What Is the EU EPREL Database? A Consumer Guide to Europe's Product Registry

If you've ever wondered where RepairScore gets its data from, or why some products have an EU energy label with a repairability score while others don't, the answer starts with EPREL. The EU Energy Product Registry for Energy Labelling (EPREL) is the official European Commission database that underpins energy labels, repairability indices, and product compliance data for millions of products sold in the EU.

What Is EPREL?

EPREL stands for European Product Registry for Energy Labelling. It is a public database maintained by the European Commission under Regulation (EU) 2017/1369. Every manufacturer, brand owner, or importer that places energy-related products on the EU market must register those products in EPREL before they can be sold.

The database is publicly accessible at eprel.ec.europa.eu. Any consumer, journalist, regulator, or researcher can look up any registered product, see its official energy performance data, download its product information sheet, and, for appliances regulated under specific Ecodesign rules, view its repair and availability index.

What Products Are Registered in EPREL?

EPREL registration is mandatory for products covered by EU energy labelling requirements. This includes most products that display the A-to-G EU energy label in stores. Currently registered categories include:

What Is the EPREL Repair and Availability Index?

For appliances covered by the 2019 Ecodesign Regulation (EU) 2019/2021 and related regulations, EPREL includes a Repair and Availability Index, a numerical score from 0 to 10 that measures how repairable a product is and how available spare parts are. This is one of the official inputs RepairScore uses when calculating its 0–100 repairability score.

The Repair and Availability Index is set by the manufacturer and must reflect actual conditions: spare parts must be available at reasonable prices within a defined number of days, repair documentation must be accessible to professional repairers, and the manufacturer cannot use software to block independent repair. False declarations are a compliance violation.

How to Look Up a Product in EPREL

The EPREL database is free to use and requires no account. Here's how to find a specific product:

1. Go to eprel.ec.europa.eu
2. Click 'Search' in the top navigation
3. Select the product category (e.g., 'Washing machines and washer-dryers')
4. Enter the brand name and model number, you can find both on the product label or in the manual
5. Click on the matching product entry to see its full data sheet
6. Look for 'Repair and Availability Index' in the product information sheet for repairability data

If a product isn't listed in EPREL, it may have been sold before EPREL registration was mandatory for its category, or it may be from a category not yet included. Products without EPREL data can still receive a RepairScore, we use other data sources (iFixit teardowns, community repair records, parts availability) to fill the gap.

EPREL and the EU Right to Repair Directive

The EU Right to Repair Directive (Directive 2024/1799) builds on the same product categories that EPREL covers. From July 31, 2026, manufacturers of covered products must meet stronger obligations, not just declaring repair data in EPREL, but actively enabling repair: providing spare parts at fair prices for at least 5–10 years, publishing repair manuals in accessible formats, and prohibiting software-based repair blocks.

EPREL is expected to expand under the EU's Sustainable Product Regulation (ESPR), which will eventually cover hundreds of additional product categories beyond the current scope. This means more products will have standardised repairability data publicly available, and RepairScore will integrate that data as it becomes available.

EPREL vs. Other Repairability Databases

EPREL is not the only database that tracks product repairability, but it is the only official, mandatory EU registry. Here's how it compares to other sources RepairScore uses:

The French Repairability Index (indice de réparabilité) was the first mandatory repairability score in Europe, launched in France in January 2021. It covers smartphones, laptops, TVs, lawnmowers, and washing machines. The EU Right to Repair Directive effectively supersedes it at EU level from 2026, harmonising repairability standards across all 27 member states.

Why Manufacturers Don't Always Love EPREL

EPREL creates transparency that some manufacturers find uncomfortable. A low Repair and Availability Index score is publicly visible to any consumer, competitor, or regulator. Products with low scores face reputational risk and are less likely to rank highly on platforms like RepairScore.

This creates an incentive to game the system: declare a high Repair and Availability Index, then make spare parts hard to obtain in practice, charge excessive prices, or delay delivery beyond the declared timeframes. EU market surveillance authorities in each member state are responsible for spot-checking manufacturer claims, but enforcement resources vary significantly across the EU.

How RepairScore Uses EPREL Data

RepairScore queries the EPREL API to retrieve the Repair and Availability Index for each registered product. We supplement this with four additional data sources, iFixit teardown scores (25%), spare parts availability signals (20%), Open Repair Data community records (15%), and product age (10%), to produce a composite 0–100 score.

When a product has no EPREL entry (typically because the product category isn't yet mandated), we redistribute that 30% weight proportionally across the remaining four factors. The result is a score that's still meaningful and comparable, even without official EPREL data.

Frequently Asked Questions About EPREL

Is EPREL the same as the EU energy label?

No, but they are closely related. The EU energy label (the A-to-G sticker you see in stores and on product listings) displays a summary of the energy performance data that manufacturers register in EPREL. EPREL is the underlying database; the energy label is the consumer-facing output.

Does every product sold in the EU have to be in EPREL?

No. Only products covered by EU energy labelling regulations must be registered. These are products that display the A-to-G energy label. Many product categories, including clothing, furniture, and most non-electrical goods, are not in EPREL.

Can I download EPREL data?

Yes. The European Commission provides an EPREL API and bulk data export functionality. Researchers, developers, and platforms like RepairScore use the API to integrate EPREL product data into their tools. The data is published under an open data licence.

What happens if a manufacturer provides false data in EPREL?

It's a regulatory violation. EU market surveillance authorities can investigate, issue corrective orders, and refer cases to national courts. The Energy Labelling Regulation includes provisions for fines and product withdrawal. With the Right to Repair Directive in force from July 2026, the stakes for false repairability declarations rise further.

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