Germany
Before you can sell a vehicle in Germany
There is no portal to log into. End-of-life vehicles EPR in Germany runs on the AltfahrzeugV, in force since 2002, and it created no producer register, no producer reports and no fee to pay.
What the law demands instead is measured in kilometres. Across EPR in Germany most duties live in one of three registers, and vehicles are one of the two active streams with no register at all. Compliance here means running a take-back network for your own brand.
Does German vehicle EPR apply to you
The AltfahrzeugV points at whoever brings the brand to the German market:
- You manufacture vehicles sold in Germany.
- You professionally import a vehicle brand, which puts the take-back duty on you.
- You only trade parts or used cars, which keeps you outside the producer role.
Your take-back duties in Germany
The network rule is concrete. No last holder may live more than 50 kilometres from a take-back point for your brand, and you must point last owners to a suitable one.
At the end of the chain the vehicle reaches an authorised treatment facility and the last holder receives a certificate of destruction. Without that certificate the car cannot be de-registered.
One part of the vehicle answers to a different law. Batteries in Germany run their own register, and starter batteries carry a deposit regime of their own.
What you pay and to whom in Germany
Nothing register-shaped. There is no registration fee, no scheme contribution and no eco-modulated tariff. The money goes into the network itself, into keeping take-back points within reach and taking every own-brand vehicle back without charging for it.
Skipping that duty is where the bill arrives. Failing to take a vehicle back, or doing it incorrectly, is an administrative offence with fines up to 100,000 euros, and documentation offences reach 10,000 euros.
The dates ahead for vehicles in Germany
The recovery targets are already old law. Since 2015 at least 95 percent of vehicle weight must be reused or recovered, and at least 85 percent reused or recycled.
The bigger date is pending. The new EU ELV Regulation passed the European Parliament on 18 June 2026 and now awaits Council approval, putting a visible clock on the register-free German setup.
Until it lands, the 2000 directive and the AltfahrzeugV stay the rulebook for end-of-life vehicles in Germany.
Questions sellers ask about vehicle EPR in Germany
The short answers for the German market.
Who has to register for end-of-life vehicles EPR in Germany?
No one, because no producer register exists for vehicles in Germany. The duty is physical: manufacturers and professional importers run free take-back networks instead of filing registrations.
Is there a threshold or exemption for small producers?
No. The duty attaches to vehicle manufacturers and professional importers of a brand, and it applies to every own-brand vehicle. Parts dealers and used-car sellers are not the vehicle's producer.
Do foreign or online sellers need an authorised representative in Germany?
There is no authorised representative mechanism for this stream, because there is no register to appoint anyone into. The professional importer of a brand carries the take-back duty in Germany.
What happens if I sell without registering?
Nothing can go wrong at that step, since there is nothing to register. The offence that matters is refusing or botching a take-back, which carries fines up to 100,000 euros.
What changes next for end-of-life vehicles EPR in Germany?
The new EU ELV Regulation passed the European Parliament on 18 June 2026 and awaits formal Council approval. Until it applies, the 2000 directive and the AltfahrzeugV remain in force.
