The Department for Business and Trade has run a call for evidence on digital product records for Great Britain. It was published on 27 July 2026 and closed on 21 September 2026. The government has not yet determined its approach to digital product records, and its response has not been published.
The call notes that EU digital product passport rules already apply in Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework. It asks how any system for Great Britain should relate to that arrangement. It also mentions sector work on batteries, construction products, toys, and low-carbon industrial products such as steel, cement and concrete.
There is no UK digital product passport law. Nothing in the call sets out measures for small firms, and nothing in it sets a date. The call is a signal about where policy might go, not a deadline for anyone.
The question has moved on. It is no longer only whether product records will be needed. It is what shape they will take, and what a manufacturer will be expected to produce when asked. The call also asks about one-off and ongoing costs, and whether firms can get the supply-chain information a record would need.
A digital record is one you can pull up for a single part, batch or customer without searching a filing cabinet. A shop that already keeps inspection results, material certificates and supplier details in one place will adapt quickly to any shape the rules take. A shop working from paper inspection sheets will be rebuilding its records after the rules are set.
For a small manufacturer, the practical step is to keep each part's inspection and supplier records in a form you can search and produce on request. See how Traced builds a product record.