France EPR (CITEO) Guide for Shopify Sellers
Last updated: 12 July 2026
What is CITEO and the French packaging EPR system?
France's Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) rules generally require anyone who places packaged goods on the French market to register and declare their packaging. Most sellers meet this obligation through CITEO, the main state-approved eco-organisme for household packaging — a small number of sellers use one of the other approved eco-organismes instead, which work from the same standardized material families.
Who is generally obligated
If your Shopify store ships packaged goods to consumers in France — including as a foreign, non-French distance seller — you are generally in scope. France's rules cover packaging that reaches a household, which generally includes the shipping and mailer packaging used to deliver an online order, not just the product's own packaging.
Registration: the ADEME Unique Identifier (IDU)
Producers register for a national identifier — the ADEME Unique Identifier, or ADEME Unique ID (IDU) — one per EPR sector, with packaging being one of several. If you declare through an eco-organisme such as CITEO, the eco-organisme generally handles your registration and issues the IDU as part of enrolling you. The IDU is generally expected to appear on your business's terms of sale.
What a CITEO-style declaration covers
A CITEO-style declaration reports packaging weight by official material family, alongside a separate count of consumer sales units. How much detail you need to provide generally depends on your annual volume tier — see the official source below for the current tier structure. The material families a declaration can cover are:
- Steel (Acier)
- Aluminium
- Paper & cardboard, excl. beverage cartons (Papier-carton)
- Beverage carton (Brique)
- Glass (Verre)
- Plastics (Plastiques)
- Complex / other-resin plastic packaging (Emballage complexe ou autres résines plastiques hors PVC)
- Other materials (Autres matériaux)
How Tarra helps
Tarra reads your France-shipped Shopify orders and your packaging profiles, and totals the weight per official material family shown above, targeting the simplified per-material declaration tier. It generates a declaration-ready CSV formatted to help you complete your CITEO (or other eco-organisme) filing. Tarra is a data-preparation tool only: it does not register you, does not determine which eco-organisme or declaration tier applies to you, and does not submit anything to any authority. The CSV is a declaration aid for the flow your PRO assigns you — you review the totals, confirm them against that flow, approve the report, and file it yourself.
FAQ
Do I need to register in France if I only sell online from outside the country?
Generally, yes — distance sellers shipping packaged goods to French consumers are typically in scope for the packaging EPR obligation regardless of where the seller is established. Confirm your specific situation against the official source below.
What is the IDU and where do I get one?
The IDU (Identifiant Unique) is your producer identifier for the packaging EPR sector, generally issued when you register — directly, or through your eco-organisme (Citeo, Adelphe, or Léko). You'll need it for your declaration and, generally, on your terms of sale.
Is there a minimum volume before I need to register?
No — French rules don't set a weight- or volume-based exemption from registering and declaring; even small volumes are generally in scope. What changes with volume is how much detail your declaration requires. See the official source below for the current tier structure.
Does Tarra submit my declaration to CITEO for me?
No. Tarra prepares your per-material totals as a CSV — a declaration aid for the flow your PRO assigns you. You review it, confirm it against your PRO's requirements, approve it, and file it yourself.
What materials does the declaration cover?
The official material families listed above, under "What a CITEO-style declaration covers."
Official sources
- Registration / declaration portal (CITEO): https://www.citeo.com/declarer/
- Primary official source: https://entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/vosdroits/F37937
- You'll be asked for your ADEME Unique ID (IDU) when you register.
Deadlines
- CITEO annual declaration (previous calendar year) — due in February, every year.
This guide is general information, not legal advice, and requirements can change — always confirm current rules with the official source linked below. Tarra prepares your packaging data and generates the report file; you review, approve, and file it yourself. Tarra never submits anything to an authority on your behalf.