The language of product authentication and compliance.
Plain-English definitions for the standards, mandates, and concepts behind the Digital Product Passport, DSCSA, and unit-level authentication. If a regulation, data carrier, or acronym appears in a compliance brief, it is defined here — clearly, and without the jargon.
Drug supply-chain security in the United States.
DSCSA
The US Drug Supply Chain Security Act. It requires unit-level serialization, electronic package-level tracing, verification, and suspect-product handling for prescription drugs. Enhanced Section 582 requirements are in force now; the small-dispenser exemption ends 27 November 2027.
Suspect / illegitimate product
Under DSCSA, product that may be counterfeit, diverted, stolen, or otherwise unfit for distribution. Trading partners must quarantine it, investigate, and notify the FDA (Form 3911) if a product is confirmed illegitimate.
Authorized Trading Partner (ATP)
Under DSCSA, a manufacturer, wholesaler, dispenser, or repackager that holds a valid license or registration. Trading partners may only buy from and sell to authorized trading partners.
NDC-12
The FDA's uniform 12-digit National Drug Code in a 6-4-2 format, finalized in 2026 and effective 7 March 2033 after a transition period. It re-issues every US drug label in a consistent, 2D-carrier-ready code.
The Digital Product Passport and its mandates.
Digital Product Passport (DPP)
A structured, machine-readable and human-accessible record of a product's identity, materials, origin, and lifecycle, bound to the physical item via a unique identifier and data carrier. In the EU it is being phased in under the ESPR, category by category.
ESPR
The EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, Reg. (EU) 2024/1781. It sets up the Digital Product Passport, switched on product group by product group through delegated acts. The first, for iron and steel, is expected in Q4 2026, and each applies at least 18 months after adoption.
EU Battery Passport
A Digital Product Passport for batteries under EU Regulation 2023/1542 (Article 77), mandatory from 18 February 2027 for EV, industrial (over 2 kWh), and LMT batteries.
UNTP (UN Transparency Protocol)
A UN/CEFACT specification for issuing verifiable Digital Product Passports and conformity credentials using W3C Verifiable Credentials and decentralized identifiers — the cross-border interoperability layer for DPPs.
The data carrier · chip under the label
How identity is carried and shared.
Serialization
Assigning a unique identifier to each saleable unit so it can be individually tracked and verified. It proves the data about a unit moved correctly — but not that the physical unit in hand is genuine.
GS1 Digital Link
A GS1 standard that turns a product identifier into a web address, so a single QR code connects a product to all of its data — including its Digital Product Passport. The resolver standard the EU and CIRPASS converge on.
GS1 DataMatrix
A 2D barcode that carries a serialized identifier using GS1 Application Identifiers. It is the common data carrier for pharmaceutical serialization and 2D product labeling (including AI(715) for NDC-12).
EPCIS 2.0
The international standard for capturing and sharing supply-chain event data — what, when, where, and why. It is the interoperable chain-of-custody record behind traceability and DPP systems.
Verifiable Credential (W3C VC)
A cryptographically signed, tamper-evident digital statement whose authorship and integrity can be independently verified. UNTP uses Verifiable Credentials to issue Digital Product Passports.
Binding the record to the physical object.
Ambient identification
The layer that lets a physical product identify and authenticate itself anywhere, combining a secure physical anchor with a verifiable digital record. It is the category Aeroz builds.
Physical-to-digital binding
The verifiable, tamper-evident link between a physical item and its digital record — which is designed to stop a passport or serial number being copied onto a counterfeit.
No-Encode
Aeroz's provisioning workflow where tags arrive ready with nothing written to the chip — removing the per-unit encoding step and leaving no written data on the chip to copy.
Quick answers.
What is a Digital Product Passport (DPP)?
A structured, machine-readable and human-accessible record of a product's identity, materials, origin, and lifecycle, bound to the physical item through a unique identifier and data carrier. In the EU it is being phased in under the ESPR (Reg. (EU) 2024/1781).
When does the EU DPP become mandatory?
Product group by product group, from 2028 at the earliest. No group's delegated act has been adopted yet: iron and steel are expected first (Q4 2026), then textiles, aluminium and tyres (2027), and each applies at least 18 months after adoption. Batteries need passports from 18 February 2027.
What is DSCSA and when is it enforced?
The US Drug Supply Chain Security Act. Its enhanced Section 582 requirements — unit-level traceability, verification, and authorized-trading-partner rules — are in force now; the small-dispenser exemption ends 27 November 2027.
What's the difference between serialization and authentication?
Serialization proves the data about a unit moved correctly. Authentication proves the physical unit itself is genuine — a cloned code is designed to be caught when identity is bound to the item with a tamper-evident anchor.
What is ambient identification?
The layer that lets a physical product identify and authenticate itself anywhere, combining a secure physical anchor with a verifiable digital record. It is the category Aeroz builds.
Turn the vocabulary into a plan.
In a free 20-minute call we map your products to DSCSA, the EU Digital Product Passport and the Battery Passport, and show what you would need to have ready.
Go deeper by topic
- Pharma overview — US §582 and EU FMD authentication.
- EU DPP overview — ESPR 2024/1781.
- EU battery overview — Reg. (EU) 2023/1542.
- Technology — how the chip binds identity to the unit.
- Global compliance map — mandates by region.