Glossary
Producer register
Also called: packaging register · EPR register
What it means in practice
Being on it is what allows packaging to be made available in that country at all, so it is usually the first thing to deal with. Each country runs its own, under its own name, with its own form.
The rules that give it meaning
The single EU-wide reporting format that does not exist yet
No start date yetThe rules ask the European Commission to set one common format for registering and reporting packaging, and gave it a deadline of 12 February 2026. That has not happened. Once it does, countries get 18 months to build registers that match it. Until then, registering and reporting works the way each country already does it, and there is no common EU format to prepare for.
Source: Regulation (EU) 2025/40, Art. 44(1) and Art. 44(14) — read from this source on
Commonly got wrong about this
Registration happens separately in each country a business sends packaged goods to, and selling there without it is not allowed.