Digital Product Passports in tieback follow a controlled publication lifecycle. Content is authored, reviewed, and then published as an immutable version. Published passports can later be revoked if needed. This ensures that the public record is deliberate, auditable, and stable.
A passport progresses through three states:
Transitions are forward-only: Draft → Published → Revoked. A published passport cannot be returned to Draft, and a revoked passport cannot be republished.
For full details on lifecycle states, transitions, and revocation scope, see Lifecycle States.
Each published version is a permanent, tamper-evident record. Once published:
If the product information changes — for example, a reformulation or updated sustainability data — a new version must be published. The previous version is retained as part of the passport’s version history.
This immutability supports regulatory requirements for traceability and accountability. It ensures that the passport a consumer viewed at one point in time can be referenced later, exactly as it appeared.
The separation between draft and published states serves several purposes:
Published passport versions are connected to products through assignments. An assignment determines which published version is served when a consumer scans a specific product or batch.
Assignments follow a hierarchy:
The most specific assignment wins. This allows brands to roll out passport updates progressively — for example, publishing a new version for a single production batch before applying it across the full product range.
When a consumer scans a product:
This process is automatic. Once a version is published and assigned, it is immediately available to consumers who scan the product.
To update a passport:
The previous published version remains in the version history and is no longer served to consumers once the assignment is updated.