Rechtsstand: 21 September 2026 — the date every statement on this page was checked against the sources below.
§ 5 VerpackDG is the German provision that requires a producer with no establishment in Germany to appoint an authorised representative. It implements Article 45(3) of Regulation (EU) 2025/40 and has applied since 12 August 2026, the day the Verpackungsrecht-Durchführungsgesetz replaced the Verpackungsgesetz. Six paragraphs: what can be delegated at all, who must appoint, what legal position the representative holds, the form of the mandate, how it is filed with ZSVR, and how it ends. Quoted in full below, with a translation and what each one means in practice. Sources (6)
VerpackDG § 6VerpackDG § 6VerpackDG § 7VerpackDG § 7VerpackDG § 9VerpackDG § 9VerpackDG § 13VerpackDG § 13VerpackDG § 66VerpackDG § 66VerpackDG § 68VerpackDG § 68
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 Sources still citing § 35 VerpackG are describing repealed law.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. 
Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (PPW 
ZSVR
§ 5(1) — what can be delegated at all
Original (German)„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.“English translation (ours)“Those obliged under Regulation (EU) 2025/40 and under this Act may commission third parties to fulfil their obligations; § 22 sentences 2 and 3 of the Circular Economy Act apply accordingly. Sentence 1 does not apply to registration under § 6 or to the submission of data reports under § 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
Original (German)„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.“English translation (ours)“Producers under Article 45(3), first sentence, of Regulation (EU) 2025/40 that have no establishment in Germany must, before first making available packaging or a packaged product in Germany …, mandate their authorised representative for extended producer responsibility to perform their obligations under this Act, with the exception of registration under § 6. Producers under Article 45(3), second sentence, of Regulation (EU) 2025/40 that have no establishment in Germany must name and … mandate an authorised representative … before first making available ….”
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“ (“no establishment in Germany”). 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 first making available”). Before the first parcel, not after the first letter.
- „mit Ausnahme der Registrierung nach § 6“ (“with the exception of registration under § 6”). Everything under the Act moves except registration.
§ 5(3) — the legal position the representative takes
Original (German)„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.“English translation (ours)“With regard to the obligations it performs, the authorised representative for extended producer responsibility is deemed to be the producer within the meaning of this Act. The authorised representative … performs these tasks in its own name.”
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
Original (German)„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.“English translation (ours)“Each producer may mandate only one authorised representative for extended producer responsibility. The mandate … must be given, when first making available …, by a written power of attorney in the German language.”
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
Original (German)„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.“English translation (ours)“The producer must name the authorised representative … to the Central Agency Packaging Register without undue delay after the mandate. The naming takes place as part of the registration under § 6 … and requires confirmation by the Central Agency Packaging Register.”
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
Original (German)„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.“English translation (ours)“If the mandate … is ended, the producer must notify the Central Agency Packaging Register without undue delay. The naming ends as soon as the Central Agency Packaging Register confirms the end of the mandate. The authorised representative's duty … to fulfil the producer obligations that arose during the period of its naming remains unaffected.”
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.
Small sellers: is the representative mandatory?
Yes. § 5(2) VerpackDG has no tonnage, turnover or parcel threshold. A small shop sending a few parcels a month to German consumers needs a representative from the first parcel, if it has no establishment in Germany. ZSVR states that an exemption is not possible. The duty has applied since 12 August 2026; the 12 November 2026 date in § 68(2) only concerns updating existing LUCID registrations. VerpackDG § 5
Importer or foreign seller: who is the producer?
| Sales route | Producer in Germany | Representative needed |
|---|---|---|
| You ship from abroad to German consumers | You | Yes |
| A German importer buys from you and resells | The importer | No, for that flow |
| Both: your own shop and a German reseller | You for your direct sales, the reseller for its sales | Yes, for your direct sales |
| Amazon FBA stock in a German warehouse | You: a warehouse is not your establishment | Yes |
Razvan Toma is the founder of EPR Germany Rep and of EPR France Rep, the French sister service. He has worked in waste management and recycling since 2009, running waste-separation programmes inside large B2B organisations in France for clients including Chanel, Microsoft, Decathlon, Pirelli, IKEA, Vinci, Capgemini and E.Leclerc. 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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