An authorised representative costs €55 a year.

That is my fee for a shop sending fewer than 250 parcels a year to Germany and placing up to 65 kg of packaging on the market, and it covers the whole calendar year. The recycling charge comes on top. It is calculated separately, from the operator selected for your mandate and from your packaging materials and quantities, and you receive the applicable amount before the agreement is signed. Here are the costs in full.

Appoint me as your representative Where do I stand with LUCID?

What an authorised representative costs

The annual fee is based on both the number of parcels and the total packaging weight placed on the German market. If the two values fall into different categories, the higher applicable fee applies.

1 · The German Packaging fee, per year	Amount
Under 250 parcels and up to 65 kg of packagingthe typical Etsy or Shopify shop	€55
250–1,999 parcels or more than 65–500 kg of packaging	€100
2,000–2,999 parcels or more than 500–1,000 kg of packaging	€150
3,000 parcels or more, or more than 1,000 kg of packaging	write to me

2 · The recycling charge, calculated separately	Typical
a few kilograms of packaging a yearwhere most small handmade shops land	the minimum, €28.90
around 20 kg, almost all paper and cardroughly 180 well-packed parcels	still the minimum
around 105 kg, card plus some plastican actual 2026 invoice from one operator	€63
around 65 kg with a high plastic shareless weight, more cost — see below	€70–90

Material matters more than weight

A kilo of plastic costs roughly three times a kilo of cardboard, so 65 kg of plastic-heavy packaging can cost more than 105 kg of card.

Below a certain quantity you simply pay the operator’s minimum annual charge and nothing on top — which is where most small shops stay for a long time.

I compare the operators for you

There are around ten licensed ones. They must all provide the same service, but each sets its own tariff and its own minimum, and at these volumes the difference is real. I place you where your materials and quantity fit.

The figures above are real reference points, not a quote. Work out your own number with the calculator.

Four things that are true whatever your size

No fee per report or per change

For a standard mandate, administration, organising the system participation, the regular quantity reports, the reports required in LUCID, the annual closing report and all correspondence with the operator and the register are in the annual fee.

Billed by calendar year

Where the mandate begins during a calendar year, the annual fee for that year is payable in full. There is no pro-rata reduction and no separate set-up fee, because the work of setting a mandate up is the same whenever you start.

The minimum charge replaces, it does not add

If your packaging works out below the minimum, you pay the minimum and nothing on top of it.

Anything beyond a standard mandate is agreed first

Extensive corrections, earlier years, declarations of completeness or unusual packaging types can be charged separately — never without telling you the price beforehand.

A worked example. A shop sending around 200 parcels a year, each with roughly 250 g of cardboard and 10 g of plastic, puts about 50 kg of paper and card and 2 kg of plastic into circulation. The quantity-based recycling cost for that is around €19 — below the minimum, so the minimum applies instead.

€28.90 minimum charge + €55 annual fee = €83.90 net for the year

Illustration only, based on assumed quantities and the tariff currently used. Only the quantities and fees calculated for your own mandate are binding.

The table above is the fee. From 3,000 parcels or more than 1,000 kg a year it is agreed individually before the mandate is accepted. The system participation is separate from it and is calculated from the operator, your materials and your quantities.

What each of the two pays for

One is my work for the whole year. The other is the actual cost of recycling your packaging.

The German Packaging fee

One price for the year, whatever comes up in it.

Comparing the licensed recycling operators and choosing the one that fits your materials and volume.
Holding that contract in your name and handling the billing.
Turning your figures into the kilograms per material the law asks for, and checking they look plausible before anything is filed.
Filing the reports to the operator and to the register, the annual closing report, and watching both deadlines.
Dealing with the register authority, and answering your questions by email whenever something comes up.

The recycling charge

Calculated separately from your materials and quantities.

This is what it actually costs to have your packaging collected and recycled in Germany.
It is set by the recycling operator, by the weight and material of what you send out.
Below a certain quantity you pay that operator’s minimum annual charge instead.
The system participation fee is calculated separately based on the selected operator, packaging materials and quantities. You will receive the applicable amount before the agreement is signed.
If you already licensed quantities this year elsewhere, they are not licensed again.

Free

LUCID costs nothing. You register yourself — about ten minutes, and the law reserves that step for you personally.

Term

Calendar year

The agreement runs for an indefinite period and is charged by calendar year. The notice period is three months to the end of a calendar year, so notice must reach me by 30 September. Where the mandate starts during a year, the annual fee for that year is payable in full — there is no pro-rata reduction and no separate set-up fee.

VAT

Reverse charge

With a valid EU VAT ID outside Germany. Outside the EU, invoiced without German VAT once business status is evidenced.

Questions about the price

The rest are on the questions page.

What does it cost in total?

The German Packaging fee is €55 a year below 250 parcels and up to 65 kg of packaging, €100 from 250 parcels or above 65 kg, €150 from 2,000 parcels or above 500 kg, and from 3,000 parcels or 1,000 kg we talk. Whichever of the two is higher decides. On top comes the recycling charge, which is calculated separately from the operator selected for your mandate and from your materials and quantities; below a certain quantity that is the operator’s minimum annual charge of €28.90. The LUCID register entry is free.

Why is the recycling charge separate?

Because it is not a service fee, it is the actual cost of having your packaging recycled. It follows the weight and the material of what you send out, so it cannot be a flat rate. You receive the amount applicable to your mandate before the agreement is signed, and again before any later charge.

Is the fee based on my turnover?

No. Nothing here follows your sales. The German Packaging fee follows the number of parcels, and the recycling charge follows the weight and material of the packaging you send out — the box, the tape, the tissue paper, the label. The product inside does not count.

What happens if I send more parcels than I estimated?

The parcel count alone triggers no additional charge — what matters is the actual kilograms per material. Only if those push you into higher recycling costs is the difference settled at the annual reconciliation, and you see it before it is charged.

I already pay a recycling system this year. Do I pay twice?

No. Quantities already licensed for the year are not licensed again. That existing participation is checked and carried over or adjusted, so the only new cost is the fee. More on what applies in your situation.

Do I pay German VAT?

With a valid EU VAT ID outside Germany the invoice is reverse charge. Businesses outside the EU are invoiced without German VAT once business status is evidenced.

€55 a year, and the deadlines stop being yours.

Three steps, about five minutes of your time, and you get your exact figures back before anything is signed.

Appoint me as your representative

Not sure whether the duty applies to you? Check the three conditions.