German EPR guides for foreign sellers
Sourced, dated answers to the questions companies ask when selling into Germany.
Do you need a German EPR representative?
Who counts as a producer (Hersteller) in Germany, when a company with no German establishment must appoint an authorised representative (Bevollmächtigter), and worked examples.
Read the guide →6 October 2026Do EU micro and small companies still need a German EPR authorised representative after the 5 October 2026 PPWR vote?
Yes, today. On 5 October 2026 the European Parliament's environment committee backed a proposed suspension of the PPWR authorised-representative duty for EU micro and small companies. It is not law. What was voted, what still has to happen, and what to do now.
Read the guide →RolesErzeuger or Hersteller: who owns the shipping box?
The PPWR splits packaging responsibility into two roles. What each one means, how ZSVR's two-step test works, and where marketplaces and fulfilment providers sit.
Read the guide →ChoosingCan an EPR software platform be your German representative?
EU-wide EPR software can do most of the work, but the Bevollmächtigter itself must be established in Germany. What VerpackDG § 5 and ZSVR require, and the five questions to ask before you buy.
Read the guide →Choosing a providerHow to choose a German EPR representative
No authority ranks Bevollmächtigte. What exists is a statutory test that disqualifies offers, five checks that actually separate providers, and published prices.
Read the guide →CostsHow much German EPR compliance costs
German packaging EPR has three separate cost layers. What sits in each, which one is unavoidable, and where published numbers exist — and where they do not.
Read the guide →The lawVerpackDG § 5: Germany’s authorised representative rule
The German rule requiring foreign producers to appoint a Bevollmächtigter, quoted in full with an English translation, paragraph by paragraph.
Read the guide →ScopeWho is the producer in Germany? 18 sales scenarios
A decision table: for each way goods reach Germany, who counts as the Hersteller, whether a Bevollmächtigter is needed, and the reason.
Read the guide →How toLUCID registration, step by step
How a company outside Germany registers in the German packaging register LUCID and names its authorised representative: each screen, the two time limits, and what to enter when you have no tax number yet.
Read the guide →How toHow to work out your packaging weights for Germany
How a small online shop works out its packaging weights for Germany: which parts of a parcel count, the eight material groups the register uses, and a ten-minute method with kitchen scales.
Read the guide →CostsHow to lower your German packaging licence fees
German dual-system licence fees are charged per kilogram by material, and plastic costs roughly four to five times as much as paper. What that means for tape, filling and mailers, and when it makes no difference at all.
Read the guide →ScopeSelling to both Germany and France
Germany and France each require their own authorised representative, register and fees. What a seller shipping to both countries has to do twice, what can be done once, and how to cover both with one provider.
Read the guide →UK sellersSelling from the UK to Germany: your authorised representative
A UK company shipping packaged goods to German consumers needs an authorised representative established in Germany. The steps, what you sign, what happens to an existing licence, and what it costs.
Read the guide →Each guide is written from the statute (VerpackDG, Regulation (EU) 2025/40) or from the Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister, the competent authority for the German packaging register — never from another provider’s marketing page. Every page carries the date it was checked. The sourced numbers live in the open datasets.
Selling into Germany from abroad?
Your German authorised representative from €149 a year: help with your LUCID registration, dual-system contract and annual report included. No setup fee.