NFC Forum Seeks Feedback on Digital Product Passport Standard

The NFC Forum has released a candidate specification for its new NFC Digital Product Passport (NDPP) standard, designed to enable existing NFC Forum tags to store and transmit sustainability data alongside their current applications.

The new standard defines a flexible, data-agnostic framework that allows a single NFC tag embedded in a product to store and share both standard and extended Digital Product Passport (DPP) data using common NFC Data Exchange Format (NDEF) records, the NFC Forum explains.

As discussed by industry stakeholders and regulators, the broader DPP architecture is expected to incorporate cloud-based storage systems and connection methods—known as DPP Data Carriers—to link products with these systems.

The new NFC Forum standards enhance NFC technology’s role as a data carrier, offering unique benefits. Unlike other data carrier solutions, these candidate specifications allow both static and dynamic data to be stored on the product itself using non-volatile memory, enabling offline access.

Other key advantages of using NFC for DPP include its compatibility with NFC-enabled smartphones—already widely used for payments and access control—greater product design flexibility, durability, and reliability in harsh environments. Embedding DPP data directly into products also ensures long-term availability and enhances anti-tampering measures.