How to register for EPR in France in 2026

France issues a separate IDU for each EPR filière. Household packaging, electronics and batteries need distinct scheme and SYDEREP records.

smbf.me guide to France EPR registration with IDU numbers and packaging streams

Short answer: France organises extended producer responsibility by filière REP. For each stream your product triggers, join an approved eco-organisme or an approved individual system, then obtain the identifiant unique (IDU) that ADEME records in SYDEREP. A packed electrical product with a battery can need three IDUs: household packaging, electrical equipment and batteries. Household packaging already runs in 2026; the wider professional-packaging scheme is scheduled to operate from 1 January 2027. ADEME on IDUs; ministry announcement on professional packaging.

Why France starts with the filière, not a German-style dual register

France does not give you one packaging number and two ear numbers. It gives you one IDU per filière, issued by ADEME. Article L.541-10-13 of the Environmental Code requires an obligated producer to register and supply annual information for each relevant category. ADEME states that one producer has as many IDUs as the EPR streams covering its products, including packaging. ADEME IDU guide; Environmental Code, Article L.541-10-13.

ADEME uses a phone as an example of a product that can fall under equipment, battery and household-packaging schemes. A second-hand garment can sit outside the textile filière and still trigger packaging responsibility for the shipping carton. Classify the product and the pack separately. ADEME: who is a producer; ADEME FAQ.

The established household-packaging and graphic-paper scheme covers packaging used by households. The French environment ministry names paper/card, plastic, steel, aluminium and glass as the five main materials in that scheme. Professional packaging follows a different timetable and a different approval. Mixing the two is the usual French error, not copying a LUCID material row. Ministry: household packaging filière.

Citeo membership alone is not three IDUs

Teams join Citeo, file the membership PDF in every marketplace field, and assume electronics and batteries are covered. Citeo is an approved eco-organisme for household packaging and graphic paper. It is not ADEME, and it is not the electrical-equipment or battery filière. Join the approved body for that stream, let it register the producer in SYDEREP, then keep the IDU it communicates. A payment request is not proof that ADEME has issued a number. ADEME: obtaining and checking an IDU; public producer search.

Professional-packaging dates trip people next. France already has a specific EPR scheme for packaging used in the restaurant sector (operating since March 2024 on the country page). The planned extension to all professional packaging was originally set for 1 July 2026. On 28 July 2026 the environment ministry announced that the wider scheme's operational launch had moved to 1 January 2027. ADEME's professional-packaging page gives the same date. Do not book a July 2026 general professional-packaging membership as a completed legal duty on the basis of older timetables. Ministry postponement; ADEME professional-packaging scheme.

smbf.me can map components and destinations. It does not issue an IDU.

How to obtain the French IDUs

Work filière by filière. The sequence is scope, producer, eco-organisme or individual system, IDU, then quantities.

List which French filières the product triggers: household packaging and graphic paper, catering or other professional packaging, electrical equipment, and batteries.
Decide who first places each stream on the French market and whether a France-established mandataire is required under Article L.541-10-9-1.
Join the approved eco-organisme for that filière (for household packaging this is often Citeo or another approved body) or prepare an approved individual system.
Obtain the ADEME identifiant unique through SYDEREP for each applicable filière and check it in the public producer directory.
Keep component weights, household versus professional use, and annual information aligned with each IDU.

The person placing a product on the French market for the first time is the starting point, but the producer definition belongs to the particular filière and transaction. For packaging, distinguish a French importer, a French own-brand seller and a company selling directly from abroad. For equipment, ADEME's published definition includes a company established outside France that sells EEE by distance directly to French household or professional users. ADEME on producers; ADEME EEE definition.

For an obligated producer not established in France, Article L.541-10-9-1, in force since 10 July 2026, requires a written mandate appointing a person or company established in France to perform the producer's EPR obligations. The law includes a deemed-satisfaction case where a France-established person described in Article L.541-10-9 already fulfils those obligations for the products. Establish producer status and that exception for the actual stream and sales route, then keep the signed mandate or the evidence supporting the exception with the IDU record. Environmental Code, Article L.541-10-9-1.

