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Applying for WEEE-registration

How-to video
(3:45 Minuten)

Do I need a WEEE-registration?

Find out in our how-to video whether you need a WEEE-registration in Germany.

The WEEE-registration is a legally required permit that has to be actively applied for, which is necessary both for private (b2c), as well as commercially usable (b2b) electrical and electronic equipment.

Step 1 – Set up a user account

Do you have a ‘Mein Unternehmenskonto’? In this case it is not necessary to create a separate account in the ear-Portal. You can register directly in the ear-Portal using your “Mein Unternehmenskonto”.

Information on ‘Mein Unternehmenskonto’

If you do not yet have a ‘Mein Unternehmenskonto’, nor a user account for the ear-Portal, you must first set up your own user account in the ear-Portal:

  • To set up a user account in the ear-Portal you need to type in your company data and choose the appropriate topic (Battery or Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act).
  • Type in the details of your main contact who is to act as administrator in the ear-Portal.
  • Set a password.
  • Fill in the marked boxes and check all the summarised data, confirm by ticking the box and complete the user account setup.
  • A confirmation email will be sent to the main contact’s registered email address.
  • Confirm your email address within seven days.
  • After successful confirmation you will receive your user-ID (Benutzer-ID).

In our ear-Portal you will find all the required information and steps on how to deal with this procedure easily and successfully.

Setting up your user account does not mean you have applied for a WEEE-registration! You still have to complete the following steps. Only once you have received your registration order are you allowed to place equipment on the market.

Handling in the ear-Portal

Step 2 – Set up a legal representative and providing payment details

Now you need to set up a legal representative in the ear-Portal and provide your payment details. If you have a ‘Mein Unternehmenskonto’ or a user account in the ear-Portal, and if you have already stated a legal representative, as well as also provided payment details there, you can skip this step.

Set up (a) legal representative(s)

  • Click on the task ‘Vertretungsberechtigte(n) anlegen’ in the ear-Portal.
  • Alternatively: Click on ‘Vertretungsberechtigte’ in the navigation panel.
  • Now click on the button ‘Neuer Vertretungsberechtigter’.
  • Fill in the legal representative's details.
  • Check the data you have typed in and save with the button ‘Neu anlegen’.

Capture payment details

  • Click on the task ‘Zahlungsdaten erfassen’.
  • Alternatively: Click ‘Zahlungsdaten’ in the navigation panel.
  • Now you can first choose your preferred payment method, then type in the appropriate payment details and after that complete the setup.

Handling in the ear-Portal

Step 4 – Specification of the brand

The brand is the feature with which electrical and electronic equipment can unequivocally be allocated to a producer. If your company has several brands or would like to sell electrical and electronic equipment under different brands, then you have to apply for a separate registration for each brand and each type of equipment.

The brand does not need to be a registered brand in the sense of trademark law. The company name can be used, for example, if there is no registered brand. Registration under names such as ‘no brand’ or ‘no name’, simple type designation, equipment descriptions (such as e.g. ‘measuring device’, ‘sudoku’, calculator’, ‘USB stick’) or using the registration number (WEEE-Reg.-No. DE) is inadmissible. You should only submit an image trademark if it is an image or a symbol and the brand cannot be stated as a word, too.

Step 8 - Receive a registration order

As soon as all registration requirements are fulfilled you will receive a registration order by email. In this order it will be confirmed that you are registered as producer or authorised representative for certain brands and types of equipment. You will also receive your registration number (WEEE-Reg.-Nr. DE) and will be published in the register as a registered producer.

You have to state your WEEE-registration number if you offer electrical and electronic equipment or if you issue invoices. You can also use the registration number on other documents, such as order confirmations, delivery slips, advertising material and on your website.

FAQs for WEEE-registration

In our FAQ section on WEEE-registration you can find answers to frequently asked questions to help you with your registration procedure.

The granting of a WEEE-registration is an administrative procedure in which we, as the authority, check the registration requirements. You can significantly influence the duration of this procedure. If you submit a complete and correct application in the ear-Portal, which enables us to carry out a comprehensive examination, you can expect the procedure to take between 3 and 4 weeks.

Placing on the market is the latest point in time by which a producer must be registered. ‘Placing on the market’ means transferring electrical and electronic equipment to third parties, whether in return for payment or free of charge, with the aim of selling, using or consuming them. Reimporting  electrical and electronic equipment is also considered placing on the market.

These and other questions from marketplace sellers are answered here.

If you as a producer/authorised representative suspect a competitor of breaching the obligation to register, you yourself can competitively proceed against the producer/authorised representative or stimulate prosecution of an administrative offence, for detailed information see.

In this case, make sure that you replace the previous main contact in the ear-Portal by overwriting his or her data. Do not create another user. Only the main contact acts as administrator in the ear-Portal. 

Further relevant topics

Find out your obligations as a producer
The types of equipment in detail
Applying for WEEE-registration as a foreign company