LUCID Registration Step by Step: Register, License and Report

If you ship packaged goods to consumers in Germany, you need three things: a LUCID registration, a contract with a dual system, and data reports that match that contract. Most sellers get the first one done and then stall on the other two, or report figures to LUCID that do not match what they gave their system.

This guide walks through all three in order, using what the Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister (ZSVR) publishes on verpackungsregister.org. It also covers what changed on 12 August 2026, when Germany’s new packaging law, the VerpackDG, replaced the old VerpackG alongside the EU’s packaging regulation.

This is general information, not legal advice. The ZSVR’s own pages and help desk are the authority for your case.

Before you start: are you the producer?

For online sellers the short answer is usually yes. The ZSVR’s page for mail-order companies and online retailers says that if you ship from abroad to end users in Germany, you are at least the manufacturer and producer of the shipment packaging you use. It also says shipment packaging “is always subject to system participation, without exception”.

So even if your products arrive from a supplier already packed, the box or mailer you send them in is yours to register and license. Under the new rules, a business whose name or brand is on the packaging is also treated as its manufacturer and producer.

There is no small-seller exemption from registration. Registration in LUCID is free.

What you need before registering

Have this ready, because you get a limited time window once you start:

Your company name and address, and your tax or VAT number.
The name of the person in charge, and a contact person with an email address.
The packaging types you put on the German market. For a typical Shopify shop that is packaging that ends up with private households, including shipment packaging.
Every brand name you sell under in Germany.
If your business is not established in Germany and has no German branch: the name or LUCID ID of your authorised representative (see below).

If you have applied for a tax number but not received it, the ZSVR’s registration FAQ says you can enter “No tax number yet” and add the real number later.

Part 1: Register in LUCID

Create a producer login. Enter your company name, the person in charge, and a contact person with an email address.
Activate the account within 24 hours. The activation link in the email is valid for 24 hours and works once. If it expires, start again. Check spam folders if it does not arrive.
Finish within seven days. After activation you have seven days to complete the registration.
Enter your master data. Company details, contacts and tax number.
Name your authorised representative, if you need one. For new registrations this happens in the master data step. The ZSVR says you cannot complete registration without one if you are required to have one.
Add packaging types and brand names. Every packaging category needs at least one brand name, or LUCID shows a “Missing brand categorisation” error. For unbranded packaging, use your company name.
Submit the application. A few minutes later the ZSVR emails you an administrative act. Your registration takes effect when you receive it.
Note your registration number. It is “DE” followed by 13 digits, and it appears in the administrative act and on your LUCID dashboard.

The public register is updated once a day, so your entry can take up to 24 hours to show. Marketplaces that check the public register may not find you until then. If a platform still refuses your number after that, see LUCID number rejected by a marketplace.

The authorised representative

Since 12 August 2026, a company based abroad with no German branch that sells packaged goods directly to end users in Germany must appoint an authorised representative. The ZSVR’s authorised representative page sets out how it works:

You can appoint only one representative.
The mandate must be in writing and in German, signed by hand or with a qualified electronic signature.
The representative needs its own LUCID login and ID. The appointment takes effect when the representative confirms it in LUCID.
The representative takes over your producer obligations, including system participation contracts and volume reports, and fulfils them in its own name.
Registration stays with you. You register yourself and make later changes to your registration yourself.

Already registered under the old law?

The VerpackDG’s transitional rules (§ 68) say registrations under the old VerpackG still count. Changes that the new law requires must be made by 12 November 2026. Foreign producers already registered are prompted to name their representative when they log in.

If you registered years ago, log in now and check your master data, your brand names and your representative before that date.

Part 2: Sign a dual system contract

Registration alone does not license your packaging. For packaging subject to system participation, you also need a system participation agreement with a system operator, usually called a dual system. You pay it to collect and recycle the packaging you put on the market.

Estimate your volumes for the coming year, in kilograms per material type. Base it on last year’s shipped orders where you can.
Compare system operators. The ZSVR links an overview of licensed systems from its system participation page. You can choose any of them.
Sign the contract, giving your LUCID registration number. It must match the number in LUCID exactly.
Note the system’s exact name. You will select it in every LUCID data report.

