WEEE producer obligations across the EU + UK

WEEE registration country by country: Germany, France, Spain

Registration is national, and the mechanics differ more than most sellers expect. Germany runs a producer-facing authority with a published fee schedule; France routes everything through private eco-organismes and you never file with the state directly; Spain runs a ministry register plus quarterly declarations. The table and notes below reflect the rules as verified on 4 July 2026 against each register’s own pages.

Germany — stiftung EAR

Germany is the only large EU market where the WEEE register is itself a fee-charging authority. Checked against the official schedule on 4 July 2026: registration costs €9.50 per brand and equipment type (fee item 1.1) plus a recurring €32.80 per quarter (item 1.2); confirming an authorised-representative appointment costs €50.60 per represented company (item 1.7); and the annual review of a collective guarantee runs €3.80 per equipment type (item 1.5) — all net of VAT. Producers of household (b2c) equipment must also lodge an insolvency-proof guarantee before registration is granted. A company without a German establishment cannot register at all: it must appoint a German-established authorised representative under a written, German-language mandate with a minimum term of three months.

Sources: stiftung EAR — costs and fees · stiftung EAR — registering as a foreign company

France — SYDEREP and the IDU

France has no direct producer filing. You sign an adherence contract with one of the household-EEE eco-organismes — ecosystem or Ecologic — and the scheme registers you in ADEME’s SYDEREP system, which issues your IDU (identifiant unique), typically within one to three weeks. One IDU covers one EPR stream only: a seller of electronics shipped in a box needs separate identifiers for WEEE, packaging and (if applicable) batteries. For household EEE the éco-participation is a visible fee — it must be shown separately from the product price and passed down the supply chain to the final customer without reduction, including on marketplace listings and invoices.

Sources: ADEME — l’identifiant unique (IDU) · ecosystem — producer obligations · Ecologic — joining the DEEE scheme

Spain — RII-AEE and the SCRAPs

Spanish registration goes into the RII-AEE, the special EEE section of the national Registro Integrado Industrial run by the Ministry of Industry under Real Decreto 110/2015. The register assigns a producer number that must appear on all invoices and commercial documents for EEE transactions between producers and distributors, and producers file quarterly placed-on-market declarations in both units and weight per category. Financing runs through a SCRAP collective scheme — ECOTIC, Ecolec, Ambilamp and ERP España are the main ones for consumer EEE. Producers not established in Spain register through an authorised representative.

Sources: Ministerio de Industria — registro RAEE · Sede electrónica — RII-AEE inscription

How the six categories drive what you pay

Since 15 August 2018 every Member State uses the same open-scope taxonomy of Annex III to Directive 2012/19/EU: temperature-exchange equipment; screens over 100 cm²; lamps; large equipment over 50 cm (which includes photovoltaic panels); small equipment up to 50 cm; and small IT and telecommunications equipment. The category does more than sort your product — it fixes which schemes can take you, what guarantee you owe and the eco-contribution rate you pay.

Registries also slice the taxonomy differently. Germany registers per brand and equipment type, so each combination is its own €9.50 registration and its own guarantee review; French schemes price per product family inside each category and revise the scales annually; Spain’s quarterly declarations break every category down in units and kilograms. Getting the category wrong is not cosmetic: it changes the fee line, and a mismatch between your declared category and the physical product is one of the findings market-surveillance authorities record in registry audits.

Source: Directive 2012/19/EU, Art. 2(1)(b) + Annexes III–IV (EUR-Lex)

What WEEE compliance actually costs: the three fee layers

The third layer is the one that matters at volume, and it is exactly the layer this tool’s ledger deliberately excludes: the checker collects annual units, not kilograms, so it can triage the administrative burden but cannot quote your tonnage bill. Non-established sellers add a fourth line — the authorised-representative service itself, on top of official charges such as Germany’s €50.60 appointment-confirmation fee.

Sources: stiftung EAR fee schedule · Spain EPR requirements overview (Ambilamp contribution range)

The crossed-out wheelie bin: marking duties on the product itself

Registration is only half the duty — the equipment must carry the crossed-out wheeled bin of Annex IX to Directive 2012/19/EU, and the marking must be visible, legible and indelible on the product. Only in exceptional cases, where size or function makes on-product marking impossible, may the symbol move to the packaging, the instructions and the warranty documents instead. The European standard EN 50419 adds two further elements: a producer identification mark, and a date element showing the equipment was placed on the market after 13 August 2005 — either the solid black bar under the bin or an explicit date. France layers its own signage on top for household products: the Triman logo with sorting instructions (info-tri) is required alongside the bin on household EEE sold to French consumers.

Sources: Directive 2012/19/EU, Art. 14(4) + Annex IX · Your Europe — WEEE label requirements · ecosystem — French marking obligations

What marketplaces check before you can sell EEE

In Germany, since 1 July 2023 the ElektroG obliges operators of electronic marketplaces and fulfilment service providers to verify that a producer is properly registered with stiftung EAR before enabling its offers; enabling an unregistered producer is an administrative offence with fines of up to €100,000, so platforms delist first and ask questions later. In France the lever is liability rather than a checking duty: since 1 January 2022, under the AGEC law (Art. L.541-10-9 of the environmental code), a platform itself assumes the producer obligations for any third-party seller that cannot show an IDU — which is why French marketplaces collect and verify identifiers so insistently.

