I am your authorised representative for €55 a year.

That is my fee for a shop sending fewer than 250 parcels and placing up to 65 kg of packaging a year, for the whole calendar year. The recycling charge comes on top and is calculated separately. You receive the amount that applies to you before anything is signed.

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	2026	2027
a few kilograms of packaging a yearwhere most small handmade shops land	€17.95	€14.95
around 20 kg, almost all paper and cardroughly 180 well-packed parcels	€17.95	€14.95
around 100 kg, almost all paper and cardroughly 400 well-filled parcels	€27.05	€23.95
around 65 kg, 25 kg of it plasticless weight, more cost — see below	€44.67	€37.30

€17.95 and €14.95 are minimum charges: if your quantities work out below them, you pay the minimum instead of the quantity-based figure. The left column applies to mandates starting in 2026, the right one from 1 January 2027.

Material matters more than weight

A kilo of plastic costs roughly five times a kilo of cardboard, so 65 kg of plastic-heavy packaging costs more than 100 kg of card.

Below a certain quantity you simply pay the operator’s minimum annual charge, 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.

A worked example. A shop sending around 150 parcels a year, each with roughly 250 g of cardboard and 10 g of plastic, puts about 38 kg of paper and card and 1.5 kg of plastic into circulation. The quantity-based recycling cost for that is around €8 — below the minimum, so the minimum applies instead.

€17.95 minimum charge + €55 annual fee = €72.95 net for 2026

€14.95 minimum charge + €55 annual fee = €69.95 net for 2027

At around 200 parcels of the same kind the quantity-based figure moves above the minimum. Illustration only, based on assumed quantities and the tariff currently used. Only the quantities and fees calculated for your own mandate are binding.

The dual system: price and contract

With German Packaging

Minimum charge €14.95 a year, €17.95 for 2026, because the licence year is already running. It stays at that up to about 50 kg of paper and card, roughly 190 well-packed parcels. With a lot of plastic from about 10 kg.
You have no contract of your own with the dual system. I buy the quantity for your calendar year, you sign nothing there.
Nothing renews, and there is nothing to cancel. Stop sending to Germany and nothing carries on either.

Usual with dual systems

Minimum charges between roughly €29 and €89 a year at systems with an annual contract. You pay it even in a year in which you send only a handful of parcels.
You sign the annual contract yourself and are the contracting party there, with the reports and deadlines that come with it.
It renews every year unless you cancel three to six months ahead. Miss the date and you pay for another year.

As at November 2026, without guarantee. The system operators’ minimum charges change every year.

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.

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.

Am I tied into a contract with a dual system?

No. You have no contract of your own with a dual system. I buy the quantity for your calendar year, nothing more — nothing renews automatically and there is nothing for you to cancel there. The dual systems themselves usually run an annual contract that renews unless you cancel three or six months in advance. With me the notice period is three months to the end of the year, so by 30 September. The reason is not to tie you in: from October I report and buy the quantities for the coming year. If something changes for you, write to me — for justified cases the contract expressly allows us to agree something different.

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: €17.95 for 2026 and €14.95 for 2027. 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.