French EPR Unique Identifier (UID) for Household Packaging and Graphic Papers: The Complete Guide

Since 1 January 2022, every business that places household packaging or graphic papers on the French market must hold a unique identifier, the UID (known in French as the IDU, identifiant unique). This number, assigned by ADEME, the French environment agency, proves that the business is registered for the scheme and meets its extended producer responsibility (EPR) obligations.

The UID is more than an administrative number. It must appear in your terms and conditions of sale and on your website, marketplaces require it before they let you sell, and leaving it out can cost you a fine of up to €30,000.

Much of the information still circulating dates back to 2021. Since then, the household packaging and graphic papers schemes have merged into a single scheme, EMPAP, which changes the number of identifiers you need to display.

The good news: you do not have to handle any of this on your own. Ekovio registers your company with an approved eco-organization, hands you your UID and provides it for display on your sales documents and website, then takes care of your declarations. This guide walks you through the whole process, step by step: what the UID looks like, how to get it with Ekovio, where to display it, what marketplaces must do, how to check it and what you risk if you forget it.

Summarize this article with:

🎯 Key takeaways: the EMPAP unique identifier

• ADEME assigns a UID to every producer registered in the SYDEREP register, scheme by scheme (Article L. 541-10-13 of the French Environmental Code).
• Since 1 January 2024, household packaging and graphic papers form a single scheme, EMPAP, and therefore a single UID for these products.
• With Ekovio, there is nothing for you to file: Ekovio registers your company with an approved EMPAP eco-organization, then hands you your UID as soon as it is assigned.
• The UID must appear in your terms and conditions of sale (or any other contractual document) and on your website, and be given to any buyer who asks for it. Ekovio provides it ready to display.
• Marketplaces must check their sellers’ UIDs. If they do not, they bear the EPR obligations for those products themselves.
• Failing to show your UID on the required media can lead to a fine of up to €30,000.

🔍 How we checked this information

This article is based on the French Environmental Code (Articles L. 541-10-13, L. 541-10-10, L. 541-10-9, R. 541-173 and L. 541-9-5), the Order of 11 February 2022 on producer registration (in French), ADEME’s page on the unique identifier and the overview of the general framework for EPR schemes published by the French Ministry for Ecological Transition.

On 23 October 2026 we also consulted the public register of producers registered in SYDEREP, published as open data by ADEME, to check the format of UIDs and how they are spread across schemes. The practical guides issued by eco-organizations in 2021 are still useful, but they predate the merger of the schemes: we point out below what has changed since.

📜 The legal framework for the unique identifier

The UID was created by Article 62 of French Law No. 2020-105 of 10 February 2020 on the fight against waste and the circular economy (the AGEC law). It has been mandatory for all EPR schemes since 1 January 2022. Several texts set out how it works.

Text	What it provides
Article L. 541-10-13	Producers register with ADEME, which assigns them a unique identifier.
Article R. 541-173	The UID appears in the terms and conditions of sale or, failing that, in any other contractual document given to the buyer, as well as on the producer’s website.
Article L. 541-10-10	The seller of a product subject to EPR gives any buyer who asks for it the UID of the producer that fulfils the EPR obligations for that product.
Article L. 541-10-9	Marketplaces bear the EPR obligations for products sold on behalf of third parties, unless they hold proof that those third parties have already fulfilled their obligations.
Order of 11 February 2022	Registration through the SYDEREP online service, role of the eco-organization, assignment of the UID, data updates within one month.
Article L. 541-9-5	Penalties for producers, including a fine of up to €30,000 when the UID is missing from the required media.

🧾 What does an EMPAP unique identifier look like?

No text sets the format of the UID, but ADEME’s public register shows it. A UID has 15 characters, for example FR540834_01BHFU:

• FR followed by six digits: the producer’s identifier in SYDEREP;
• an underscore, then two digits that identify the scheme: 01 for EMPAP;
• four characters specific to this identifier.

In the register consulted on 23 October 2026, all 212,884 UIDs in the EMPAP scheme contain this code 01, placed right after the underscore. Other schemes have their own code: a producer that also sells electrical equipment will, for example, have a second UID with a different code. In your Ekovio account, each UID is linked to its scheme, so there is no room for confusion.

♻️ Since 2024, a single UID for household packaging and graphic papers

Until the end of 2023, household packaging and graphic papers were two separate EPR schemes, with two unique identifiers. French Law No. 2023-305 of 24 April 2023 and its implementing Decree No. 2023-906 of 28 September 2023 merged them: since 1 January 2024, they form a single scheme, the household packaging and graphic papers (EMPAP) scheme, with common specifications (Order of 7 December 2023).

As a result, a producer that places both household packaging and graphic papers on the market now has a single EMPAP UID. ADEME’s register only lists a handful of isolated legacy “paper” identifiers (code 03), against more than 200,000 EMPAP UIDs.

🏢 Who needs an EMPAP unique identifier?

Every producer within the meaning of the scheme needs an EMPAP UID, that is, anyone who first places packaged products or graphic papers intended for households on the French market. This includes in particular:

• manufacturers and brands selling packaged products under their own name;
• importers and distributors selling under their own brand;
• online sellers shipping parcels to consumers in France;
• marketplaces, for the products they sell on their own account;
• publishers and issuers of graphic papers (printed matter, advertising, paper for graphic use).

The scheme covers household packaging wherever it is consumed, at home or away from home. To find out exactly who is responsible along a distribution chain, see our article Producer vs. Importer vs. Brand Owner: Who’s Actually Liable Under EPR?.

🪪 How to get your EMPAP unique identifier with Ekovio

For the EMPAP scheme, the UID can only be obtained through an approved eco-organization: you cannot register with ADEME on your own as part of a collective scheme. Ekovio handles this entire chain for you.

1. Create your Ekovio account and register your business. Your company details are prefilled from your VAT number: this step takes about one minute on average.
2. Ekovio registers your company with an approved EMPAP eco-organization. For the 2025-2029 period, three eco-organizations are approved: Adelphe, Citeo and Léko. Ekovio, in direct contact with them, sends the required information (company name, SIREN or VAT number, contact details, identity of the representative where applicable).
3. The eco-organization registers your company in the SYDEREP register, and ADEME assigns your UID. Allow an indicative lead time of 1 to 4 weeks, depending on the eco-organization, once your file is complete.
4. Ekovio hands you your UID and provides it for display in your terms and conditions, sales documents, website and marketplace listings.
5. Ekovio handles what comes next: importing your products, filing the annual declaration of what you place on the market and calculating your eco-contributions.

The UID does not exempt you from any other obligation: it certifies your registration, but you must then declare what you place on the market every year and pay your eco-contributions. That is exactly what Ekovio automates. We set out all of these obligations in our article on the EPR scheme for packaging and graphic papers (EMPAP), and how to choose an eco-organization in How to Choose Your EPR Eco-Organization.

📍 Where to display and share your UID

Once your UID has been assigned, Ekovio provides it for display on every medium where the law requires it:

Medium	Obligation	Text
Terms and conditions of sale	Mandatory: the UID must appear in them	Art. R. 541-173
Other contractual document given to the buyer	Mandatory if you have no terms and conditions	Art. R. 541-173
Website	Mandatory if you have one, under the same conditions as the legal notice (Article 19 of the French law on confidence in the digital economy)	Art. R. 541-173
Reply to a buyer	The seller gives the producer’s UID to any buyer who asks for it	Art. L. 541-10-10
Marketplaces	To be sent to every platform that sells your products, so that it can prove your compliance	Art. L. 541-10-9

🔢 One UID per scheme: Ekovio manages them all

A business has as many UIDs as the EPR schemes it is subject to. A brand selling packaged products and electrical appliances will have an EMPAP UID and a UID for electrical and electronic equipment. If it also sells clothing, it will have a third UID for the textile scheme, and so on.