ADEME says foreign companies may be identified with an intra-EU VAT number or, if that is unavailable, the relevant registration or tax identifier from their residence country. The chosen eco-organisme specifies the operational file it needs for membership and SYDEREP. ADEME IDU data requirements.

For packaging, build one row per component and sales route: SKU, packaging function, household or professional use, material, unit weight, quantity, first French market date and responsible entity. ADEME's household sorting guidance says all household packaging is sorted: glass in its own container and other packaging in the packaging-and-paper sorting route, with local bin formats varying. Those are collection instructions, not tariff codes. ADEME: household sorting.

French EEE responsibility covers household and professional equipment. Check the category and normal use, choose the corresponding scheme or individual system, and obtain the EEE IDU. The French battery filière changed on 18 August 2025 under the EU Battery Regulation. ADEME says five new categories replaced the older scope. Classify an integrated battery by its battery category even if customers cannot remove it, then obtain the battery IDU separately. ADEME EEE filière; ADEME battery filière.

The PPWR has applied generally since 12 August 2026. France's ministry describes newer producer roles for sales and grouped packaging separately from transport, service and primary-production packaging. For 2026 records, keep the first marketing date and packaging function next to the entity decision. French ministry: PPWR producer roles; EU Regulation 2025/40.

Checklist before you treat a French sale as registered

Run the five steps above filière by filière. A Citeo invoice does not cure a missing EEE IDU.

Before you mark France complete, search ADEME's public directory for every stream you sell, confirm the mandataire file matches Article L.541-10-9-1 for that route, and check professional versus household classification against the 1 January 2027 wider professional date (not July 2026 timetables).

Mistakes that break a French IDU file

Teams treat one membership number as a permit for every product category. Then a marketplace asks for the packaging IDU, the equipment IDU and the battery IDU, and only one file exists. ADEME's public directory is the check. If the filière is missing there, registration is not finished.

Treating the delayed general professional-packaging scheme as if it had already started in July 2026, or ignoring restaurant packaging that already has a route, breaks the timeline. Classify the pack's use. Prepare component data for the 2027 wider scope without rewriting 2026 history.

Skipping the mandataire test for a producer not established in France, or assuming a German packaging representative can sign the French mandate, fails on jurisdiction. Article L.541-10-9-1 is a French environmental-code rule. Keep the signed French mandate, or the deemed-satisfaction evidence, with the matching IDU.

Common questions about French EPR registration

Can one IDU cover packaging, an appliance and its battery? No. ADEME issues an IDU for one French EPR stream. An obligated producer should expect distinct numbers for household packaging, electrical equipment and batteries if all three apply. An EEE IDU does not replace a packaging IDU. ADEME IDU guide.

Does a marketplace IDU replace every seller's IDU? ADEME says a marketplace can become responsible for third-party quantities unless it holds proof that the seller has met the obligation, such as the seller's relevant IDU. Check the actual sale and the filière. A platform's general account is not proof for every seller's packaging. ADEME IDU and marketplace explanation.

Did all professional packaging become operationally covered in July 2026? No. The environment ministry moved the wider professional-packaging scheme's operational launch to 1 January 2027. The restaurant-sector scheme already operates, so classify the pack before you treat every B2B carton as in or out. Ministry notice; ADEME.

Is joining Citeo the same as receiving an IDU from ADEME? No. Citeo is an approved eco-organisme for household packaging and graphic paper. ADEME issues the IDU and records it in SYDEREP, usually after the scheme registers the producer. A membership invoice is not itself the unique identifier. ADEME: obtaining and checking an IDU.

The France packaging EPR country page collects the national authority, registration route and official sources. The 27-country EPR overview shows how to keep one packaging ledger while filing each market separately. The applicability test is the right first step if the producer role is still unclear.

Sources and review method

IDU rules, the 1 January 2027 professional-packaging date and the mandataire article were checked against ADEME, the ministry and Légifrance. Recheck the live SYDEREP and scheme file before you join.

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