French EPR compliance,
designed for US-based sellers.
US brands selling into France through Amazon FR, Shopify, TikTok Shop, or any other channel have to designate a French EPR authorized representative. We are that representative, set up specifically for US producers shipping consumer goods into the French market.
When the obligation kicks in.
The trigger is geographical and commercial: the first placement of a product on the French market. Sales channel does not matter (Amazon FBA, your own Shopify, TikTok Shop, distributor), and country of incorporation does not exempt you (Delaware, California, Wyoming, all need a French representative just the same).
Appointing a representative is no longer optional.
Law n° 2026-602 of 8 July 2026 created Article L. 541-10-9-1 of the French Environment Code, in force on 10 July 2026. Any person with no establishment in France who is subject to Extended Producer Responsibility must appoint, by written mandate, a natural or legal person established in France, and that representative is subrogated into the EPR obligations for which it accepts the mandate. Until that date the appointment was an option; it is now a statutory obligation, and it covers all 19 French EPR streams rather than packaging alone.
Two consequences matter for US-based sellers. The test is establishment in France, not nationality and not EU membership, so nothing about your home jurisdiction exempts you. And if you already hold a French eco-organism membership with no representative recorded on the file, it no longer satisfies the statute on its own: a representative has to be appointed and the mandate registered with each eco-organism. That is a file update rather than a re-registration, so the IDU does not have to be lost.
Our breakdown of law n° 2026-602 sets out the scope, the three conditions of the mandate, how it reaches online marketplaces, and the regularisation path.
Three enforcement pressures.
Three reinforcing pressures push US brands to register quickly. Amazon France verifies EPR registration numbers under L. 541-10-9 of the French Environment Code and suspends listings without one. The PPWR (Regulation EU 2025/40) makes this a direct EU obligation from 12 August 2026 for packaging. And the L. 541-9-5 administrative fines can reach 30,000 EUR per non-registration episode, plus 7,500 EUR per unit or tonne for a company.
Marketplaces and storefronts.
Most of our US clients sell via Amazon FBA. The Amazon Seller Central interface now has a dedicated EPR section per country, and Amazon FR will not accept a German LUCID number for French sales: you need a French IDU per stream. We translate from the German-style centralized number you may already have, into the French multi-stream registration France requires.
- A New York wireless audio brand shipping AirPods-style earbuds into Amazon FR FBA
- A Los Angeles activewear brand using Shopify, with French language detection redirecting users to a localized checkout
- A Chicago industrial sensor manufacturer selling B2B equipment to French factories
- A Texas-based ammunition crate exporter (yes, packaging applies even there) shipping to French sport-shooting clubs
The streams US-based sellers most often need.
Household packaging
Required for any product sold to French consumers in packaging (boxes, polybags, fillers, bottles, jars).
Stream details →Electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)
Required for any product with a plug, battery, cable or electronic component sold to French consumers.
Stream details →Textile, household linen and footwear (TLC)
Required for any apparel, linen or footwear product shipped to French consumers.
Stream details →Furniture (DEA)
Required for any item of furniture, mattress or bedding shipped to French consumers, plus most home decor.
Stream details →Portable batteries and accumulators
Required for standalone portable batteries, plus rechargeable cells embedded in any device.
Stream details →Toys
Required for any toy intended for use by children under 14, shipped to French consumers.
Stream details →United States-specific questions.
- Does Delaware C-Corp incorporation help avoid French EPR?
- No. The trigger is placement of products on the French market, regardless of where the company is incorporated. Delaware, California, Wyoming, all need a French authorized representative for sales into France.
- I already have a German LUCID number. Does that work in France?
- No. France requires a separate IDU per EPR stream (packaging, WEEE, batteries, etc.), issued by ADEME after registration with the relevant French eco-organism. Germany and France do not share systems, despite both being EU members.
- How does this interact with my US business taxes?
- It does not. The French EPR registration is environmental compliance, not tax. You do not get a French tax ID through us, and you are not exposed to French corporate tax. The eco-contribution is a regulated fee paid to an eco-organism, not a tax.
- Established and registered in France
- No percentage on your eco-contributions or membership fees
- All 19 French EPR streams covered
- Statutory subrogation (law n° 2026-602, Art. L. 541-10-9-1)
Representative cases we handle
Anonymized examples of real mandates and scoping. Each producer sells into France without a French entity. (Named references available on request, with client consent.)
PC-hardware brand selling its own products D2C into France (cases, coolers, power supplies).
Scope: household packaging (Citeo or Léko) + WEEE (Ecosystem or Ecologic). We handle the adhesions, the IDU on ADEME SYDEREP and the declarations.
Automotive-parts seller shipping to French consumers from an EU warehouse.
Scope: consumer packaging. We act as the authorized representative for the packaging stream and file on their behalf.
Gardening and outdoor brand selling packaged goods into France via marketplaces.
Scope: packaging, with a scope check on WEEE for the powered items. Registration built to satisfy marketplace UIN requests.
Post-Brexit micro-brand with no French entity, shipping small orders into France.
Scope: packaging (cardboard, paper, compostable). Flat-fee regime mandate, kept proportionate to their volumes.
Multi-brand retailer preparing its entry into the French market.
Scope: multi-stream mapping across packaging, WEEE and batteries, sequenced so listings go live compliant.
Electronics seller with battery-powered products, no French establishment.
Scope: batteries (Batribox or Ecosystem) + WEEE. We compare eco-organisms on the real product mix and register with the best fit.