Citeo, Triman and Info-tri: France's Packaging Rules for Web Shops

France has run packaging extended producer responsibility (EPR) for decades, and it asks two separate things of anyone who sells packaged goods to French households:

Pay for the packaging’s end of life by joining an approved organisation such as Citeo, declaring what you put on the market and showing the identification number you receive.
Tell consumers how to sort it, with the Triman logo and the Info-tri sorting instructions on the packaging.

Foreign online sellers often do the first and miss the second, or do neither because they assume their marketplace or carrier covers it. This guide explains both, what applies to an e-commerce parcel, and what changed in 2026.

It is general information, not legal advice. Citeo, your mandataire or a French compliance adviser can confirm your case.

Who this applies to

If you sell packaged products to consumers in France, including from a Shopify store abroad, you are putting household packaging on the French market. That covers the product’s own packaging and the shipping box or mailer you send it in.

Since 12 August 2026 the EU packaging regulation (PPWR) also sets who counts as the producer in each country. In short, a seller shipping directly to consumers in another country is the producer there. Our PPWR guide for Shopify sellers covers that in more detail.

Part 1: Join Citeo (or another approved organisation)

For household packaging you join an approved eco-organisation (éco-organisme). Citeo is the best known. You sign a contract, declare your packaging each year and pay a contribution.

Foreign sellers now need a mandataire

French law changed in July 2026. Article L541-10-9-1 of the Environmental Code, in force since 10 July 2026, says a producer not established in France must appoint, by written mandate, a person established in France to handle its EPR obligations. The mandataire takes over the obligations covered by the mandate.

The duty counts as met for products where a French-established party under the marketplace rules already handles EPR for you. If you sell only through your own Shopify store, that exemption does not help you, so plan for a mandataire.

Citeo’s 2026 tariff guide gives the EU example: an Italian producer selling packaged products in France for the first time appoints a mandataire, who joins the scheme for it and makes the declarations.

Your unique identifier (IDU)

When you join, you receive a unique identifier, called the IDU (identifiant unique) or UIN. ADEME, the French environment agency, generates it, and your eco-organisation passes it to you. Citeo’s fact sheet on the unique identifier covers the essentials:

You get one IDU per EPR stream. Packaging gets one number. Textiles or electronics, if you sell them, get others.
Show it publicly. It belongs in your terms of sale (CGV), your contractual documents and on your website.
Marketplaces check it. Since 1 January 2022, a marketplace must handle EPR for sellers without an IDU and keep a register of sellers’ IDUs.
Missing it can be fined. French law provides administrative penalties for producers who do not show their identifier; check the current amount with Citeo or ADEME before you rely on a figure.

Anyone can check an IDU in ADEME’s producer search. Search for yours once you have it, so you know what marketplaces will see.

Part 2: Declare your packaging

Citeo counts household packaging in UVC (unité de vente consommateur), the unit a consumer can buy on its own. For online sellers, one rule in Citeo’s guide matters most: the product’s packaging is one UVC and the shipping box is another UVC, so a single product in a parcel counts as two.

Each parcel adds a UVC on top of the products inside it. Your yearly UVC count decides how you declare:

UVC a year	Declaration	What you provide
Under 10,000	Flat fee (forfait)	€110 excl. VAT, no weights
10,000 to 500,000	Simplified	UVC count per product family, at a rate per UVC
Over 500,000	Per UVC	Packaging units and grams per material for each UVC

The simplified declaration has a grid called “Produits avec colis d’expédition” (products with a shipping parcel). It suits sellers who ship each order in a box. Each product family has a rate per UVC that includes the parcel.

Citeo also applies a €110 minimum charge per contract. It covers both the packaging and the graphic paper declarations.

When you declare

For packaging placed on the market in 2026, Citeo’s guide gives this timeline:

November 2026: your declaration space opens in the Citeo customer area.
January to end of February 2027: you declare 2026 packaging.
March 2027: you report the split between reusable and single-use packaging.

To declare, you need your 2026 UVC count for France: products plus parcels. If you are above 500,000 UVC, you also need grams per material. Our guide on calculating packaging weight per material from Shopify orders shows how to get both from your order data.

