LUCID registration for foreign sellers
LUCID is the German packaging register, operated by the Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister. Registration is free and entirely online. If you are obliged to appoint an authorised representative, there is one detail about the order of steps that catches most people out — so it is worth reading before you start.
The step most people get wrong
It seems logical to register first and sort out a representative afterwards. In practice it works the other way around.
Your representative is entered during the very first step of the registration form, under master data. The register asks for their company name or their representative ID, and for foreign companies the registration cannot be completed without it. That ID only exists if the provider already holds a representative login in LUCID.
This is also why it is worth asking any provider directly whether they already hold a representative login in LUCID. Without it, they cannot be named in the register.
What the registration asks for
Having these ready before you start makes the process considerably quicker:
- The person responsible within your company, plus a contact person
- An email address and a password for the login
- Your company address
- Your VAT identification number
- A national identification number, such as your commercial register number
- A list of every brand name under which you sell
- Your representative's company name or representative ID
How the process runs
- Registration form. Four steps: master data, details about your packaging, brand names, and a summary.
- Email confirmation. You confirm your details through a verification link, which is valid for a limited time.
- Registration number. You receive your own LUCID registration number. Every later step refers back to it.
- Your representative confirms. The appointment also has to be confirmed by the representative inside LUCID.
- The register confirms. The appointment takes effect once the Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister has confirmed it. Your representative then appears alongside your producer entry in the public register.
If you are already registered
Companies that registered before 12 August 2026 do not start again. After logging in, foreign registrants see a tile on their dashboard for the appointed representative, and the entry can be amended from there. The rest of the process runs as described above.
After registration
The registration number is not the end of it. It gets passed to your dual system when you arrange system participation, and the quantities you report in LUCID and the quantities you report to your dual system are expected to match — the register checks this. Where you have appointed a representative, the reporting itself is generally handled by them.
One practical consequence worth knowing: marketplaces and fulfilment providers can query registration status directly from the register. An incomplete or missing entry is visible to them.
A note on providers offering to register for you
Registration is treated as a personal obligation and generally cannot be delegated — the register describes this explicitly as the one duty a representative does not take over. Providers can guide you through the form, prepare your data and answer questions, and several do. What they cannot do is complete the registration in your place.
If a provider's marketing suggests otherwise, it is worth asking exactly what is included before signing anything.
Last updated: . Based on information published by the Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister.