What a facility identifier is, and whether you need one A facility identifier names a place, not a company and not a product. No law requires one from a New Zealand exporter today.

What a data carrier is, and which one you need A data carrier is the QR code, Data Matrix code or radio tag on a product. The passport is the data behind it, and EU law names no symbol.
What a resolver is, and whether you need one A resolver turns the identifier in a code into the address of that product's data, and sends the request there. It is the step between the scan and the answer.
Content negotiation, one passport address with two answers One web address can answer a person with a page and a machine with structured data. The caller states which answer it wants.
Free access is in the law, the no-app rule is not Nothing in the primary texts read here bans an app or a login for a passport. Access stays free of charge.

Structured data, and why no EU law names a format Structured data gives each value a label a machine can read. No EU text this site has read names a data format for a passport.
What a semantic data model is, and why a passport needs one A semantic data model is an agreed set of names and meanings, so two systems built by different companies mean the same thing.
Verifiable credentials and blockchain are not required No verified EU instrument requires a verifiable credential or a blockchain. The one binding duty asks for data authentication and names no method.
What an Asset Administration Shell is, and what it does not do An Asset Administration Shell is a data pattern for describing an asset. It is not a passport, and no verified EU instrument requires it.

CIRPASS-2 listed 46 open-source passport tools, and vetted none of them The OpenDPP catalogue is a directory of software, published on 26 August 2026. Its own disclaimer says nobody checked the entries against a standard or a rule.