Pay particular attention to professional packaging: the new scheme, which starts in January 2027, is separate from EMPAP and comes with its own UID. A business selling to both consumers and professionals may therefore have two different packaging UIDs. See our article Professional Packaging EPR: The New French Scheme Launching January 2027.

With Ekovio, all your schemes are covered in one place: your UIDs, declarations and deadlines are grouped in a single dashboard, scheme by scheme. Discover all of Ekovio’s features.

🛒 Marketplaces and online sellers

You run a marketplace

Under Article L. 541-10-9, a marketplace is a platform, portal or similar system that uses an electronic interface to facilitate the distance selling or delivery of products subject to EPR on behalf of a third-party seller. Since 1 January 2022:

• for the products you sell on your own account, you are a producer and must hold your own UID;
• for your third-party sellers’ products, you are deemed to be the producer and must bear their EPR obligations (membership, declaration, eco-contributions), unless you hold proof that they have already fulfilled their obligations;
• that proof is the seller’s valid UID for the scheme concerned: you must keep a register of your sellers’ supporting evidence, available to the authorities.

In practice, collect the EMPAP UID of every seller that ships packaged products to France, check it in ADEME’s register and check it again regularly: a UID can be withdrawn during the year. Pointing sellers without a UID to a solution such as Ekovio spares you from carrying their EPR obligations for them.

You sell through a marketplace

Send your EMPAP UID to every marketplace that sells your products, and include it in your terms and conditions or contractual documents. Without a valid UID, the platform may block your listings or pass on to you the cost of the EPR obligations it pays on your behalf. Ekovio provides the UID to send to your platforms and imports your sales data from Amazon, WooCommerce and other marketplaces to prepare your declarations. If you are established outside France, Ekovio can also act as your EPR representative, which you need in order to obtain your UID.

🔎 How to check a unique identifier

ADEME provides a search engine for registered producers (in French): you can look up a producer by company name, SIRET number or UID, and see which business and which scheme an identifier belongs to. The full list is also published as open data, as is the list of producers whose UID has been withdrawn.

• As a producer: check that the UID provided by Ekovio appears with the correct company name and the EMPAP scheme.
• As a marketplace: check every UID supplied by a seller before accepting it as proof, and make sure it matches the scheme of the products sold.
• As a buyer or distributor: ask your supplier for its UID (Article L. 541-10-10) and check it in the register.

⏳ Validity and end of contract

The UID remains valid as long as the producer is a member of an approved eco-organization for the scheme. Several situations call it into question:

• Terminating your membership: only the eco-organization can request the withdrawal of the UID, and it only takes effect if you are not a member of another eco-organization in the scheme. Switching eco-organization or representative without a gap therefore does not cost you your coverage. If you switch representative to join Ekovio, make sure the new membership takes over without any gap: Ekovio supports you through this transition.
• Change of details: company name, address, representative… any change must be reported within one month, including when you stop being a producer. Ekovio helps you pass it on to your eco-organization.
• Withdrawal of the UID: you disappear from the scheme’s lists and appear on the public list of producers that are no longer compliant. Marketplaces that consult the register will see it.

⚠️ What are the penalties for not having a UID?

Breaches of EPR obligations are penalized by the ministry in charge of the environment, after an adversarial procedure (Article L. 541-9-5). According to the French Ministry for Ecological Transition, a producer faces:

Penalty	Maximum amount	Cases covered
Administrative fine	€7,500 per unit or per tonne of products placed on the market	Breach of EPR obligations (membership, declaration, contribution)
Daily penalty payment	€20,000 per day	Until the breach is remedied
Additional fine	€30,000	No registration in the register, missing or incorrect data, UID missing from the media that must show it

Penalties imposed may be made public (Article L. 541-9-8). On top of these penalties comes an immediate commercial risk: a marketplace that cannot find a valid UID may suspend your listings. Ekovio sends you alerts before every deadline and whenever action is needed, so nothing slips through the cracks.

