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Register of packaging producers: EPR registration under the PPWR (Article 44)

Methodology: Marek Galetka, founder of Pravano. English translation of our Czech article, which a person approved before publication; every number, date and legal reference of the translation is checked automatically against the original.

Cross-checked as of 5 October 2026 · based on primary sources

Updated 5 October 2026. Based on Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (PPWR). An informative readiness check, not a legal service or an official audit. Original: česká verze.

Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste (PPWR) introduces an obligation to register in the national registers of producers in every Member State where you are a producer – i.e. where you make packaging or packaged products available for the first time (in a state other than the one where you are established, only when supplying directly to end users). This obligation also applies to small online shops and microenterprises – and it applies to each country of supply separately. At the same time, the phase-in needs to be understood: each Member State will set up its national register within eighteen months from the date of entry into force of the first implementing act under Article 44(14) (Article 44(1)), and the Commission was to adopt that act by 12 February 2026. Check with the source whether it has already been published and whether the register in the state you supply is open. This article explains exactly what Article 44 of the PPWR requires, how to prepare and where to register.

General information, not individual legal advice. To assess the specific situation of your company, we recommend a quick check.

What EPR registration is and why it concerns you

EPR (extended producer responsibility) registration is the obligation of every packaging “producer” under Article 44(2) to register in the national register in every Member State on whose territory it makes packaging or a packaged product available for the first time.

The producer is defined in Article 3(1), point 15, and it is essential not to equate it with the manufacturer under point 13. A producer is any manufacturer, importer or distributor that meets one of the conditions in points (a) to (e): either it is established in a Member State and makes packaging or packaged products available for the first time from within and on the territory of that same state, or it makes packaging or packaged products available for the first time on the territory of another Member State directly to end users, or it unpacks packaged products without being the end user. If, as an online shop, you supply goods directly to customers in Germany, Poland and Slovakia, you are a producer in three states and must register three times – each state keeps its own register. If you mandate a producer responsibility organisation to fulfil the extended producer responsibility obligations, that organisation fulfils the obligations under Article 44, unless the Member State provides otherwise (Article 44(2), second sentence).

Under Article 71, the PPWR applies in full from 12 August 2026; the only exception is Article 67(5), which applies from 12 February 2029. EPR registration is part of this framework, but in Article 44(1) the setting up of the national registers is tied to an implementing act of the Commission – see below.

Who is a “producer” under Article 44 of the PPWR

Under Article 3(1), point 15, a producer is a manufacturer, importer or distributor that makes packaging or a packaged product available for the first time on the territory of a Member State, or unpacks a packaged product without being the end user – regardless of the size of the company.

Specifically, this means:

• A Czech online shop selling to Germany through its own website or a marketplace: it is a producer in Germany under point (d), because it makes packaged products available there for the first time directly to end users.
• An importer of goods from Asia who sells under its own brand in the Czech Republic: it is a producer in the Czech Republic and, under Article 21, is at the same time considered a manufacturer, because it places the packaging on the market under its own name or trademark.
• A distributor that modifies packaging in a way capable of affecting compliance with the requirements of the regulation: it becomes a manufacturer under Article 21. Independently of that, it is a producer (with the registration obligation under Article 44) where it makes the packaging or packaged product available for the first time under Article 3(1), point 15 – in a Member State other than the one where it is established, only when supplying directly to end users.

Microenterprises are not exempt

Article 44 of the PPWR contains no exemption for microenterprises. Unlike Article 25 – the ban on certain packaging formats from 1 January 2030, where a Member State may allow microenterprises to place on the market the formats under point 3 of Annex V if it has been demonstrated that it is not technically feasible to avoid using such packaging or to gain access to the infrastructure necessary for a reuse system to function (Article 25(4)) – EPR registration applies to all producers regardless of size. If you are a one-person company selling packaged products to another EU state, the obligation concerns you.

The relief lies elsewhere, however – in the scope of reporting: anyone who in a calendar year makes available for the first time on the territory of a Member State less than 10 tonnes of packaging, including the packaging of packaged products, submits under Article 44(8) only the information under Annex IX, Part B, point 2, i.e. a narrower set than others. A Member State may, however, set a lower threshold for the year concerned.

