Completeness, validation, and your responsibility for accuracy

What completeness measures

The percentage in the editor header is simple: of the fields required to publish, how many are done? A field counts as done when it has a value and that value passes validation — a GTIN with a typo doesn't count even though the field isn't empty. At 100% the meter reads Ready to publish.

Optional fields don't affect the percentage. Neither do advisories (more on those below); only error-level problems hold a field back.

What validation checks

Validation runs continuously as you type, in three layers:

1. Required fields are present. Every field marked To publish must have a value. GTIN is a special case: optional while drafting, required the moment you publish. The Review step lists anything still missing.

2. Values are well-formed. Each field type has format rules, checked the moment a value is entered:

• GTIN — must be 8, 12, 13, or 14 digits and pass the GS1 check-digit test. A wrong check digit gets a specific suggestion, "Invalid check digit. Did you mean ...?", with the corrected number filled in.
• EORI number — 2 country letters followed by up to 15 alphanumeric characters.
• Country fields — picked from the country list, stored as a 2-letter country code.
• Emails, URLs, dates, numbers — structurally valid, with minimum/maximum bounds where they apply.
• Care symbols — must be recognized ISO 3758 symbols.

3. Fields agree with each other. Cross-field rules catch data that is individually fine but collectively wrong:

• Material composition must sum to 100% (a tolerance of ±0.5% allows for rounding). Every entry needs both a fiber and a percentage, and any recycled share must be between 0 and 100%.
• Carbon footprint needs its unit — a footprint value without a unit is incomplete.
• PFAS declaration vs substances list — if your declaration says "no intentionally added PFAS" while a PFAS-family substance appears under Substances of Concern, the contradiction is flagged so you can align the two.
• Manufacturing country vs EU-established operator — a product made outside the EU with neither an EU responsible person nor an EU importer named gets an advisory, not an error: naming either one clears it, and it never holds up publishing.

Errors vs advisories

Issues come in two severities, and the distinction matters:

• Errors block publishing. Missing required fields, format failures, and composition sums are errors; the Publish button stays disabled until they're fixed.
• Advisories don't block anything. They flag things worth a second look:
  • Environmental-claim wording that may need substantiation under the EU's green claims rules.
  • A carbon footprint without a stated calculation basis — the number is there, the method behind it isn't.
  • The PFAS contradiction above.
  • No EU-established operator named — when the manufacturing country is outside the EU and neither EU responsible person nor EU importer is filled in. A product placed on the EU market needs an operator established in the Union standing behind it, and either field names one; the importer counts because EU product law lets the importer be that operator when the manufacturer isn't established in the Union. Filling in either one clears the advisory. It is an advisory rather than an error because the arrangement is something you make outside PassportCraft — the field is free text, so we can record who you named, not verify that anyone was appointed.

The Review step lists advisories separately from errors, under a heading that counts them: "3 advisories" with an information icon. When every advisory in the list is a claim-wording one, the heading changes to "3 suggestions for your environmental claims" with a leaf icon instead. Either way, clicking the heading expands each item to a one-line summary, and Learn more opens the full explanation.

Some advisories come with an assist: fields with claim-language advisories show a Suggest compliant wording button that proposes rewrites of your own text for you to review and apply — or ignore. Others, like the EU-operator one, just point at a field to fill. More on the editor's assists in The passport editor.

What you're responsible for

This is the part worth reading slowly, because it defines the line between what PassportCraft does and what only you can do.

PassportCraft validates form, not facts. The checks above can tell you that your composition sums to 100%, but not that your shirt is actually 95% cotton. They can tell you a GTIN is structurally valid, but not that it's the GTIN assigned to this product. They can tell you a certificate file uploaded successfully, but not that the certificate is genuine or current. The factual accuracy of every value, document, and claim in your passport is your responsibility as the seller, and publishing doesn't transfer it.

In practice, that means:

• You vouch for your data. Fibre percentages, countries of origin, carbon figures, substance declarations — enter what you can stand behind, and keep the evidence (supplier declarations, test reports, certificates) that backs it up.
• Environmental claims need substantiation you hold. If your passport contains environmental claims, publishing asks you to confirm exactly that: a dialog titled "Confirm your environmental claims" where you confirm you're responsible for their accuracy and lawfulness and hold the substantiation for them.
• AI suggestions wait for your review. Every AI assist in the editor generates suggestions from your own content, and nothing is applied until you review and accept it. Applying a suggestion makes it your statement — the same responsibility attaches to it as to anything you typed yourself.
• Guidance is not legal advice. The explanations in the editor (advisory messages, the "Explain what's missing" panel) are there to help you fill fields correctly. For questions about your specific legal obligations, talk to a qualified adviser.

Where you'll see all this

• The completeness bar in the editor header, with per-step counts in the bottom bar.
• Inline messages on each field the moment a value fails a check — validation reruns as you type.
• The Review & publish step, which lists missing fields with jump links and shows advisories separately.

If something is blocking you and you can't tell what, Why can't I publish my passport? walks through every blocker in order.