What LUCID is
Sell packaged goods into Germany and LUCID is the first thing you deal with. It is the German packaging EPR register, the public list every producer joins before selling, and the source of the number online marketplaces check.
It is run by the ZSVR, and signing up is free. What you pay for is the collection and recycling, which a separate scheme handles.
Where LUCID sits among Germany's three registers
Germany does not run one register for everything. It runs three, split by what you sell, so a company with a mixed catalogue often signs up in more than one place.
- Packaging goes in LUCID, run by the ZSVR. This register.
- Electronics and batteries go in stiftung ear, a separate register.
- Single-use plastic products go in DIVID, the fund run by the Umweltbundesamt.
LUCID covers your packaging and only your packaging. If you also sell electronics or single-use plastics, each of those is a separate registration somewhere else.
Who runs LUCID and what the ZSVR checks
LUCID is operated by the Stiftung Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister (ZSVR), a federal authority set up with the Packaging Act in 2019. Its job is to keep the market fair, so a company that registers and pays is not undercut by one that skips it.
Three things follow from that. The register is public, so a marketplace, a buyer or a competitor can look up whether a brand is registered.
The ZSVR also reconciles the volumes you declare in LUCID against what the systems report, and flags the gaps. And it publishes the catalogue of which packaging needs system participation, plus the minimum standards for recycling-friendly design that feed into what you pay.
Who has to register
The duty falls on the first company to place packaged goods on the German market, wherever that company is based. If you fill the packaging or ship it to a German buyer, it is you and not your supplier.
A foreign webshop selling directly to German consumers counts as a distance seller, and so does an importer bringing packaged goods across the border. The packaging does not have to be your own design. Filling or shipping in someone else's box still makes you the producer for it.
Registering is two steps not one
Signing up in LUCID takes effect at once, but it is only half of what you owe. The register records who you are. A dual system handles the actual collection and recycling, and that is the part you pay for.
- Create your LUCID account with your company details and a national tax or trade-register ID.
- List every brand name you place on the German market. These show up in the public register.
- Get your LUCID number by email, straight away.
- Sign a system-participation contract with a dual system for your household packaging.
- Report the same volumes to both the dual system and LUCID, where the two are cross-checked.
Your LUCID number
The LUCID number is your proof of registration and the reference marketplaces ask for. Compliance sources describe it as "DE" followed by 13 digits, for example DE1234567890123.
Note: the digit count comes from industry sources and is not stated word-for-word on a ZSVR page, so treat the exact length as indicative.
Selling in from outside Germany
You do not need a German office to register, but there is one step you cannot hand to anyone else. Under the Packaging Act, creating the LUCID entry is a personal duty of the producer.
You can appoint an authorised representative (a Bevollmächtigter under section 35) to take on the other duties, such as system participation and reporting. The registration itself stays with you.
Since July 2022, online marketplaces have to check your LUCID number before they let you list. No valid number, no sale. Amazon and eBay enforce this at account level.
What it costs and when you report
Registration in LUCID costs nothing. The real cost of packaging compliance sits with the dual system you join, not with the register.
A dual system bills you for the household packaging you put on the market, priced by material and weight under eco-modulated tariffs, so heavier or harder-to-recycle materials cost more.
You report your volumes to the system and into LUCID on the same basis. The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) applies from August 2026, and a draft German law (VerpackDG) is expected to carry the existing LUCID structures forward.
German words you will meet
The register and its paperwork are in German. These are the terms that come up most.
- Verpackungsregister LUCID: the packaging register itself.
- Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister (ZSVR): the federal authority that runs LUCID.
- Verpackungsgesetz (VerpackG): the German packaging law.
- Duales System: a dual system, the scheme that collects household packaging.
- Systembeteiligung: system participation, your paid contract with a dual system.
- Bevollmächtigter: an authorised representative who can take on your non-registration duties.
Frequently asked questions about LUCID
Short answers to what producers ask before they register.
Why do Amazon and eBay ask for my LUCID number?
Since July 2022 marketplaces are legally required to verify your LUCID number before listing your products. Without a valid number they have to block the sale, which is why the register is the first thing sellers into Germany are told to sort out.
Do I need a German company to register with LUCID?
No. Any producer can register wherever it is based. But you have to create the entry yourself. Registration cannot be delegated, even to a German representative, though a representative can take on your other duties.
Does LUCID cover electronics or batteries?
No. LUCID is packaging only. Electronics and batteries register with stiftung ear, and single-use plastic products register with DIVID. A mixed catalogue means more than one registration.
What does LUCID registration cost?
Nothing to register. You pay separately through a system-participation contract with a dual system, priced by the material and weight of the packaging you place on the market.