What applies with certainty from 12 August 2026

Packaging must be recyclable – for now, however, under the existing rules. Article 6(1) reads “All packaging placed on the market shall be recyclable” and has no deferral period, so it applies from 12 August 2026 (this is also how the Commission's PPWR guidelines, C/2026/3084, Section 6, interpret it). What is deferred is the yardstick for compliance: the design-for-recycling criteria under Article 6(2), first subparagraph, point (a) (from 1 January 2030, or 24 months from the date of entry into force of the delegated acts under paragraph 4, whichever is later), recycling at scale under point (b) (from 1 January 2035, or five years from the date of entry into force of the implementing acts under paragraph 5, whichever is later) and classification into grades A, B or C under paragraph 3. Until the design-for-recycling criteria under point (a) apply, according to the guidelines manufacturers need only meet the existing requirements under Directive 94/62/EC and the related harmonised standards (for example EN 13430:2004); they do not have to carry out a conformity assessment with regard to recyclability until the delegated acts under Article 6(4) enter into force.

Under Article 71, Regulation (EU) 2025/40 applies in full from 12 August 2026 – with a single exception in Article 67(5) (from 12 February 2029) – including the EPR framework and the obligations of producers.

What is firmly set from this date:

• The obligation of producers to register in every Member State where they are producers (Article 44(2)) – in practice only once a register has come into existence in the state concerned (Article 44(1); see below).
• The obligation of manufacturers to place on the market only packaging meeting the requirements of Articles 5 to 12 and to carry out a conformity assessment (Article 15, Article 38).
• The obligation to draw up an EU declaration of conformity (Article 15(2); content and model in Article 39).
• An importer or distributor that places packaging on the market under its own name or trademark, or modifies packaging in a way capable of affecting compliance, takes on the obligations of a manufacturer (Article 21).
• Member states must lay down penalties for infringements of the PPWR by 12 February 2027 – they must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive; for failure to comply with the obligations of Articles 24–29 they also include administrative fines (Article 68).

What implementing acts will still specify (outlook)

In the regulation, the setting up of the national registers is tied to an implementing act of the Commission: only from the date of entry into force of the first act under Article 44(14) do Member States have eighteen months to set up the register (Article 44(1)).

What the regulation says on this:

• Under Article 44(14), the Commission was to adopt, by 12 February 2026, implementing acts laying down the format for registration in the register and for reporting, and specifying the granularity of the data and the types of packaging and categories of materials the reporting covers.
• From the date of entry into force of the first such act, each Member State has eighteen months to set up the national register (Article 44(1)).
• Whether the act has already been published and whether the register in the state you supply is open cannot be determined from the regulation – check it with the source: EUR-Lex (CELEX 32025R0040) and the websites of the national authorities, in the Czech Republic the Ministry of the Environment. As at 1 October 2026 the act had not been adopted.
• In the Czech Republic, meanwhile, Act No. 477/2001 Coll. on Packaging continues to apply, which as at 1 October 2026 does not refer to the PPWR: you ensure the take-back and recovery of packaging waste by a contract on joint fulfilment with an authorised packaging company, or independently – in which case you submit an application for entry in the List of Persons at the Ministry of the Environment and keep records (with the exemption under Section 15a for up to 300 kg of packaging a year and a turnover of up to CZK 25 million). The List of Persons, however, is not a register of producers under Article 44.

Watch the order of the obligations: Article 44(4) prohibits a producer from making packaging or a packaged product available for the first time on the territory of a Member State until it is registered there – the producer itself or its authorised representative for extended producer responsibility under Article 45. Once the register in the state of supply is up and running, registration must therefore precede the first supply. In addition, under Article 44(11)(b), the authority assigns the registration number within up to twelve weeks from the moment all the required information has been provided – allow for that time.

Registration state by state: how it works in practice

Each Member State will keep its own register of producers; registration in the Czech Republic does not entitle you to supply packaging to Germany or Poland without registration there.

The principle is simple: you are a producer in the state where you are established and where you make the packaging available for the first time, and in another Member State when you supply packaging or a packaged product there directly to end users (Article 3(1), point 15(c) and (d)); if you sell into another state to a customer who distributes the goods further, that customer is the producer there. Where you are a producer, you must register. For an online shop supplying five EU countries, this means five separate registrations. It is the same territorial principle you know from VAT – but EPR registration has no centralised option comparable to the VAT One-Stop Shop (OSS).

