Operator changes and succession: preserving passport records when a business changes hands

Operator changes happen when a business is sold, a brand is transferred, a manufacturer ceases trading, an importer is replaced, or a model is acquired by a new operator. Succession is the process by which responsibility for a battery model, its technical documentation, its declaration and its passport record passes from one operator to another. Succession is not automatic. A new operator does not become responsible by acquiring a brand name alone, and a former operator does not cease to be responsible for units already placed by a sale alone.

The record must show the succession, with dates, so that a reader can tell who was responsible when a unit was placed, who is responsible now, and where the evidence is held.

What transfers on succession?

On succession, the model record, the technical documentation, the declaration of conformity, the test evidence, the supplier evidence, and the passport system data for the model should transfer to the successor, together with the right to maintain and correct the record. The transfer should be recorded in a succession note that states the former operator, the successor, the models covered, the effective date, and the location of the evidence after transfer. Units placed before the effective date remain linked to the former operator for the placing act, with the successor shown as the current record maintainer where the system provides for that distinction. Units placed after the effective date are placed by the successor, where the successor is the placing operator, and the record should show the successor as the placing operator for those units. A succession that transfers the brand but not the documentation leaves the successor unable to maintain the record, and the record will decay from the effective date onward.

What happens when an operator ceases trading?

When an operator ceases trading, the record and evidence risk being lost. The operator, its insolvency practitioner, or its successor should preserve the technical documentation, the declaration and the passport data for the retention period the Regulation requires, and should ensure that the record remains accessible through the data carrier for batteries already placed. Where preservation is not possible through the former operator, the record system provider, the new brand owner, or another actor in the chain may need to preserve access, under arrangements made before cessation where possible. A record that becomes inaccessible because the hosting system was switched off on cessation is a record failure for every battery already placed, even though the batteries themselves are unchanged. Planning for cessation is part of record stewardship, and the succession note should state the preservation arrangement in place at the time of the change.

How is a change of importer handled?

A change of importer is a change in the Union gatekeeper for imported batteries, not necessarily a change in the manufacturer or the model. The new importer must perform the Article 41 check for consignments it places, must add its own identification to batteries it places, and must keep the declaration and documentation available for those consignments. The passport record for units placed by the former importer remains linked to the former importer for the placing act, and the record for units placed by the new importer links to the new importer. A single model record can therefore have units with different placing operators, and the unit history should show which operator placed each unit. A record that overwrites the importer for all units on a change of importer misstates the placing history for earlier units. The model layer stays common. The placing operator is a unit level fact.

What does the succession table illustrate?

How are succession gaps avoided?

Succession gaps are avoided by planning the transfer before the effective date, by listing every model, every evidence set and every system access that must transfer, and by testing the transfer: scanning a sample of units, checking that the record resolves, checking that the declaration can be retrieved, and checking that corrections can be made by the successor. A transfer tested only by a file list, without a scan and retrieval test, may transfer files that cannot be used. A transfer that omits system access, such as resolver or hosting credentials held in a secure system, may transfer data without the ability to maintain it. The test should be recorded with the succession note, so that a later reader can see that the transfer was verified, not merely asserted.

What limits apply to succession claims?

A succession note states who maintains the record now and who placed units in the past. It does not state that the successor guarantees the earlier placing, that earlier batteries are compliant, or that the successor holds evidence it has not in fact received. Where evidence has not transferred, the note should state the gap. This guide gives general educational information only and does not give legal advice for a particular sale, succession or transaction.