# Batteries: QR code and replaceable battery required from 18 February 2027 > From 18 February 2027, all batteries will carry a QR code and appliances must let users replace their battery. What an online shop must check before selling, and the waste battery take-back already required. - Original page: https://dotsland.com/en/batteries-qr-code-18-february-2027/ - Language: en - Published: 2026-11-05T09:00:00+01:00 - Updated: 2026-10-13T23:48:51+02:00 - Section: Digital Marketing - Publisher: Dotsland, https://dotsland.com/en/ --- ## In brief - From 18 February 2027, all batteries placed on the EU market must carry a QR code giving access to their information, and to the digital passport for e-bike and e-scooter batteries. - On the same day, appliances containing a portable battery must let the user remove and replace it themselves, with commercially available tools. - Before offering a battery for sale, the distributor must check that it is correctly marked and that its producer is registered. An online shop is a distributor. - Since August 2025 already, a shop selling batteries at a distance must take them back free of charge, and tell the customer how when they order. - Selling directly to consumers in another EU country requires registration and a written authorised representative in that country. On 18 February 2027, two rules of the EU Batteries Regulation come into application: the mandatory QR code on all batteries and the portable battery that the user can remove and replace. For an online shop selling electronics, toys, tools or e-bikes, now is the time to check its products and suppliers, because the distributor must check the marking before selling. > **How we checked** > On 13 October 2026 we read Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 in its version consolidated on 13 August 2026 on EUR-Lex, which includes its three amendments, Articles 3, 11, 13, 42, 55, 56, 62, 77 and 96. None of those amendments moves the 18 February 2027 dates. The sources are listed at the end of the article. ## What does the 18 February 2027 QR code change? Article 13(6) requires all batteries to carry a QR code from that date. It gives access: - for light means of transport batteries (e-bikes and e-scooters), industrial batteries over 2 kWh and electric vehicle batteries, to the **battery passport**, a digital record mandatory from the same date; - for other batteries, to the labelling information, the declaration of conformity and the information on waste battery prevention and management. The QR code is the manufacturer’s job. But Article 42 requires the distributor, before making a battery available, to check that it bears the CE marking, that it is labelled in accordance with Article 13 and that its producer is registered. If a battery does not conform, the distributor must not sell it. An online shop selling batteries, on their own or built into products, has that role. ## What is a “removable and replaceable” battery? Article 11 applies to products containing a portable battery placed on the market from 18 February 2027. The user must be able to remove and replace the battery at any time during the product’s life, with commercially available tools, without specialised or proprietary tools (unless provided free of charge), heat or solvents. The product must come with removal and replacement instructions, also permanently available on a public website. Three exceptions exist: appliances designed to be washed or immersed, where safety requires it, for which replacement can be reserved for a professional; certain medical devices; and products that need a continuous power supply or whose main function is collecting data, for safety or data integrity reasons. For e-bikes and e-scooters, the battery and its cells must be replaceable by an independent professional. For a shop, this is a range question: a small appliance with a glued-in battery, placed on the market after 18 February 2027 and not covered by an exception, does not comply. Ask your suppliers about the products they will deliver next year. ## What already applies to an online shop? The regulation’s chapter on waste battery management has applied since 18 August 2025. Two of its obligations directly concern online selling: - **Take back waste batteries.** A distributor selling at a distance must take back waste batteries free of charge, with no purchase required, and provide a sufficient number of collection points across the country. In the case of delivery, it must offer take-back at the point of delivery or at a local collection point, and inform the customer of the take-back arrangements when they order (Article 62). - **Register and appoint a representative.** A seller selling batteries, even built into appliances, directly to consumers in another EU country is the “producer” in that country: it must register there and appoint a written authorised representative for extended producer responsibility (Articles 55 and 56). Online platforms, as for packaging, must obtain this registration information from sellers before letting them offer batteries to consumers. ## The timeline for an online shop | Date | What applies | | --- | --- | | **18 August 2025** | Free take-back of waste batteries by distance sellers, information at checkout, registration and representative in each country of direct sale | | **18 August 2026** at the earliest | General information label on batteries, or 18 months after the implementing act setting its rules if that comes later | | **18 February 2027** | QR code on all batteries; digital passport for e-bike and e-scooter, industrial over 2 kWh and electric vehicle batteries; portable battery removable and replaceable by the user | ## What should you do before 18 February 2027? 1. **List your products containing a battery**: batteries sold on their own, appliances, toys, tools, e-bikes and e-scooters. 2. **Ask your suppliers** about the QR code and, for products with a portable battery, about user replacement. Ask from what date their deliveries will comply. 3. **Plan the check on receipt**: CE marking, labelling, QR code, producer registration. That is your obligation as a distributor. 4. **Check your take-back arrangements**: collection points, take-back offered on delivery, information in the checkout. 5. **For each country of direct sale**, check your registration and your representative. > **What this article is not** > Legal advice. It describes the regulation in its version consolidated on 13 August 2026. Practical take-back and registration arrangements are a matter for each Member State and its compliance schemes. ## What this says about the bigger picture The Batteries Regulation applies to a mass-market product the same logic as the packaging and deforestation texts: information accessible by QR code, a producer registered in each country, a distributor who checks before selling. And it adds a design requirement, the replaceable battery, that directly affects the product range. For a shop, compliance starts with the supplier. That catalogue and supplier work is what we do through our [e-commerce and marketplaces expertise](https://dotsland.com/en/expertise/ecommerce-and-marketplaces/). The same logic applies to the [product safety information](https://dotsland.com/en/product-safety-listings-compliance/) in your listings. ## Sources Page opened on 13 October 2026. 1. Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 concerning batteries and waste batteries, version consolidated on 13 August 2026 (amendments 2024/1781, 2025/1561 and 2026/1738), Articles 3, 11, 13, 42, 55, 56, 62, 77 and 96, EUR-Lex. [View](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02023R1542-20260813) ## FAQ ### Is a QR code mandatory on batteries? Yes, from 18 February 2027, for all batteries (Article 13(6) of Regulation 2023/1542). It gives access to the battery passport for e-bike and e-scooter, industrial over 2 kWh and electric vehicle batteries, and to labelling information, the declaration of conformity and waste information for the others. ### Will batteries have to be user-replaceable? Yes, for products containing a portable battery placed on the market from 18 February 2027: the user must be able to remove and replace it with commercially available tools. Exceptions exist for washable or immersible appliances, certain medical devices and products that need a continuous power supply. ### Must an online shop take back waste batteries? Yes. Since 18 August 2025, a distributor selling batteries at a distance must take them back free of charge, with no purchase required, offer take-back at the point of delivery or at a local collection point, and inform the customer of the take-back arrangements when they order. ### Can Dotsland help? Yes. We inventory the products concerned with you, prepare the supplier questionnaire and bring the checkout into line. Start with the list above, then [get in touch](https://dotsland.com/en/contact-us/).