Germany
Germany does not run one EPR system. It runs eight streams under separate laws, and German EPR compliance means knowing which of three registers your products belong in before you sell a unit.
Five streams carry live registration duties as of July 2026. Two more impose partial duties without a register, and textiles are on the way.
Every stream and the law behind it
Each duty sits in its own law, and the law decides what you owe. This is the map as of July 2026.
| Stream | Status | Law |
|---|---|---|
| Packaging | Active since 2019 | VerpackG |
| Electronics | Active | ElektroG |
| Batteries | Active, rebuilt 2025 | BattDG |
| Vehicles | Active since 2002 | AltfahrzeugV |
| Single-use plastics | Active since 2024 | EWKFondsG |
| Fishing gear | Partial, contract-based | Industry agreement |
| Waste oils | Partial, take-back only | AltölV |
| Textiles | Coming by April 2028 | EU directive, German law pending |
The battery rebuild has a hard edge worth pausing on.
Registrations under the old BattG lapsed on 15 January 2026 unless producers proved scheme participation under the BattDG. Lapsing meant a retroactive sales ban.
Which register is yours
Start with packaging, because almost everyone has it: that duty lives in LUCID, the ZSVR's public register. Electronics and batteries sit with stiftung EAR, the federal register for both streams.
Single-use plastics run through DIVID, the Single-Use Plastics Fund's platform. Vehicles have no producer register at all; that duty is a take-back network, not a listing.
A mixed catalogue usually means several registrations. A webshop selling packaged electronics with batteries touches all of LUCID, stiftung EAR and DIVID territory in one shipment.
Who has to comply
The gate is enforced at the marketplace. Since July 2022 platforms may not let unregistered producers sell packaged goods, and since July 2023 the same gatekeeping applies to electronics.
Producers, importers and distance sellers into Germany all count. There is no volume threshold for packaging: the first unit triggers the duty.
The authorised representative rules differ by register, and the contrast matters. LUCID registration is a personal duty you cannot delegate, while stiftung EAR makes a German representative mandatory for foreign producers.
What it costs
The cost has three layers. LUCID registration itself is free, done online with the ZSVR.
The real packaging money is your dual system contract, priced by material and reported volumes. stiftung EAR charges administrative fees per brand and equipment or battery type, and DIVID levies per kilogram by product type.
Skipping it costs more. Fines under the VerpackG reach 100,000 euros for registration failures and 200,000 euros for missing system participation, and the ZSVR has referred over 20,000 suspected cases to enforcement authorities since 2019.
The Pfand is a separate system
The 25 cent deposit on one-way bottles and cans is not EPR, and paying into it does not register anything. It has run since 2003 and was extended to milk drinks in January 2024.
The two systems meet on the same bottle. Deposit-bearing packaging is exempt from dual system participation, but the LUCID registration duty still applies.
What changes from August 2026
The near-term calendar is unusually concrete:
- 12 August 2026: PPWR, the EU packaging regulation, applies directly. Germany's VerpackDG, adopted by the Bundestag in June 2026 and awaiting the final legislative step, is set to replace the VerpackG the same day.
- 31 December 2026: fireworks producers must be registered in DIVID, with the levy applying from January 2027.
- 17 April 2028: textile EPR schemes must be in place under the revised EU waste directive. Germany has not yet published its own implementing law.
Frequently asked questions about German EPR
The common questions, answered.
What is EPR in Germany?
Producer responsibility across eight streams under separate laws, with registration duties in three registers: LUCID for packaging, stiftung EAR for electronics and batteries, DIVID for single-use plastics.
How much does EPR cost in Germany?
Registration in LUCID is free. The real costs are dual system fees priced by material and volume, stiftung EAR administrative fees per brand and type, and DIVID's per-kilogram levy.
What is the German EPR number?
There is no single German EPR number. Each register issues its own registration number, so a producer can hold a LUCID number, a stiftung EAR number and a DIVID registration at the same time.
What happens if I do not register?
Marketplaces must block you, and fines reach 100,000 euros for missing registration and 200,000 euros for missing system participation under the VerpackG.
Is the Pfand the same as EPR?
No. The deposit is a separate return system. Deposit-bearing bottles skip dual system fees, but the producer still registers in LUCID.
What changes in August 2026?
PPWR applies across the EU on 12 August 2026, and Germany's new packaging law, the VerpackDG, is set to replace the VerpackG on the same date.