VerpackDG § 5: Germany’s authorised representative rule

Rechtsstand: 21 September 2026 — the date every statement on this page was checked against the sources below.

Why the section number changed

If you have read about this before, you probably read about § 35 VerpackG. That act is gone. On 12 August 2026 the Verpackungsrecht-Durchführungsgesetz (VerpackDG) replaced the Verpackungsgesetz, and the representative rule moved to § 5. Sources still citing § 35 VerpackG are describing repealed law. The substance is not identical either — the new provision is tied to the PPWR’s producer definition rather than the old national one.

§ 5(1) — what can be delegated at all

„Die nach der Verordnung (EU) 2025/40 sowie nach diesem Gesetz Verpflichteten können Dritte mit der Erfüllung ihrer Pflichten beauftragen; § 22 Satz 2 und 3 des Kreislaufwirtschaftsgesetzes gilt entsprechend. Satz 1 gilt nicht für die Registrierung nach § 6 und nicht für die Abgabe von Datenmeldungen nach § 9.“

Those obliged under Regulation (EU) 2025/40 and under this Act may commission third parties to fulfil their duties … Sentence 1 does not apply to registration under § 6 or to the submission of data reports under § 9.

This paragraph is about ordinary service providers, not representatives. It matters because it sets the baseline: a plain Dritter cannot register you and cannot file your volume reports. Hold that thought for § 5(2), which carves out less.

§ 5(2) — who must appoint one

„Hersteller nach Artikel 45 Absatz 3 Satz 1 der Verordnung (EU) 2025/40, die keine Niederlassung im Bundesgebiet haben, haben ihren Bevollmächtigten für die erweiterte Herstellerverantwortung vor dem erstmaligen Bereitstellen einer Verpackung oder eines verpackten Produkts im Bundesgebiet … mit der Wahrnehmung ihrer Verpflichtungen nach diesem Gesetz, mit Ausnahme der Registrierung nach § 6 zu beauftragen. Hersteller nach Artikel 45 Absatz 3 Satz 2 der Verordnung (EU) 2025/40, die keine Niederlassung im Bundesgebiet haben, haben einen Bevollmächtigten … vor dem erstmaligen Bereitstellen … zu benennen und … zu beauftragen.“

Producers under Article 45(3) sentence 1 of Regulation (EU) 2025/40 who have no establishment in the federal territory must commission their authorised representative for extended producer responsibility, before first making packaging or a packaged product available in the federal territory, with performing their obligations under this Act, with the exception of registration under § 6. Producers under Article 45(3) sentence 2 … must name and commission one …

Four things do the work here:

• Two sentences, two populations. Sentence 1 reaches producers established in another EU member state. Sentence 2 reaches producers established outside the EU. Same duty either way — there is no EU carve-out today.
• „keine Niederlassung im Bundesgebiet“. Establishment, not nationality and not tax status. A German VAT number is not a Niederlassung; a warehouse someone else operates is not yours; a German subsidiary is.
• „vor dem erstmaligen Bereitstellen“. Before the first parcel, not after the first letter.
• „mit Ausnahme der Registrierung nach § 6“. Everything under the Act moves except registration.

§ 5(3) — the legal position the representative takes

„Der Bevollmächtigte für die erweiterte Herstellerverantwortung gilt im Hinblick auf die wahrzunehmenden Verpflichtungen als Hersteller im Sinne dieses Gesetzes. Die Aufgabenerfüllung durch den Bevollmächtigten … erfolgt im eigenen Namen.“

With regard to the obligations to be performed, the authorised representative counts as the producer within the meaning of this Act. The representative performs those tasks in its own name.

This is the paragraph that separates representation from consultancy. The representative does not help you comply — for the obligations it accepts it is the producer in law, and it contracts and files as principal. If an offer leaves the duties with you and sells assistance, § 5(3) is not what you bought.

