The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) is changing how manufacturers document products sold in the European Union. The Digital Product Passport (DPP) will require technical, environmental and compliance information to be available in multiple languages, accessed through a QR code or equivalent digital identifier. Companies exporting into several EU markets are now asking which documents need translation, and at what level of certification.
What the DPP requires in terms of multilingual content
The ESPR establishes that DPP information must be available in the language or languages required by the Member State where the product is placed on the market. A Portuguese manufacturer selling into Germany, France and Poland will need distinct language versions of the same technical content, not one generic English translation covering every market.
Typical elements covered include:
- Product technical data sheets (composition, materials, component origin)
- Durability and repairability information
- Disassembly and recycling instructions
- Declarations of conformity and applicable certificates
- Carbon footprint data and substances of concern
Each of these has its own regulatory terminology. A mistranslation in the substances-of-concern section, for instance, can create a reportable non-conformity, not just a quality issue.
Terminology and consistency across product lines
The real difficulty is not translating a single document. It is keeping terminology consistent across hundreds or thousands of product references, updated continuously as the range evolves.
A well-managed technical glossary prevents the same material being translated three different ways across three product sheets from the same brand. This is already standard practice in industrial manual translation, as covered in our article on translating industrial maintenance manuals. The same principle applies directly to the DPP: a validated glossary and translation memory per product line, updated with every technical change.
Beyond terminology, there is the question of format. DPP content is often structured in XML or JSON for integration with catalogue systems and ERPs. The translation needs to preserve tags, fields and data structure without breaking the integration, which requires computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools built for structured formats, not plain text translation.
Choosing the right certification and review level
Not all DPP content carries the same risk. A company exporting across several EU markets needs to decide the review level by document type, not apply one standard to everything.
For declarations of conformity, regulatory certificates and safety information feeding the digital passport, the Estratégica tier is the right choice: translation by a first linguist, review by a second linguist, and final quality control, following the audited ISO 17100 workflow. It is the only tier with second-linguist review (TEP), and it is the one to use when an error could trigger a non-conformity in front of a market surveillance authority.
For high-volume, frequently updated technical data sheets with lower direct regulatory exposure, the Standard tier is usually sufficient: one qualified linguist, following ISO 18587, using M21Global's own translation engine, with full post-editing of the text and quality control by the project manager. All three tiers include full DTP, so the layout of a data sheet or catalogue stays faithful to the original regardless of tier.
For large reference catalogues where part of the content is descriptive rather than regulatory, the IAH+ tier covers high volume with selective human review on the most sensitive segments.
Preparing documentation before requesting a quote
Before approaching a translation provider, it helps to have ready:
- A list of products and the target languages required per market
- Any existing glossary, or examples of previously approved translations
- The source file format (XML, JSON, spreadsheet, or a specific CMS export)
- A split between regulatory documents (certificates, declarations of conformity) and informative content (descriptions, FAQs)
This split by risk is what allows each piece of content to be assigned to the right service tier, instead of over-paying for everything or, worse, under-reviewing regulatory content.
How M21Global supports DPP documentation
M21Global has worked in ISO 17100:2015 certified technical translation for over 20 years, with more than 445 million words translated across industrial and regulatory projects. For companies preparing Digital Product Passport documentation, this means a dedicated technical glossary per product line, a review workflow matched to the actual risk of each document, and full DTP to keep data structure intact across any file format. See our approach in more detail on the technical translation services page, or read how we handle large documentation volumes in our article on user manual translation services. Request a quote for your DPP technical documentation and receive a response within three business hours.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Digital Product Passport (DPP) under the Ecodesign Regulation?
It is a digital information system, accessed via QR code or an equivalent identifier, that brings together technical, environmental and compliance data for a product, required progressively by product category under the EU's ESPR.
Does DPP content need to be translated into every EU language?
Not necessarily into all of them, but into the languages required by the Member State where the product is placed on the market, which in practice means several language versions for companies selling across multiple countries.
Which translation tier is right for declarations of conformity in a DPP?
For regulatory content such as declarations of conformity and safety certificates, M21Global's Estratégica tier is the right choice, as it includes review by a second linguist within an audited ISO 17100 workflow.
Does technical translation preserve the XML or JSON structure used in DPP files?
Yes, provided the provider uses computer-assisted translation tools built for structured formats, which preserve tags and fields without breaking the integration with the catalogue system.
How long does it take to get a quote for DPP documentation translation?
M21Global sends a quote within three business hours of receiving the documents and the list of target languages.
