What Safety Information Must an LMT Battery Record Carry?

Safety information for an LMT battery is the set of instructions, warnings and technical safety data that accompany the battery and are reflected in the passport record where Annex XIII requires it. The information covers safe use, charging, storage, handling after damage, and action at end of life, within the scope set by Regulation (EU) 2023/1542. From 18 February 2027, the passport for an LMT battery is the electronic record that sits alongside the physical safety information, and the two sources must agree.

Safety information is not a general guide to riding, traffic rules or vehicle maintenance. The boundary is important because a safety sheet that mixes battery safety with vehicle operation dilutes both messages. Battery safety information should address the battery as a stored energy product: charge it as instructed, store it as instructed, inspect it as instructed, stop use and seek professional assessment after damage, and hand it to the correct collection route at end of life. Each instruction should be traceable to the battery model and, where relevant, to the individual battery record.

What safety fields does the passport structure support?

Annex XIII to Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 organises passport information into access tiers, with public information, information for persons with a legitimate interest, and information for notified bodies and market surveillance authorities. Safety related content appears across those tiers according to its audience: general safety and handling information for users, dismantling and safety measures for repairers and recyclers, and test and conformity evidence for authorities. The tier structure prevents a single safety sheet from being treated as the whole safety record.

A safety check should map each safety item to its tier and its source document. Public safety warnings belong where a user can reach them without special access. Dismantling safety measures belong where a repairer or recycler with a legitimate interest can reach them. Test evidence belongs where an authority can assess it. A safety item placed in the wrong tier is either inaccessible to the actor who needs it or exposed to an actor who should not hold it, and both errors weaken the safety system.

How do charging instructions relate to the record?

Charging instructions are part of the safety information that accompanies the battery, and the passport record supports them by identifying the battery model, chemistry and electrical characteristics that the charger and charging practice must match. The passport does not replace the charger instructions or the vehicle instructions, and a charger should not be selected from passport data alone. The three instruction sets, battery, charger and vehicle, must be read together, and any conflict between them should be resolved before charging, not discovered during charging.

Worked check: a replacement charger is proposed for an e-bike pack. The battery instructions name the charger type, the charger instructions name the battery models covered, and the passport confirms the model and voltage. If any of the three sources disagrees, charging should pause until the disagreement is resolved from the manufacturer information. A passport record that is correct but a charger that is incompatible still presents a safety risk, and the record alone does not remove that risk.

What should happen after damage or abnormal behaviour?

After damage, impact, water ingress, swelling, unusual heat, unusual smell or abnormal charging behaviour, the battery should be taken out of use, kept away from combustible material where safe to do so, and assessed by an independent professional. The passport record should reflect any resulting status change in the fields that later actors rely on, and the damaged battery should not be charged, repaired informally or returned to service on the basis of appearance alone. Appearance is a poor test for internal damage in a sealed pack.

The record treatment of a damage event should be factual and dated: what was observed, when it was observed, what assessment was sought, and what status resulted. Speculation about cause should not be entered as fact in the passport fields. A damage note that records observation and assessment separately preserves the evidence trail, while a note that merges observation with assumed cause can mislead a later repairer or recycler. Safety decisions after damage are professional assessment decisions, and the record should show that assessment was sought.

How is storage safety information presented?

Storage safety information covers temperature, humidity, charge level for storage, separation from combustible material, ventilation and inspection intervals as specified for the battery model. The information should be model specific, because storage guidance that fits one chemistry and construction may not fit another. Seasonal storage, which is common for e-bikes and scooters, makes storage guidance a live safety issue rather than a background note, and the guidance should be available at the point of storage, not only at the point of sale.

A storage check should confirm that the guidance in hand matches the battery model in the passport, that the storage location meets the stated conditions, and that the inspection interval has not passed without inspection. Long storage without inspection should trigger a status check before the battery returns to use. The passport does not monitor storage conditions, and a complete passport does not prove that storage conditions were met. The record and the physical storage history are separate evidence sources.

What safety information do repairers and recyclers need?

Repairers and recyclers with a legitimate interest need dismantling information, safety measures for handling, and information on hazardous substances and critical raw materials, as set out in Annex XIII. That information must be sufficient to allow safe dismantling, safe handling and correct treatment, without exposing restricted commercial detail beyond the access tier. The information should be current for the battery model and, where the individual battery has changed through repair or damage, current for the individual battery as well.

Access discipline is part of safety. A repairer who cannot reach dismantling safety measures may improvise, and a recycler who cannot reach substance information may treat the battery incorrectly. A system that grants access too broadly exposes restricted data, while a system that grants access too narrowly creates a safety gap. Access grants should be reviewed when roles change, when a repairer or recycler relationship ends, and when the battery changes life stage. Access review is a safety control, not only an administrative control.

What are the limits of passport safety information?

Passport safety information is limited to the fields and tiers defined in Annex XIII and any applicable implementing or delegated act. It does not cover vehicle roadworthiness, rider protective equipment, traffic law or general electrical installation work. A reader who treats the passport as a complete safety manual for the vehicle will miss vehicle level safety duties, and a reader who treats a vehicle manual as a substitute for battery safety information will miss battery level duties. Both documents are needed, and each should be checked against the battery model in hand.

As checked on 28 October 2026, safety testing and performance documentation duties for LMT batteries are set in the Regulation with further detail in harmonised standards and delegated acts where applicable. A safety record prepared from the Regulation text alone should be marked with its review date. This guide gives general educational information only and is not individual legal advice. A reader with a specific battery or market decision should check the current Regulation text and any applicable delegated act, as checked on 28 October 2026, before acting.

This guide gives general educational information only and is not individual legal advice. A reader with a specific battery or market decision should check the current Regulation text and any applicable delegated act, as checked on 28 October 2026, before acting. Safety information earns trust when the user instruction, the passport field and the physical battery agree, and when a damage event produces assessment rather than continued use.