Define the German transaction
Direct consumer sale, professional end user, marketplace, German importer, reseller, private label, fulfilment or direct e-commerce.
Input:
transaction facts
Germany Packaging EPR · PPWR 2026
Germany EPR Authorized Representative & Packaging Compliance LUCID. German AR. Dual System. Marketplace Proof.
Germany now combines the directly applicable PPWR with the new Verpackungsrecht-Durchführungsgesetz — VerpackDG. For foreign direct sellers, compliance can require a Germany-established EPR Authorised Representative, personal Producer registration in LUCID, system participation, matching packaging-volume reports and verifiable marketplace evidence.
LUCID · Article 44 Register
ZSVR
German EPR AR
10 Dual Systems
SUP Fund · DIVID
DPG · €0.25 Deposit
Marketplace Verification
The Germany route
What does a foreign SME actually have to do before selling packaged goods in Germany?
Germany requires the Producer, representative, register, recycling system and evidence chain to agree with one another.
Producer → AR → LUCID → Dual System → Report.
You supply the legal entity, establishment, German sales route, packaging type, materials, weights and brand names. We determine the PPWR Producer, route the German AR requirement, support the personal LUCID registration, compare dual systems, calculate regulatory cash and maintain marketplace-ready evidence.
Determine the PPWR Producer
Manufacturer, branded principal, importer, distributor and foreign direct seller can produce different answers.
Output:
German Producer position
German AR + LUCID
Foreign direct sellers without a German branch appoint a German EPR AR. The Producer still performs its own LUCID registration.
Output:
valid registration route
Select a dual system
Determine system-participation scope, request current operator pricing, compare contracts and fund the selected system.
Output:
financed recycling route
Data → payment → proof
Operator quantities and LUCID quantities remain aligned, while AR, SUP, DPG and marketplace evidence stay in the same file.
Output:
recurring Germany file
No German branch → German EPR AR.
From 12 August 2026, a foreign company directly supplying empty packaging or packaged products to German end users must appoint a Germany-established authorised representative.
The AR cannot register the Producer in LUCID.
Registration remains the Producer's personal statutory obligation. Once the appointment is effective, the AR handles the other delegated EPR operations.
No registration or system participation can mean no lawful sale.
VerpackDG §13 prohibits relevant market activity when registration or required system participation is missing.
First understand the German names
Eight terms. Eight different compliance functions.
Extended Producer Responsibility
Erweiterte Herstellerverantwortung
The financial and organisational responsibility attached to packaging after it becomes waste.
EPR Authorised Representative
Bevollmächtigter
Germany-established external representative appointed by a foreign Producer under the PPWR / VerpackDG route.
Packaging Register
Verpackungsregister LUCID
Germany's official Producer Register administered by ZSVR and designated for PPWR Article 44 registration.
Register authority
Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister
The German authority operating LUCID, checking data, publishing the Producer Register and performing central VerpackDG tasks.
Dual system
Systembetreiber
A licensed private operator through which system-participation packaging finances nationwide collection and recycling.
System participation
Systembeteiligung
The private-law contract under which a Producer pays for recycling of relevant packaging.
Single-use plastics levy
Einwegkunststoffabgabe
Separate statutory levy administered by the Umweltbundesamt through the Single-Use Plastic Fund.
One-way beverage deposit
Einwegpfandsystem
Germany's nationwide deposit-return infrastructure for covered single-use beverage packaging.
German EPR compliance is not the same as PPWR technical conformity.
This page principally operates Producer responsibility under Chapter VIII: Producer, AR, registration, system participation, reporting, regulatory payments and evidence. PPWR technical documentation, Declaration of Conformity, recyclability and material-design requirements remain separate legal layers.