How to get the French IDU that Amazon France asks for, step by step

Amazon.fr asks every seller for a French EPR number: the unique identifier (IDU) of each extended producer responsibility stream its products fall into. This guide is for a seller who does not have one yet. If you already hold an IDU that Seller Central rejects, go to IDU not showing on Amazon France. If the request comes from Temu, TikTok Shop, Cdiscount or ManoMano, the same identifier serves; see your marketplace asks for a French EPR number.

Step 1. Which streams does your Amazon catalogue trigger?

France runs EPR stream by stream: 19 streams, each with one or more approved eco-organisations, and one IDU per stream. Almost every Amazon seller needs household packaging, because the product box and the shipping box delivered to a French consumer are packaging. Then come the product streams: electrical and electronic equipment, batteries, textiles and footwear, furniture, toys, sports and DIY articles. A packaged Bluetooth speaker typically needs three identifiers: packaging, electronics and batteries. The overview of the 19 streams lists them; we qualify each product in the written quote.

Step 2. Are you the producer for your French sales?

The producer is whoever owns the goods when they enter France. Neither the brand, the Incoterm nor the customs clearance decides it. A seller shipping from its own country, from Pan-European FBA stock in Germany or Poland, or holding stock in a French fulfilment centre in its own name, is the producer for those sales. If a French distributor buys the goods and imports them in its own name, that distributor is the producer for that flow.

Step 3. Appoint a representative established in France

Since 10 July 2026, Article L. 541-10-9-1 of the French Environmental Code, created by law n° 2026-602 of 8 July 2026, requires any producer not established in France and subject to EPR to appoint a representative established in France, by written mandate, for every stream. The criterion is establishment in France, not membership of the European Union: a German, Spanish or Italian company with no French entity is in the same position as a US, UK or Chinese one. A registration abroad, such as LUCID in Germany, does not cover France.

With us: you describe your products, channels and volumes, we send a fixed written quote within one business day, and you sign one mandate online for all your French streams.

Step 4. Membership with the eco-organisation of each stream

Your representative files a membership with an approved eco-organisation for each stream: Citeo or Léko for household packaging, Ecosystem for electronics and batteries, Refashion for textiles and footwear, Ecomaison or Valobat for furniture, and so on. We file it within two business days of receiving the signed mandate, the first invoice payment and the deposit. We currently register clients with Citeo, Léko and Léko Pro, Ecosystem (electrical equipment, lamps, batteries), Twiice, Refashion, Ecomaison and Valobat. For the other approved eco-organisations, we confirm availability with your quote.

Step 5. Receive the IDU, on each eco-organisation’s own timing

There is no generic delay. The identifier is issued after the eco-organisation registers you with ADEME, on its own conditions:

• Citeo (household packaging): about seven business days after the membership is validated.
• Léko (household packaging): about five business days after the initial Léko invoice is paid; that invoice must be paid within five business days, otherwise the membership is cancelled.
• Ecosystem (electronics, batteries): the identifier is issued after the first declaration has been filed and paid.
• Refashion (textiles, footwear): after membership, the signed contract and the first declaration with its payment, then about ten business days.
• Professional packaging (EPRO: Citeo Pro, Léko Pro, Twiice): registration open now, eco-contributions from 1 January 2027.

At Léko, paying the initial invoice on time is what unlocks the identifier: an unpaid invoice means no IDU at all.

Step 6. Check the identifier on SYDEREP

Before entering it on Amazon, search the identifier on the public SYDEREP register of ADEME and note the legal name exactly as it appears. Marketplaces check identifiers against that register; a number that is not visible there yet, or a legal name that differs from your Seller Central account, is the most common cause of a rejection.

Step 7. Enter each IDU on Amazon’s EPR compliance page

Amazon collects the numbers on its EPR compliance information page in Seller Central, one field per EPR category. Enter each identifier in the field of its own stream: a packaging IDU entered in the electronics field is rejected. Amazon decides when it validates the numbers and when deactivated listings come back; we control the French side. If listings are already suspended, follow the Amazon France suspension recovery guide.

Step 8. Display the IDU and declare every year

The IDU is not printed on the product. French law requires it in your terms of sale (or any other contractual document) and on your website if you have one, one line per stream. Then come the declarations of the quantities you place on the French market: most streams are declared once a year. Exceptions: Ecomaison declares quarterly by default (annual on option below 15 t, 1,000 pieces and EUR 2 million of turnover in the stream), Valdelia quarterly, Ecominéro monthly, and Ecosystem electrical equipment quarterly unless contributions are paid by SEPA direct debit. A missed declaration can lead the eco-organisation to terminate the membership, which deactivates the identifier and brings the Amazon rejection back.

We take charge of, and answer for, your registration, your identifier, your declarations, the exchanges with the eco-organisation and audits. You remain the producer and pay your eco-contributions directly to the eco-organisation.

Packaging registration for Amazon France: what changes in 2026 and 2027

• Two eco-organisations to choose from for household packaging: Citeo and Léko (Adelphe for wine, spirits and pharmacy). Both published their 2027 scales on 30 September 2026 and replaced them on 8 October 2026 (Citeo revised downward, Léko added a €180 cap below 10,000 units); the comparison is in French household packaging rates 2027.
• Small volumes pay a minimum, not nothing. Citeo charges a flat €110 excl. VAT below 10,000 sales units a year; Léko’s minimum billing rises from €95 in 2026 to €110 in 2027.
• Shipping boxes count. The box, tape and filler delivered to a French consumer are household packaging, declared by whoever transfers title in France. See e-commerce parcels and stickers.
• Info-tri and Triman on pack. A separate labelling obligation from the IDU; see the Info-tri and Triman guide.
• PPWR. In force since 12 August 2026, Article 45 of Regulation (EU) 2025/40 requires a producer that makes packaging available in a member state where it is not established, including from another EU country, to appoint an authorised representative for extended producer responsibility in that member state.

Amazon says it pays eco-contributions for me. Do I still need an IDU?

If a marketplace takes on the EPR obligation for your products under Article L. 541-10-9 of the French Environmental Code (as Amazon offers to do in France), the obligation is deemed met for those products only, and only while you are not registered yourself. Anything sold outside that scheme, or once you register, remains your obligation.

Amazon’s scheme gives you no identifier in your name, so your own website, other marketplaces and your sales to French businesses still need one. The comparison is set out in Amazon pay-on-behalf or your own registration.

What if I do nothing?

Up to EUR 30,000 for failing to register, inaccurate data or an identifier not displayed, and up to EUR 1,500 (individual) or EUR 7,500 (company) per unit or tonne, under Article L. 541-9-5 of the French Environmental Code. Missing Info-tri: up to EUR 3,000 (individual) or EUR 15,000 (company) per reference, under Article L. 541-9-4. The obligation starts with the first unit sold in France: there is no threshold.

Registration is due from your first sale in France, and eco-organisations can claim contributions for earlier years: up to five years at Refashion (the current year and four previous ones), three at Ecomaison, Ecosystem and Valobat, one at Citeo, none at Léko. Identifiers are never backdated. We tell you before signing whether earlier years are at stake.

Frequently asked questions

Which page do I need next?

• EPR France for Amazon sellers: what we handle for you, and how to get a written quote.
• The French EPR IDU explained: what the identifier is, what changes it, where it must appear.
• Documents needed to open the mandate.
• Auf Deutsch: IDU für Amazon.fr.