Check your contract dates now. Under VerpackDG § 68, system participation agreements concluded before 12 August 2026 run at most until 31 December 2026. If your contract predates that, you need cover under the new law from 1 January 2027.

Part 3: File data reports that match

Every time you report volumes to your system, you report exactly the same figures to LUCID, without delay. The ZSVR’s data reporting page lists the report types:

Report	What it covers	Deadline
Initial planned volume	The next calendar year	Until 31 December of the current year
Intra-year	Changes to this year’s planned volumes	When the plan changes
Year-end	Actual volumes of the past calendar year	1 June
Supplementary	Corrections after 1 June, entered as the difference	After 1 June

Each report needs:

The reporting period, the same one you used with your system.
The system’s name.
Material types, such as paper, paperboard and cardboard, plastics, ferrous metals or glass.
Mass in kilograms, to three decimal places.

LUCID also accepts data reports as XML files. The ZSVR publishes an XML guide for data reports for uploads.

The simplified route for small volumes

If you made less than 10 tonnes of system-participating packaging available in Germany in the previous calendar year, the ZSVR says you can file one bundled year-end report instead of individual reports. It is due by 1 June of the following year.

This is new, and it suits many Shopify shops. You still need the system contract, and the year-end figures must still match what you report to the system.

Declaration of completeness

Producers with high packaging volumes also file an audited declaration of completeness by 15 May. The thresholds are high, so most small shops do not need one. Check the ZSVR’s declaration of completeness page if your volumes are large.

Getting the kilograms right

Every step above needs one number: kilograms per material type for packaging shipped to Germany. Shopify does not record packaging per order, so you work it out:

Weigh each packaging item and split it by material.
Map each product to the packaging it ships in.
Count units shipped to Germany for the period.
Multiply and sum per material.

Our guide on packaging weight per material from Shopify orders has the full method. If you sell print-on-demand, read your own LUCID and Citeo duties as well.

Checklist

Gather company, tax, brand and packaging details before creating the login.
Activate within 24 hours and finish within seven days.
Appoint an authorised representative if you are based abroad with no German branch.
Save your DE + 13 digit number and the administrative act.
If registered before 12 August 2026, make any changes by 12 November 2026.
Check that your system contract covers 2027.
File a planned volume report for next year by 31 December.
File the year-end report by 1 June, matching your system figures.

Common pitfalls

Registering but never licensing. A LUCID number without a system contract does not make your packaging compliant.
Different figures in LUCID and the system. The ZSVR expects the exact same report in both.
Missing brands. Every brand you sell under in Germany belongs in LUCID.
Forgetting the shipping box. Shipment packaging always needs system participation.
Waiting on an expired link. The activation link lasts 24 hours and works once.

FAQ

How much does LUCID registration cost?

Nothing. The ZSVR says registration in the LUCID Packaging Register is free and done online. You pay the dual system for licensing your packaging.

Can my authorised representative register in LUCID for me?

No. The ZSVR says registration is a personal duty of the producer. The representative takes over other obligations, such as system contracts and volume reports.

What does a LUCID registration number look like?

“DE” followed by 13 digits. You find it in the administrative act the ZSVR emails you and on your LUCID dashboard.

I sell less than 10 tonnes a year. Do I still report?

Yes, but more simply. If you made less than 10 tonnes of system-participating packaging available in the previous year, you can file one bundled year-end report by 1 June of the following year.

Does Germany’s registration also cover France or the UK?

No. France works through an approved scheme such as Citeo; see Citeo and Triman for online sellers. The UK has its own scheme; see UK packaging EPR for Shopify sellers. For the EU-wide picture, see PPWR for Shopify sellers.

Where StoreFleet: Packaging EPR fits

StoreFleet: Packaging EPR turns your shipped Shopify orders into kilograms per German material category and period. It exports a LUCID XML data report file you can upload, and it shows your registration numbers on your store. Registering, appointing a representative and signing the system contract are still done with the ZSVR and your system.