It is also why we read the § 9 reports as moving with the mandate: § 5(2) excludes only § 6, and a party acting as the producer in its own name is the party that files. That is a reading of how (1), (2) and (3) fit together, not a sentence you will find in the Act.

§ 5(4) — the form of the mandate

„Jeder Hersteller darf nur einen Bevollmächtigten für die erweiterte Herstellerverantwortung beauftragen. Die Beauftragung … hat bei der erstmaligen Bereitstellung … durch eine schriftliche Vollmacht in deutscher Sprache zu erfolgen.“

Each producer may commission only one authorised representative … The appointment must be made by written power of attorney in the German language.

Two hard requirements that disqualify a lot of offers: one representative per producer, not one per stream or per marketplace; and a written German-language document, not a checkbox and not an English-only contract. Where a bilingual version exists, the German text is the binding one.

§ 5(5) — filing it with ZSVR

„Der Hersteller hat den Bevollmächtigten … der Zentralen Stelle Verpackungsregister unverzüglich nach der Beauftragung zu benennen. Die Benennung erfolgt im Rahmen der Registrierung nach § 6 … und bedarf der Bestätigung durch die Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister.“

The producer must name the representative to ZSVR without delay after the appointment. The naming is done as part of the § 6 registration and requires confirmation by ZSVR.

The appointment is not effective when you sign it. It is effective when ZSVR confirms it. § 6(2) no. 2 lists what you upload with your registration: the representative’s name, address and contact details, and the written mandate itself. Since § 13(1) bars you from selling while not properly registered, the gap between signing and confirmation is a real operational window — ask any provider what it is.

§ 5(6) — how it ends

„Wird die Beauftragung … beendet, hat der Hersteller dies der Zentralen Stelle Verpackungsregister unverzüglich mitzuteilen. Die Benennung endet, sobald die Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister das Ende der Beauftragung bestätigt. Die Pflicht des Bevollmächtigten … zur Erfüllung der Herstellerpflichten, die während der Zeit seiner Benennung entstanden sind, bleibt unberührt.“

If the appointment is ended, the producer must notify ZSVR without delay. The naming ends once ZSVR confirms the end of the appointment. The representative’s duty to fulfil producer obligations that arose during its naming is unaffected.

Switching is allowed and the process is symmetrical: notify, wait for confirmation, name the new one. The last sentence is the useful one — obligations that accrued while a representative was named stay with that representative. You do not inherit its backlog by leaving, and a new representative does not inherit it by arriving.

What happens if you ignore it

• § 13(1) — you may not make packaging available while not properly registered under § 6(1), nor while not participating in a system under § 7(1).
• § 13(4) — your fulfilment provider may not act for you, and ZSVR supplies an automated register match so the check is mechanical.
• § 66(3) — administrative fines up to €200,000, €100,000 or €10,000 depending on the breach.
• § 68 — producers already registered before the change have until 12 November 2026 to have a representative named.

Is it about to change?

There is a live EU proposal to suspend the underlying Article 45(3) until 2035, and a German proposal to exempt producers under ten tonnes a year. Neither is law. The status, with dates.

Sources

Every claim above comes from one of these. Primary law and the competent authority first; no provider marketing pages.

• VerpackDG § 5 — read 2026-09-21
• VerpackDG § 6 — read 2026-09-21
• VerpackDG § 7 — read 2026-09-21
• VerpackDG § 9 — read 2026-09-21
• VerpackDG § 13 — read 2026-09-21
• VerpackDG § 66 — read 2026-09-21
• VerpackDG § 68 — read 2026-09-21
• Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (PPWR) — read 2026-09-21
• ZSVR — Bevollmächtigung — read 2026-09-21

About the authorRazvan Toma

Razvan Toma is the founder of EPR Germany Rep and of EPR France Rep, the French sister service. He reads the statutes and the regulator's own guidance directly, and publishes what they say — including when it means telling a visitor they do not need to buy anything.

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