EPR: the number Amazon and Etsy ask for before they let you sell
What it is, whether it applies to you, what each marketplace asks for and what to do this week, in ten minutes. The full guide, in PDF with the spreadsheet by country and marketplace, costs €10.
In short
If you ship products in a box to consumers, in every country you ship to you are the "producer" of that packaging: you must be registered there and pay your share of recycling. That is EPR, extended producer responsibility.
Amazon, Etsy and the other marketplaces check that registration. Without a number, they remove your listings or block the account. Shopify checks nothing, but the obligation is the same.
It is not a big tax: it is a registration per country and per category (packaging, electrical equipment, batteries, textiles) and a yearly declaration of kilos. What is expensive is not doing it.
The producer is not whoever manufactures
It is whoever puts the product or the packaging in the hands of a consumer in that country. If you ship a box to a customer in France, the producer of that box in France is you, even if you bought it in Alicante and the product comes from a supplier. Everything that wraps the order counts: the box, the filling, the tape, the bag, the envelope. And if you sell electrical equipment or products with batteries, the equipment and the batteries have their own EPR, separate from the packaging.
Lucía makes candles in Elche and sells them through her Shopify and on Etsy to Spain, France and Germany. She makes no boxes or plastic, but every order leaves with a box, paper filling and tape: she is a packaging producer in three countries. She needs the Spanish registration, the French one (with her UIN and the Triman logo on the box) and the German one (LUCID), which is the one Etsy asks her for before letting her ship to Germany.
Does it apply to me? Four questions
- Do you ship physical products to consumers, in a box, bag or envelope? A yes here means it already applies to you, even if you buy the packaging ready-made.
- Are any of those customers in another country? Each country is a different registration; France and Germany are the strictest.
- Do you sell electrical equipment, or products with batteries? Headphones, lamps, LED candles, battery toys: two more registrations.
- Do you sell clothing, footwear or household textiles? France and the Netherlands already require it.
And the cases that seem exempt, but are not:
- "I only ship boxes, I don't manufacture anything": the box, the filling and the tape are shipping packaging, and you are their producer.
- "I dropship, the parcel ships from the supplier": if the supplier is outside the EU, whoever sells in Europe is liable. You need to check who appears as the importer.
- "I sell very little": in Spain there is no minimum for packaging, it counts from the first kilo.
- "I sell on Shopify, nobody asks me for it": nobody asks, but the obligation is the same as on Amazon.
What each marketplace asks for
The law requires marketplaces to check that their sellers comply, and they do it with your registration number.
| Where you sell | What it asks for | If you don't have it |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon | The EPR number for each country and category: packaging, electrical equipment and batteries, and in France also textiles, furniture and others. It is uploaded in Seller Central. | It removes your listings in that country. In Spain, France and the United Kingdom it may register you itself and charge a yearly fee per category plus the contributions; in Germany, without LUCID you cannot sell. |
| Etsy | To ship to Germany, the LUCID number; for France, the UIN. | It does not let you offer shipping to that country, or suspends listings until you add it. |
| TikTok Shop, Miravia, eBay, Zalando | Tax details and, increasingly, EPR numbers per country when you activate the account or the categories. | Account or payout block until you prove it. |
| Your Shopify or WooCommerce | Nothing when you open the store. | The obligation is the same; here nobody warns you until an inspection or a claim from the compliance scheme arrives. |
The number is yours, not the marketplace's: you get it once per country and category and it works for all your channels.
In Spain, three steps
Register of Product Producers
Registration in the packaging section of the Ministry's register and, if you sell electrical equipment or batteries, in those sections too.
Compliance scheme
Joining a packaging compliance scheme (for household packaging, the best known is Ecoembes), with a fee based on kilos and material.
Yearly declaration
The year's kilos of packaging by material. If the store's accounting comes from the orders, so do the kilos.
The tax on non-reusable plastic packaging (€0.45 per kilo of non-recycled plastic, form 592) is paid by whoever manufactures, imports or buys that plastic in another EU country. If you buy your boxes and bags from a Spanish supplier, you do not have to file it. More in EPR in Spain.
In the rest of Europe
Packaging, electrical equipment and batteries have EPR in every EU country; what changes is the register, the compliance scheme and how strict each one is. France issues a UIN per category and requires the Triman logo on packaging; Germany checks through LUCID; Italy requires environmental labelling. And since 12 August 2026, Regulation (EU) 2025/40 requires an authorised representative for packaging in every country where you sell without being established.
What to do this week
The list of countries
Check in your store or in Seller Central which countries you have shipped to in the last 12 months. Each country is a registration.
The list of categories
Packaging, for sure. Electrical equipment and batteries if you sell anything that plugs in or has a battery. Textiles if you sell clothing or footwear.
The weight of a typical order
The box, the filling and the tape, by material. Multiplied by the year's orders, that is what you will declare.
Start with Spain
Register of Product Producers and compliance scheme: this one applies to you for sure.
Then Germany and France
If you ship there: they are the ones the marketplaces check and the first to block. In France, the Triman on your boxes at the same time.
One number, every channel
Add it on Amazon, on Etsy and in your website's terms of sale; in France showing it is mandatory.
The full guide
EPR guide: the registration Amazon, Etsy and each country will ask you for
€10VAT included
- 10-page PDF with diagrams and one example from start to finish, easy to read on your phone.
- The table of seven countries and four categories with the name of each register.
- What each marketplace asks for, what happens if you don't comply and the dates ahead.
- A spreadsheet: does it apply to me?, by country, by marketplace, and your numbers and deadlines.
- October 2026 version, with the rules in force on that date.
If you would rather have someone handle it: EPR in seven countries as a service, or the consultation before you open and the review of your store. More guides in tax guides.
Frequently asked questions
What is EPR for an online store?
Extended producer responsibility: whoever puts a product or packaging in the hands of consumers in a country registers there, declares how much they place on the market and pays their share of collection and recycling. For an online store it starts with the shipping boxes.
Do I have to register if I sell very little?
In Spain there is no minimum for packaging: it starts from the first kilo. Other countries have thresholds for some obligations, but registration is usually needed anyway.
Which EPR number does Amazon ask me for?
The one for each country where you sell and each product category: in France, the UIN for each category; in Germany, the LUCID number for packaging and the Stiftung EAR number for equipment and batteries; in Spain, the one from the Register of Product Producers.
Does the same number work for Amazon, Etsy and my store?
Yes. The number is yours, not the platform's: you get it once per country and category and add it to every channel.
What does the €10 guide include?
The full 10-page PDF with diagrams and examples, the table of seven countries and four categories with the name of each register, what each marketplace asks for and a spreadsheet to check whether it affects you and to note your figures and deadlines.
Tell us about your store
Book a 15-minute call or write to us. We'll tell you what you need: VAT registration in whichever country, OSS and IOSS, EPR, US sales tax or your store's accounting.