What you will probably need for registration

The content of the application is not a matter of guesswork: under Article 44(5), it contains the information under Annex IX, Part A, in particular:

• the name or business name and the brand names under which you make packaging available on the territory of the state concerned, and the address with a single point of contact (telephone, website and e-mail address),
• the name and address of the authorised representative for extended producer responsibility, if you have appointed one,
• the national identification code of the producer – the commercial register number or an equivalent official registration number, and the European or national tax identification number,
• a statement on how you fulfil the obligations under Article 45, including a certificate from the producer responsibility organisation where Article 46(1) applies.

Under the same paragraph, the Member State may request additional information or documents if they are necessary for monitoring compliance; the format of registration will be specified by the implementing act under paragraph 14. Volumes of packaging are not reported in the application but annually by 1 June under Article 44(7) and Annex IX, Part B.

Example: a Czech online shop selling cosmetics to Germany

You sell cosmetics packed in your own boxes bearing your brand logo. You ship the goods directly to German customers. You are a producer in Germany under Article 3(1), point 15(d): you make packaged products available there for the first time directly to end users. At the same time you are a manufacturer under Article 3(1), point 13(a) – you have the packaging manufactured under your trademark – and you bear the obligations of Article 15 (conformity assessment under Article 38, technical documentation under Annex VII) and of Article 39 (EU declaration of conformity under Annex VIII) – unless you are a microenterprise and the packaging supplier is established in the Union; in that case the supplier is considered the manufacturer for the purposes of Article 15 (Article 15(12)). Because you are not established in Germany, Article 45(3) requires you to appoint in writing an authorised representative for extended producer responsibility there; you will register in the German register as soon as it has been set up under Article 44(1).

Example: an importer of electronics from Asia selling in the Czech Republic under a third-party brand

You import goods in the packaging of a foreign manufacturer and sell them in the Czech Republic without changing the packaging and under the manufacturer's original brand. Under Article 21 you are not considered a manufacturer, because you do not place the packaging on the market under your own name or trademark and do not modify it in a way that could affect its compliance with the requirements. You do, however, have your own obligations as an importer: under Article 18(2), before placing the packaging on the market you ensure that the manufacturer has carried out the conformity assessment under Article 38 and drawn up the technical documentation under Annex VII, that the packaging is labelled in accordance with Article 12, that it is accompanied by the required documents and that the manufacturer has complied with the requirements of Article 15(5) and (6). You are nevertheless still a producer in the Czech Republic, because you make the packaging available here for the first time, so registration in the register concerns you too. Do not confuse two different roles here: the manufacturer's authorised representative under Article 17 is not the same as the authorised representative for extended producer responsibility under Article 45.

When and how you need an authorised representative

It is not optional: under Article 45(3), a producer referred to in Article 3(1), point 15(c) and (d) must appoint in writing an authorised representative for extended producer responsibility in each Member State in which it makes packaging or a packaged product available for the first time and in which it is not established.

Article 44(3) adds that a Member State may provide that the obligations under Article 44 are fulfilled on behalf of producers by that representative appointed in writing; Member States may also provide that producers established in third countries appoint a representative when making packaging available for the first time on their territory. This representative:

• Carries out the registration on your behalf, if the Member State concerned has allowed this under Article 44(3).
• Submits reports on the volumes of packaging placed on the market.
• Communicates with the national authority.
• Is responsible for the correctness of the information submitted to the extent laid down by national law.

Decision guide: when you need a representative

If you supply directly to end users in a state in which you are not established – typically every cross-border online shop – you fall under point (c) or (d) of the definition of producer and must appoint a representative under Article 45(3). To what extent it will also carry out the registration itself for you depends on whether the Member State concerned has allowed this under Article 44(3).

If you are established in the state concerned – you have your registered office there; according to the Commission's guidelines (C/2026/3084, Section 4), neither a branch or permanent establishment without its own legal personality nor VAT registration alone constitutes establishment – the obligation under Article 45(3) does not apply to you.

The Commission has proposed suspending the application of Article 45(3) until 1 January 2035 (proposal COM(2025) 982, procedure 2025/0395(COD)), but as at 30 September 2026 the proposal had not been adopted – the obligation therefore applies, and the progress of the legislative procedure needs to be followed.

