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# Module 1: What a Digital Product Passport Actually Is

> The first module of the free tieback Academy DPP Foundations path: the legal definition of a Digital Product Passport, what it is not, the four layers, and how a scan reaches a record.

## Overview

Most Digital Product Passport programmes go wrong in their first fortnight, and almost always for
the same reason: everyone in the room is using the word "passport" to mean something slightly
different. One person means a QR code. Another means a landing page. A third means a compliance
document. They agree on a plan, and the plan is incoherent before it starts.

This module fixes the vocabulary. It is deliberately the narrowest module in the path: it does not
ask whether you are in scope, what data you need or when the deadline lands. It establishes what
the object under discussion actually is, so that everything after it has something firm to attach
to.

**Estimated completion time: 45 minutes.** Four lessons of 9, 8, 9 and 9 minutes, plus a ten
question assessment of about 10 minutes.

## Learning Objectives

#### Module learning objectives

Every objective is tested. Each assessment question is tagged to one of the five.

## Lesson Sequence

Then take the [module assessment](/docs/academy/foundations/module-1/assessment).

## Canonical Reading

This module teaches from one canonical article. The article is the authoritative text and remains
free and open to everyone:

* [What is a Digital Product Passport?](/docs/knowledge-base/digital-product-passports/what-is-a-digital-product-passport)

The lessons add sequence, framing, examples and practice. They do not restate the regulatory
content, and they never introduce a date, article number or citation that is not in the source
article.

## Framework Used

**TBF-001, The Four Layers of a Digital Product Passport.** Introduced in Lesson 3 and applied in
Lesson 4. The framework separates a passport into regulatory, governance, information and
technology layers so a programme can see which layer it has actually built. Full description in the
[framework registry](/docs/knowledge-base/frameworks/overview).

## The Running Case Product

Every Foundations module uses one product so the examples accumulate rather than reset.

**The Aurelia S2 cordless hedge trimmer.** A mid-price consumer power tool with a removable
lithium-ion battery pack, a moulded polymer housing, and a woven textile shoulder strap. It is
manufactured under contract in Vietnam, imported into the EU by the brand owner's Dutch entity, and
sold through both retail and direct channels. It touches three different regulatory regimes at
once, which is exactly why it is useful.

## Completion

The module is complete when all four lessons are marked complete and the assessment is passed at
the Foundations pass mark of 80 percent. Retakes are unlimited and your best score is kept.
Progress is saved on this device.

## Next Step

After the assessment, [Module 2: Whether It Applies to You](/docs/academy/foundations/module-2)
takes the question you will be asked immediately after you explain any of this internally: does it
actually apply to us. It covers value chain roles, who carries which duty, how to read scope
without guessing, and the data you do not hold.

## Related Docs

* [Lesson 1: What a Passport Is in Law](/docs/academy/foundations/module-1/lesson-1)
* [Module 1 assessment](/docs/academy/foundations/module-1/assessment)
* [Module 2: Whether It Applies to You](/docs/academy/foundations/module-2)
* [DPP Foundations](/docs/academy/foundations)
* [What is a Digital Product Passport?](/docs/knowledge-base/digital-product-passports/what-is-a-digital-product-passport)