Resources · Glossary

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.

Digital Product PassportDSCSAESPREPCIS 2.0GS1 Digital LinkUNTPAmbient identification
US pharma & DSCSA

Drug supply-chain security in the United States.

Regulation

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 enforceable November 27, 2026.

DSCSA term

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.

DSCSA term

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.

FDA labeling

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.

EU regulations

The Digital Product Passport and its mandates.

Concept

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 mandated under the ESPR.

Regulation

ESPR

The EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, Reg. (EU) 2024/1781. It makes the Digital Product Passport mandatory, rolled out product group by product group through delegated acts — phased 2027–2030.

Regulation

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.

Standard

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.

Macro of an embedded NFC antenna coil under a translucent pharmaceutical label The data carrier · chip under the label
Standards & data carriers

How identity is carried and shared.

Concept

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.

Data carrier

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).

ISO/IEC 19987

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.

W3C standard

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.

Authentication concepts

Binding the record to the physical object.

The category

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.

Concept

Physical-to-digital binding

The verifiable, tamper-evident link between a physical item and its digital record — which prevents a passport or serial number from simply being copied onto a counterfeit.

Aeroz workflow

No-Encode

Aeroz's provisioning workflow where tags arrive ready with nothing written to the chip — removing the per-unit encoding step and leaving nothing on the chip to clone.

Common questions

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 mandated under the ESPR (Reg. (EU) 2024/1781).

When does the EU DPP become mandatory?

It phases in from 2027 to 2030. Delegated acts set DPP requirements category by category; batteries apply from 18 February 2027, with textiles among the first ESPR product groups.

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 enforceable November 27, 2026.

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 fails 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.

From terms to a plan

Turn the vocabulary into a compliance plan.

A fixed-fee, 14-day Aeroz audit maps your products to DSCSA, the EU Digital Product Passport, and the Battery Passport — with a written gap analysis and no commitment to proceed.

Turnaround
14 days
Engagement
Fixed fee
Deliverable
Written report
Commitment
None to proceed
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