A market for such representatives (so-called EPR compliance providers) exists and has been operating in a number of EU states since the earlier packaging directives. When choosing one, check whether the representative covers the specific state and whether it is able to work with the register format under the PPWR once it is known.

30/60/90-day action plan

Three months of structured preparation will put you in a position to handle registration without stress as soon as the register in the state you supply is open. Beware: under Article 44(4), you may not make packaging available for the first time in such a state without prior registration.

1. Within 30 days: Draw up a list of all EU Member States to which you supply packaging. For each state, determine whether you have a local presence there or will need a representative.
2. Within 30 days: Identify your role (manufacturer, importer, distributor) for each state and check whether the obligations of Article 15 and Article 21 pass to you – i.e. whether you place packaging on the market under your own name or trademark, or modify packaging in a way capable of affecting compliance.
3. Within 60 days: Start internal packaging records – type, material, weight, volume, state of supply. You will need this data for registration and for the subsequent annual reporting.
4. Within 60 days: Approach at least two EPR compliance providers for the states where you have no local presence. Find out their readiness for the PPWR and their terms of cooperation; if you are a producer under Article 3(1), point 15(c) or (d), appoint in writing an authorised representative under Article 45(3) in each state where you make packaging available for the first time and are not established – this obligation applies from 12 August 2026 and does not wait for the register to be set up.
5. Within 90 days: Set up monitoring of EUR-Lex (CELEX 32025R0040) and of the websites of the national authorities – the Czech Ministry of the Environment, the German Umweltbundesamt, the Polish BDO – and find out the status of the implementing act under Article 44(14) and whether the register in the states you supply is open. From the date of entry into force of the first such act, Member States have eighteen months to set up the register (Article 44(1)).
6. Within 90 days: Run the quick check and verify whether your packaging also meets the other requirements of the PPWR – conformity assessment under Article 38 and the EU declaration of conformity under Article 15(2) and Article 39.

Common misconceptions

The three most common mistakes we see in online shops and small companies preparing for EPR registration.

Misconception 1: “Registration in the Czech Republic is enough for the whole EU.”
Not true. Article 44(2) requires registration in every Member State on whose territory you make packaging or a packaged product available for the first time, and paragraph 4 expressly prohibits the first supply without that registration. Czech registration therefore does not entitle you to supply packaging to Germany or Poland without registration there. It is the same territorial principle as for VAT – but EPR registration has no centralised option.

Misconception 2: “I am a microenterprise, EPR does not concern me.”
Not true. Article 44 contains no exemption for microenterprises. Exemptions for microenterprises exist for other obligations – for example in Article 25 on banned packaging formats from 1 January 2030 – but EPR registration applies to all producers regardless of company size.

Misconception 3: “The registers are live, I must register now.”
A blanket conclusion does not hold in either direction. The regulation ties the setting up of the registers to an implementing act: only from the date of entry into force of the first act under Article 44(14) do Member States have eighteen months to set up the register (Article 44(1)). Check with the source whether the act has already been published and whether the register in the state you supply is open – EUR-Lex and the competent national authority, in the Czech Republic the Ministry of the Environment. Once the register is up and running, Article 44(4) applies: without registration you may not make packaging or a packaged product available there for the first time.

Summary

EPR registration under Article 44(2) of the PPWR is an obligation of every packaging producer – with no exemption for microenterprises – in every Member State on whose territory it makes packaging or a packaged product available for the first time; under paragraph 4 it may not supply there without registration. Registration takes place separately in each country, and a producer under Article 3(1), point 15(c) and (d) must, under Article 45(3), appoint in writing an authorised representative for extended producer responsibility in each state where it is not established. The setting up of the national registers is tied to the implementing act under Article 44(14) – from the entry into force of the first such act, states have eighteen months (Article 44(1)); check the current status of the act and the opening of the register in the state you supply with the source. Until then, map your obligations and build data records of your packaging, but appoint the authorised representative under Article 45(3) now (this obligation applies from 12 August 2026 and does not wait for the register to be set up) – and allow for the authority taking up to twelve weeks to assign the registration number once all the information has been provided.

This article is a general explanation, not individual legal advice. A specific overview for your company (Pravano Kompas) comes with the free check – in writing, within 2 working days.