French EPR category guide
French EPR requirements for graphic paper, catalogues, leaflets, printed advertising and paper supplied with products.
Category overview
Graphic paper obligations can apply to businesses issuing or importing printed material for French users. Printed matter must be distinguished from paper packaging, books and documents that may benefit from specific treatment or exclusions.
EPR scope is product-specific. A product can fall under several streams, and its packaging may create an additional obligation. Confirm the current official scope before placing products on the French market.
Scope assessment
These examples are a starting point, not a substitute for checking the detailed legal and eco-organization nomenclature.
Paper packaging is assessed under packaging rules, not solely as graphic paper.
Books, newspapers and public-interest publications can follow specific rules.
The party commissioning or first supplying the printed material may be the producer.
Compliance roadmap
Registration is only one part of compliance. Product classification, declarations, records and post-registration duties must remain aligned.
Map each product against the official stream definitions. Review function, materials, intended user, sales channel, components and packaging instead of relying only on customs codes or catalogue labels.
Establish who first places the product on the French market. Depending on the supply chain, this may be a manufacturer, importer, private-label seller, distance seller or marketplace.
Most producers join an approved eco-organization. An approved individual system may be possible, but it carries direct operational, collection, treatment and reporting responsibilities.
Complete the relevant onboarding, provide company and product information and obtain the unique identifier for this EPR stream. Each applicable stream can issue a separate IDU.
Submit products first placed on the French market using the required units, weights and category codes. Eco-contributions are normally calculated from these declarations.
Keep auditable records, renew declarations, monitor fee schedules and eco-modulation, and apply any stream-specific sorting, take-back, consumer-information or prevention obligations.
Declaration readiness
Reliable source data reduces classification errors and makes recurring declarations easier to audit. Keep the calculation method and source records alongside every submitted return.
Declaration periods, category codes, fee scales and minimum contributions vary by eco-organization and stream. Confirm the current member guide before calculating a return.
Type and purpose of printed material
Paper tonnage placed on the market
Number of copies and distribution method
Paper composition and environmental characteristics
Packaging versus graphic-paper classification
Supplier evidence, internal calculations and copies of submitted declarations
Cross-stream review
EPR categories overlap by design. Assess the complete product, incorporated components, accessories, printed inserts and packaging.
Common questions
They may be, depending on how they are supplied and the detailed scope rules. Their paper weight should be separated from the product's packaging weight.
No. A box serving a packaging function is assessed as packaging. Graphic paper and packaging use different product classifications even when both are fibre-based.
No. The IDU is stream-specific. A company covered by several streams can hold several unique identifiers and must maintain the registration and declarations for each one.
It may need to register when it directly places covered products on the French market, including through distance sales. The answer depends on the contractual chain, customer and role of any importer or marketplace.
Category assessment
We can review your products, identify overlapping streams and prepare the information needed for French registration and IDU applications.
This page provides general information and is not legal advice. Product scope, approved schemes, fees and reporting rules can change. Confirm the rules that apply when your products are placed on the French market.
