For the vast majority of furniture manufacturers, importers and project furnishers, nothing changes this year in terms of new obligations. There is not yet a legal date on which the digital product passport for furniture becomes mandatory. What does change is the progress of the process towards it: the European Commission is working step by step on the rules that will apply specifically to furniture, and that process is in a different phase this year than it was last year.
That progress is mainly relevant to you because it determines when you will need to take concrete action and what you can already prepare for without guessing the wrong date. This article outlines what the work plan contains, what happens this year and what that means for your planning.
The work plan that includes furniture
The basis for the product passport is a European regulation that applies to many product groups at the same time, not just furniture. To determine which product group is due when, the Commission works with a work plan covering the period 2025 to 2030. Furniture is on that work plan, but the rules that apply specifically to furniture will only be laid down in a separate, later act.
That separate act — a so-called delegated act — is where the actual obligations for furniture will be: which data are mandatory, for which product categories, and from which point in time. That act does not yet exist. It is expected to be published in 2028, with entry into force for furniture around 2030. Both dates are not yet fixed and may shift. As soon as the act is published, the date on furnipas.eu will be updated.
What happens concretely this year
In the phase the process is currently in, it is mainly about preparatory work: technical committees developing criteria, consultations in which industry organisations and companies can provide input, and draft texts circulating before they are officially adopted. This is less visible than a published law, but it does determine the content of what will come. Anyone who follows what is discussed in those committees this year will know sooner what the rules will look like than someone who waits until the act is published.
For your company, this mainly means: this is the time to review how your own data on materials, origin and composition are in order, without there being a deadline attached to it yet. Good record-keeping of product data is never wasted effort, whether the obligation comes into force in 2029 or 2031. the knowledge base with explanations per subject provides an overview of what is already fixed and what is not yet, per theme.
For whom this matters
This phase primarily affects manufacturers and importers of furniture, because they will have to provide the data that will be included in the passport. But software suppliers building product information systems and project furnishers purchasing furniture for offices, schools or care institutions should also follow developments. If you start a conversation with a supplier now about how data will be recorded, you won't have to have that conversation under time pressure later.
Whether your company will specifically fall under the upcoming rules depends on factors that vary by situation, such as the type of product and your role in the supply chain. A general indication of this is provided by the product scan with a few short questions; for an assessment of your own situation, a lawyer or the competent supervisory authority is the right point of contact.
Where the information comes from
Because the process is still in motion, it is important to distinguish between what is already fixed in the regulation itself and what is still a proposal or expectation. We base the information on furnipas.eu on official texts and publications of the European Commission, and always indicate what is not yet fixed. How we approach this is explained on the page about how our information is compiled.
Hvis du har et konkret spørgsmål om en del af denne proces, er der stor sandsynlighed for, at det allerede er blevet besvaret på siden med ofte stillede spørgsmål. Der findes også spørgsmål, der adskiller sig lidt fra det, der behandles her.
Vent ikke, men vær opmærksom på de rigtige ting
Den største risiko i denne fase er ikke, at du starter for sent, men at du venter på et signal, der ikke kommer endnu. Den delegerede retsakt bliver først offentliggjort, når indholdet er fastlagt, og indtil da er forberedelse et spørgsmål om at få grundlaget i orden: at vide, hvilke data du har om dine produkter, og hvilke du ikke har. Det er arbejde, du må udføre på et tidspunkt alligevel, uanset den præcise dato for, hvornår forpligtelsen træder i kraft.
Hvis du vil vide, hvordan dit firma klarer sig i øjeblikket, så tag den gratis hurtiggennemmgang, eller gennemse emnerne i vidensbasen. Begge dele giver en første retning uden, at du skal oprette en dossier med det samme.