A current company record
Whatever proves your business exists where it is registered — KVK, KRS, Firmenbuch, Companies House, a tax office certificate. Sole traders included.
LUCID: what your situation actually needs
LUCID is Germany’s packaging register. What you have to do next depends entirely on where you already stand — and in three of the five situations below, most of it is already done. Find yours and you will know what is left.
Where do you stand?
Five situations. People write to me in all of them, and none of them is a problem — they just need different next steps.
You are registered and already pay a recycling system
Then only the representative is missing. Your registration stays exactly as it is, your LUCID number stays, and the quantities you have already licensed for this year are not licensed a second time. Whether you are with Reclay, Interzero, Lizenzero, Zentek or Der Grüne Punkt, that participation is checked and carried over or adjusted. The only new cost is my fee.
You are registered, but have no recycling contract
Registration alone does not cover you — the quantities still have to be licensed with a recycling operator. There are around ten of them, they are obliged to provide the same service, and their prices and minimum charges differ enough to matter at small volumes. I compare them and place you where your materials and quantity fit best.
You are not registered at all
LUCID comes first. It is free, takes about ten minutes, and you have to do it yourself — German law reserves this step for the producer personally, and no representative, agency or lawyer may do it for you. Anyone who offers to is mistaken. I send a guide with screenshots, and everything after that step is mine.
You already have another authorised representative
Only one may be entered at a time, so the previous appointment ends when the new one is recorded. You do not create a second registration and you keep your number. Tell me who you are with now and I will tell you what they need from you before we start.
You have been shipping for years and never registered
This can be put right, but only openly. We start with the current year and look at the earlier ones separately, so you know what each part costs before anything is filed. I will not quietly backdate anything, and I will tell you honestly if a case is bigger than what I can take on.
How the appointment works
Three formalities. None of them costs you more than a few minutes.
We put the appointment in writing
German law requires a written contract in German, signed by both of us by hand or with a qualified electronic signature. I send an English reading copy alongside, so you know exactly what you are agreeing to before anything is due.
You select me inside your LUCID entry
Every authorised representative has an ID issued by the packaging register. You get mine once the contract is in place, and entering it is what tells the authority that I act for you. If you are already registered, it takes two minutes.
I accept and the authority confirms it
From that point the obligations sit with me: the recycling contract in your name, the quantity reports to the operator and to the register, and both deadlines. Twice a year I ask you to confirm your figures.
What I need for a firm quote
Four things. If something is missing I will ask — nothing here has to be perfect on the first go.
Your shop or website
Etsy, Shopify, Amazon, your own site. It tells me what you send and how you pack it.
Roughly how many parcels go to Germany
This year and what you expect next year. A rough number is fine — the parcel count alone never triggers an extra charge.
Roughly what your packaging weighs
Split by material: paper and card, plastic, glass. Weigh one empty parcel on the kitchen scales and we can work from that.
If you already pay a recycling system, add the contract or last invoice — that is what stops you paying for the same quantities twice.
Send me those and you get a firm figure back within three to five working days.
Questions about LUCID
The rest are on the questions page.
Can you register me in LUCID?
No, and neither can anyone else. Registration is a personal duty of the producer under German law and cannot be delegated — not to a representative, an agency or a lawyer. It is free, takes about ten minutes, and I send a guide with screenshots. Everything after that step is mine.
Does registering in LUCID cost anything?
No. The register entry is free of charge. What costs money is the recycling participation for your quantities, and the fee for the representative. Anyone charging you for the registration itself is charging for something free.
I am registered but have not reported any quantities. Is that a problem?
It needs sorting, and it is sorted more easily than most people fear. Registration and quantity reporting are two separate duties, and having one without the other is common. We deal with the current year first and look at earlier ones separately.
Can I change representative later without losing my registration?
Yes. The registration belongs to your company and the representative is recorded inside it. Changing it does not create a new entry and does not change your number.
Find your situation, then it’s my job.
Three steps, about five minutes of your time, and you get your exact figures back before anything is signed.
Appoint me as your representativeNot sure which situation is yours? Just describe it to me — that is usually faster.