Part 3: Triman and Info-tri on the packaging

This is the part online sellers most often miss. Under Article L541-9-3 of the Environmental Code, household packaging must carry:

The Triman logo, which tells consumers the item is covered by sorting rules.
The Info-tri, the sorting instructions for each element of the packaging.

The two go side by side. Citeo’s Info-tri page offers a kit and a builder in its customer area to create your Info-tri.

Where it must appear

The French Environment Ministry’s Triman FAQ (version of 4 July 2023) answers the practical questions:

On the packaging. For household packaging, Triman and Info-tri go on the packaging itself or on a sticker on it. Glass beverage packaging is the exception.
Not just on your website. Digital versions of documents are not subject to the obligation. A product page does not replace the marking on the packaging.
Small packaging. If the largest side is 10 to 20 cm², Triman alone can go on the pack, with the sorting information provided digitally. Under 10 cm², both can be digital. For cylinders and spheres the limits are 20 and 40 cm².
A QR code alone is not enough. The FAQ says a QR code does not tell the consumer the sorting action directly.

The household packaging obligation applied from 9 September 2022, with a stock sell-off period that ended on 9 March 2023. Controls are carried out by the DGCCRF, the consumer protection authority, and fines can apply per non-compliant product.

What this means for your parcels

The FAQ uses an online seller as its example. A seller that ships products in cartons, sometimes with void fill, can print one Info-tri on the carton that covers both the carton and the fill. You do not need different boxes for orders with and without fill.

It also allows one marking for two pieces of packaging that always reach the consumer together, such as fill inside another pack. The marking on the outer pack must then make the sorting rule for both clear.

For a Shopify seller, this usually means:

Your shipping box or mailer carries Triman and an Info-tri covering the box and any fill. You can print it or use a sticker.
Each product’s packaging carries its own Triman and Info-tri, unless an exemption above applies.
If you buy pre-printed boxes, ask your supplier for a version with French sorting information, or add stickers for French orders.

If you ship the same boxes to every country, a French marking on all of them is often simpler than special boxes for France.

Checklist

Appoint a mandataire in France if you are not established there.
Join Citeo or another approved organisation for household packaging.
Get your IDU and check it in ADEME’s search.
Add the IDU to your terms of sale and your website.
Count 2026 UVC for France, products and parcels separately, and choose your declaration type.
Declare between January and the end of February 2027.
Put Triman and Info-tri on product packaging and shipping boxes.

Common pitfalls

Counting only products. The shipping box is its own UVC.
Putting the IDU in the footer but not the terms of sale. It belongs in the CGV and contractual documents too.
Relying on your product page for sorting information. The marking goes on the packaging.
Assuming the marketplace covers your Shopify sales. Marketplace cover applies only to sales on that marketplace.
Using a QR code instead of Info-tri. The ministry says it does not meet the rule.

FAQ

Do I need Citeo if I sell less than 10,000 items a year to France?

You still need to join an approved organisation and get an IDU. Under 10,000 UVC a year, Citeo uses a flat fee of €110 excl. VAT with no weights required. Remember that each shipping box counts as a UVC.

Where do I show my French unique identifier?

In your terms of sale (CGV), your contractual documents and on your website. Citeo’s guidance lists all three.

Does my shipping box need the Triman logo?

The ministry’s FAQ says household packaging carries Triman and Info-tri on the packaging, and it gives online sellers’ shipping cartons as an example. One Info-tri can cover the carton and the void fill inside.

Can I show Triman and Info-tri only on my product page?

No. The ministry’s FAQ says digital versions are not subject to the obligation, so they do not replace the marking on the packaging. Small packs under the size limits above are the exception.

Is France’s system the same as Germany’s LUCID?

No. Germany asks for LUCID registration plus a dual system contract and kg reports; see LUCID registration step by step. The UK is different again; see UK packaging EPR for Shopify sellers.

Where StoreFleet: Packaging EPR fits

StoreFleet: Packaging EPR counts the UVC you ship to France from your Shopify orders, with shipping boxes as their own UVC, and recommends the Citeo declaration type for your volume. It exports a Citeo file and shows your IDU on your store. It does not create Triman or Info-tri artwork, which you design with Citeo’s tools. If you sell print-on-demand, see your own LUCID and Citeo duties too.