If you sell packaged goods, electrical equipment or batteries in Germany, you may need up to three registrations: LUCID with the Central Agency Packaging Register, a WEEE registration number and a battery registration with stiftung ear. Only the WEEE number must by law appear in the offer (§ 6(3) ElektroG); marketplaces check the others at account level. Here is what applies under the new packaging law in force since 12 August 2026 and what Amazon and others ask for.
Three registers, three numbers
| Area | Register and legal basis |
|---|---|
| Packaging | LUCID at the Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister (ZSVR); since 12 August 2026 the Packaging Law Implementation Act (VerpackDG) and the EU Packaging Regulation (EU) 2025/40 |
| Electrical and electronic equipment | WEEE registration number (WEEE-Reg.-Nr.) at stiftung ear; Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act (ElektroG) |
| Batteries | Registration at stiftung ear; Batteries Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 and the Battery Law Implementation Act (BattDG), in force since 7 October 2025 |
The duty to register lies with the producer as each law defines it — not with every seller. Typically that is whoever sells goods under their own brand, imports them into Germany first, or sells from abroad directly to consumers in Germany. For shipping packaging, an online seller is almost always the producer.
Packaging: LUCID under the new VerpackDG
Since 12 August 2026 Germany applies the VerpackDG, which replaced the Packaging Act (VerpackG) and implements the EU Packaging Regulation. The core duties will look familiar:
- Register with the ZSVR before first making packaging available, with all brand names (§ 6 VerpackDG). You cannot hand the registration to a service provider (§ 5(1)).
- System participation for packaging that ends up with consumers — shipping boxes, fillers and tape included (§ 7).
- Regular data reports of quantities to the ZSVR (§ 9).
- Sellers without an establishment in Germany must appoint an authorised representative for extended producer responsibility; the registration itself remains their own duty (§ 5(2)).
Transition (§ 68 VerpackDG): registrations under the old law remain valid, but changes must be entered by 12 November 2026. Businesses that first became subject to registration under the new law had to register by 12 September 2026. System participations under the old law run until 31 December 2026 at the latest.
You do not have to show the LUCID number in the offer. Without a registration, however, sellers may not make the goods available (§ 13 VerpackDG), and online platforms must obtain confirmation of the LUCID registration and a self-certification of producer responsibility before you can use their services.
Electrical equipment: the WEEE number belongs in the offer
Producers must register with stiftung ear before placing equipment on the market, by type of equipment and brand (§ 6(1) ElektroG). § 6(3) ElektroG is explicit: every producer must state its registration number “when offering and on invoices”. If you are the producer, that means the number goes into every offer for the device and onto every invoice.
| Instead of | Write |
|---|---|
| “registered for electrical equipment” | “WEEE-Reg.-Nr. DE 12345678” (your own number) |
| number only in the legal notice | number in the offer and on the invoice |
| your supplier’s number for your own brand | your own registration for your brand |
If you resell devices of another, registered brand, you are a distributor and have no number of your own. Be careful: a distributor who intentionally or negligently offers new devices of unregistered producers is treated as the producer under § 3 no. 9 ElektroG, with every duty that entails. Marketplace operators may not enable offers of devices from unregistered producers, and fulfilment providers may not store or ship them (§ 6(2) ElektroG).
Batteries: registration and take-back information
The extended producer responsibility rules of the EU Batteries Regulation have applied since 18 August 2025, and the German BattDG since 7 October 2025, replacing the Battery Act (BattG). Producers must register with stiftung ear by brand and battery category before first making batteries available (§ 5 BattDG) — including batteries built into devices. Old registrations under the Battery Act remained valid only until 15 January 2026 (§ 64 BattDG).
The BattDG does not require the battery registration number in the offer. Distance sellers do have an information duty (§ 24(3) BattDG): waste batteries can be returned free of charge, end users are legally required to return them, plus the information under Article 74 of the Batteries Regulation, such as what the crossed-out wheelie bin means. Give this information clearly in your listings and shop, or in writing with the parcel.
What goes in the listing and what goes in your account
| Item | Where |
|---|---|
| WEEE registration number (if you are the producer) | In the offer and on the invoice |
| Waste battery take-back information | In the shop or with the parcel, clearly visible |
| LUCID registration number | In your seller account, when the marketplace asks |
| stiftung ear battery registration | In your seller account, when the marketplace asks |
| System participation, data reports | With the scheme and the ZSVR, not in the listing |
Amazon asks for the numbers per category for Germany in Seller Central — the 13-digit LUCID number for packaging, the stiftung ear registration for electrical equipment — and can deactivate non-compliant offers. eBay, Kaufland and OTTO Market must also check their sellers’ registrations because the law requires them to. Keep your numbers current: if a registration ends, the marketplace can block the affected offers.
Outlook: textiles
Directive (EU) 2025/1892 requires Member States to set up extended producer responsibility schemes for textiles and footwear by April 2028, expressly including online sellers. How Germany will implement this, and whether there will be a separate registration number, is not yet settled. Until then the usual labelling rules apply — see textile fibre names.
Check your listing
The free listing check spots electrical devices and batteries in your text and reminds you of the WEEE number and battery information. Build the manufacturer details required by the product safety regulation with the GPSR generator; what they must include is in the guide to GPSR information in online listings.