Amazon operationalises both through its EPR compliance portal in Seller Central: sellers submit their German stiftung EAR registration and their French unique identification numbers per EPR category, and Amazon states it “may need to deactivate any non-compliant listings you have — or comply on your behalf” and recharge those costs. From 12 August 2026, Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging (PPWR) extends the same verify-before-listing model to packaging EPR in every EU country, so sellers already registered for WEEE should expect identical document checks to appear for their packaging registrations across all EU marketplaces.

Sources: Umweltbundesamt — ElektroG marketplace obligations · Amazon — EPR compliance for sellers (FR/DE) · Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (PPWR), applicable 12 Aug 2026

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to register for WEEE in every EU country I sell into?

Yes. Directive 2012/19/EU registration is national, not EU-wide (Art. 16–17). A producer placing EEE on a Member State market must hold a producer number there; selling into five countries means five registrations.

I sell by distance and have no local company — what do I do?

Under Art. 17 a distance seller without an establishment in the destination Member State registers through a locally-established Authorised Representative. The mandate is in writing. Whether the AR is strictly mandatory or merely permitted varies by Member State (mandatory in Germany and Poland; for foreign producers the Netherlands phrases it as ‘may authorize’), so confirm the exact status with the national register.

How much does WEEE registration actually cost?

Two layers. The administrative layer (registration + scheme membership) is small and shown in the ledger — e.g. Germany is €9.50 per equipment type plus €32.80/quarter recurring (verified 2026-06-13). The dominant layer is a weight-based eco-contribution charged per category by the national eco-organism, which scales with kg placed on market; it is not a flat fee and is not shown here.

Why does the fee column only show a small range?

Because the column models only the registration + membership admin cost. The tool collects annual units, not kilograms, so it cannot derive the tonnage-based eco-contribution that dominates total cost. Use the figures for triage of the admin burden, not as a total-cost quote.

Which countries does this tool cover today?

Eleven jurisdictions in v0: Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Austria, Belgium, Denmark and the United Kingdom. Any other ISO code is shown as ‘dataset missing’ rather than silently dropped.

Are the six WEEE categories the same in every Member State?

Yes — the open-scope six-category taxonomy in Annex III of Directive 2012/19/EU has applied uniformly since 15 August 2018 (temperature exchange; screens > 100 cm²; lamps; large equipment > 50 cm; small equipment ≤ 50 cm; small IT & telecom ≤ 50 cm).

Is this tool legal advice?

No. It is a deterministic triage estimator derived from Directive 2012/19/EU and public register data on the verified date. Verify registration obligations and total cost with the competent national authority before placing EEE on the market.

What does WEEE registration cost in Germany in 2026?

At stiftung EAR (verified 4 Jul 2026 against the official fee schedule): €9.50 per brand and equipment type at registration, €32.80 per quarter recurring, €50.60 to confirm an authorised-representative appointment, and €3.80 per equipment type for the annual collective-guarantee review — all net of VAT. The weight-based eco-contribution to your take-back scheme comes on top and usually dominates.

How do I get a French IDU for WEEE?

You don't apply to ADEME directly. Sign an adherence contract with an EEE eco-organisme (ecosystem or Ecologic), which registers you in the SYDEREP system; ADEME issues the 13-character IDU — typically within one to three weeks — and the scheme passes it to you. One IDU covers one EPR stream, so WEEE, packaging and batteries each need their own.

Do I have to show WEEE numbers or eco-fees on invoices?

It depends on the country. France: for household EEE the éco-participation is a visible fee that must appear separately from the price and be passed unreduced down the chain to the final customer. Spain: the RII-AEE producer number must appear on all invoices and commercial documents for EEE transactions. Check each national register's display rules before printing invoices.

Can Amazon block my listings over a missing WEEE number?

Yes. German law has required marketplaces and fulfilment providers to verify stiftung EAR registration since 1 July 2023 (fines up to €100,000 for enabling unregistered producers), and since 2022 French platforms assume the producer obligations of sellers without an IDU. Amazon's EPR portal collects both numbers and states it may deactivate non-compliant listings or comply on your behalf and recharge the cost.

Where does the crossed-out wheelie bin symbol have to go?

On the product itself — visible, legible and indelible (Directive 2012/19/EU Art. 14(4) + Annex IX). Only where size or function makes that impossible may it move to the packaging, instructions and warranty. EN 50419 adds a producer identification mark and a date element (the black bar under the bin, or an explicit date) showing the equipment was placed on the market after 13 August 2005.

Do I need an authorised representative in every EU country?

Only where you have no establishment — but the shape varies. Germany is strictest: a non-established company cannot register itself at all and must appoint a German-established AR under a written German-language mandate. In France the eco-organisme route plus a mandataire covers it; in Spain non-established producers register in the RII-AEE via an authorised representative. Confirm the exact status with each national register.

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