Amazon now checks EPR numbers for all 27 EU countries

Updated: 8 September 2026 · ~4 min read

On 12 August 2026 the EU Packaging Regulation (PPWR) entered into application — and with it, Article 45(4): online marketplaces must verify that a seller is registered for EPR in the consumer's country before allowing the sale. Amazon rolled that verification out to every EU destination country at once. If you sell cross-border in Europe, this is the biggest compliance change since VAT reform.

What happens when a number is missing

• Listings get deactivated per country. You keep selling in markets where your numbers check out and disappear from the ones where they don't.
• In France, Spain and Italy Amazon may instead switch you to forced Pay-on-Behalf: Amazon declares and pays the eco-fees for you, with a service markup — by Amazon's own description, usually more expensive than registering yourself. And under the PPWR it does not replace your own registration duty.
• Public registers add a second front: Germany's LUCID register is public, and competitors actively send formal warning letters (Abmahnungen) to unregistered sellers.

This is not a drill — look at the pattern

Amazon has escalated EPR enforcement in waves, and each wave hit on day one:

• 2022 — Germany: listing blocks without LUCID / WEEE numbers.
• Dec 2022 — France: Pay-on-Behalf for sellers without an IDU number.
• 18 Aug 2025 — Batteries regulation: same-day deactivations in DE, NL, PL and SE.
• 12 Aug 2026 — Packaging: verification extended to all 27 EU countries. Germany's VerpackDG re-registration deadline follows on 12 September.

Where you must be registered (the six biggest markets)

• Germany — LUCID (ZSVR) + a dual system contract; registration is personal and has no volume threshold.
• France — IDU number (ADEME) via an eco-organisation such as CITEO or Léko.
• Austria — EDM portal + a collection system; foreign distance-sellers have needed a representative here since 2023.
• Spain — Producer register (MITECO) + Ecoembes/Ecovidrio; filing in practice runs via a local representative.
• Italy — CONAI, with the CAC fee; foreign online sellers count as importers.
• Netherlands — Verpact; registration is mandatory for all foreign sellers, fees only kick in above 50,000 kg/yr.

Selling electronics or batteries? Each adds its own registry per country on top of packaging (WEEE registers, battery registers).

Your action list this week

1. List every EU country you ship to — including the occasional ones. Verification is per destination country.
2. For each country, check all three streams that apply to you: packaging (always), WEEE (electronics), batteries.
3. Close the gaps: registrations, system contracts, representatives.
4. Enter every number in Seller Central — and make sure the company name matches your registration exactly. Mismatched spellings have kept sellers blocked for weeks.