Frequently asked questions about EPR compliance

EPR (extended producer responsibility) is the principle requiring anyone who places a product on the French market to fund the collection and recycling of that product at the end of its life. In practice, you join a producer responsibility organisation (PRO) for each EPR scheme your products fall under, declare the quantities you place on the market and pay an eco-contribution calculated using the scheme's fee scale.

Yes, if you manufacture, import or sell under your own brand products intended for consumers in France, online or in-store. Under the law, you are a "producer" even if you manufacture nothing. CompliancR's free test tells you within a minute, for ten products, which EPR schemes you fall under.

Yes. There is no exemption threshold to the EPR principle. Some producer responsibility organisations (PROs) offer simplified declarations or flat rates for small quantities, but registration and declaration are still due.

Without your own UINs, the marketplace declares and pays on your behalf, then charges you back for the eco-contributions along with its commissions and handling fees. With your UINs given to the platform, it stops: you declare and pay directly. CompliancR obtains your UINs for all your EPR schemes in a single process.

The EPR unique identification number (UIN) is issued by ADEME (the French environment agency) for each EPR scheme, once your company is registered with the producer responsibility organisation (PRO) for that scheme. It proves your compliance and marketplaces require it. CompliancR carries out the registration on your behalf and gives you your UINs, for €90 per scheme.

Four obligations: register with an authorised PRO for each relevant EPR scheme, declare each year the quantities you place on the market, pay the corresponding eco-contributions, and keep supporting documents in case of a check. CompliancR handles the first three and archives the documents for the fourth.

A producer responsibility organisation (PRO) is a company authorised by the state for one or more EPR schemes. It collects eco-contributions from producers and uses them to fund the collection, sorting and recycling of end-of-life products. CompliancR does not replace your PRO: we calculate, we declare, the PRO collects the payment.

Most everyday consumer products: packaging, paper, electrical and electronic equipment, batteries, furniture, textiles and footwear, toys, DIY and gardening items, sports and leisure goods, tyres, household chemicals, among others. A single product often falls under two or three EPR schemes at once, for example the device, its battery and its packaging. The free test shows you this product by product.

By its nature, composition and use, according to the rules of each producer responsibility organisation (PRO). CompliancR qualifies each product from its label, its weight and, where possible, an image or a barcode. When information is missing, we ask you rather than guess.

By applying, for each product and each EPR scheme, the annual fee scale of the producer responsibility organisation (PRO), which depends on the type of product, its materials, its weight and sometimes eco-design criteria. Fee scales change every year. CompliancR applies these fee scales automatically and gives you the fee scale code to enter in the declaration.

There is no commitment period. Signing up implies making the declarations for the current year, so the horizon is one year by design. After that you can leave whenever you want, and your UINs remain yours: they are attached to your company, not to your service provider.

Appoint an authorised EPR representative in France: this has been mandatory since French Law No. 2026-602 for any producer not established in France, for all the EPR schemes they fall under. AlgoREP, which publishes CompliancR, is a registered authorised representative for EPR schemes. You sign a written mandate once, and we take over your obligations from there.

Two things, in this order: delisting by marketplaces, which check UINs because their own liability is at stake, then removal of your UIN by the PRO in case of missing declarations or unpaid eco-contributions. This removal is final: a full re-registration is required. The environmental code also provides for financial and criminal penalties.

Present your supporting documents: PRO membership certificates, declarations of quantities placed on the market and proof of payment of eco-contributions. Producer responsibility organisations (PROs) and state authorities can trigger these checks. If AlgoREP is your authorised representative, we provide all the documents and support you through the process.

Fee scales and rules change every year, and new EPR schemes open regularly. The CompliancR blog publishes the updates that concern sellers, and your CompliancR account lists the tasks to complete with their deadlines.

You enter up to ten products (barcode, GTIN, ASIN or internal code), without creating an account, and you see within a minute which EPR schemes each one falls under. If you then create an account, these ten products are already in your catalogue, free of charge.

The test is free. Then: pay-as-you-go credits for calculating eco-contributions (one credit per product per year), €90 per EPR scheme to obtain your EPR unique identification numbers (UIN), 3% of the eco-contributions (€120 minimum per scheme) to declare. Details are on the Pricing page.