✅ Checklist: best practices for your EMPAP UID

1. Have all your packaged products and graphic papers intended for households covered by an approved EMPAP eco-organization, through Ekovio.
2. Retrieve your EMPAP UID (code 01) from your Ekovio account and check it in ADEME’s register.
3. Remove from your documents any old “paper” or “packaging” identifier dating from before the 2024 merger and replace it with the UID provided by Ekovio.
4. Display the UID in your terms and conditions, or failing that in your contractual documents, and in the legal notice of your website.
5. Send it to every marketplace and to any business customer who asks for it.
6. Group your UIDs for other schemes (electrical equipment, textiles, professional packaging from 2027…) in your Ekovio dashboard.
7. Report any change of details within one month, and never leave a gap between two memberships.
8. If you are established outside France, appoint Ekovio as your representative so that your registration and your UID are obtained in a single process.

🧭 Self-check: is your EMPAP UID in order?

Answer the three questions below. This tool runs entirely in your browser and collects no data. It does not replace an analysis of your situation.

🤝 Why entrust your UID and your EPR obligations to Ekovio

Getting your UID is only the first step. Ekovio supports you through the whole process, from registration to declarations:

• Registration in one minute: your business is registered from your VAT number.
• Membership handled for you: Ekovio registers your company with an approved EMPAP eco-organization, in direct contact with the official eco-organizations.
• UID handed over, ready to display: Ekovio provides your UID for your terms and conditions, sales documents, website and marketplaces.
• Automated declarations: product imports (spreadsheet, ERP, Amazon, WooCommerce…), eco-contribution calculation with up-to-date rate schedules and declaration preparation.
• All schemes in one place: EMPAP, professional packaging, electrical equipment, textiles and the others, in a single dashboard.
• Alerts and traceability: notifications before deadlines and a complete history for audits.
• Foreign businesses: Ekovio can be your Authorized Representative or hold your EPR Mandate in France.

❓ Frequently asked questions about the EMPAP unique identifier

What is the EPR unique identifier (UID)?

It is a number assigned by ADEME to every producer registered in the register of an EPR scheme, under Article L. 541-10-13 of the French Environmental Code. It proves that the producer is registered and fulfils its obligations for that scheme. It has been mandatory since 1 January 2022.

Do I need one UID for packaging and another for graphic papers?

No, not since 1 January 2024. The two schemes have merged into a single scheme, EMPAP. A producer that places household packaging and graphic papers on the market has a single EMPAP UID. It will, however, have other UIDs for its other schemes.

How do I get my EMPAP UID?

The UID is obtained through an approved eco-organization. With Ekovio, you register your business online, Ekovio registers your company with an approved EMPAP eco-organization, ADEME assigns the UID within an indicative lead time of 1 to 4 weeks depending on the eco-organization, and Ekovio then hands it to you.

Can Ekovio provide my UID?

Yes. Ekovio registers your company with an approved eco-organization, hands you your UID as soon as ADEME assigns it and provides it for display on your sales documents, website and marketplaces. Ekovio then handles your declarations and eco-contributions.

Where must I display my UID?

In your terms and conditions of sale or, failing that, in any other contractual document given to the buyer, as well as on your website, under the same conditions as the legal notice (Article R. 541-173). You must also give it to any buyer who asks for it.

How do I check a supplier's or seller's UID?

Use ADEME's producer search engine, which lets you search by company name, SIRET number or UID. It shows which business and which scheme the identifier belongs to.

What happens if I terminate my membership of the eco-organization?

The eco-organization requests the withdrawal of your UID, which only takes effect if you do not join another eco-organization in the scheme. Without membership, you no longer fulfil your obligations and you appear on the public list of producers that are no longer compliant.

What is the fine if my UID is missing from my terms and conditions?

A UID missing from the media that must show it can lead to an additional fine of up to €30,000, imposed by the ministry after an adversarial procedure (Article L. 541-9-5).

Get your EMPAP UID with Ekovio

A missing UID, an old paper identifier still on display or an unchecked seller on your marketplace: these oversights are easy to avoid. Ekovio registers your company with an approved eco-organization, hands you your UID ready to display and takes care of your declarations, for all your schemes.