PPWR compliance: who carries the obligation
PPWR compliance rests on a single role, the manufacturer. Article 3(1)(13) of Regulation (EU) 2025/40 starts from whoever manufactures packaging or a packaged product. Point (a) then displaces that role onto whoever has the packaging designed or manufactured under its own name or trademark. That holds regardless of whether any other trademark is visible on the packaging or on the packaged product.
For a food or beverage brand the consequence is direct. Where the brand owner is manufacturer, PPWR compliance sits with that company rather than with the converter that produced the pouch. The technical documentation of Annex VII and the EU declaration of conformity of Article 39 are both its own. The micro-enterprise rules below are the exception. Unbranded packaging follows its own test.
This page sets out where the manufacturer role attaches and what moves it. It covers the two micro-enterprise rules, how an importer or distributor inherits the role, what the PPWR compliance file contains, and what an authority does when it is missing. Passages that rest on Commission guidance rather than on the Regulation are marked as such.
What PPWR compliance requires of a manufacturer
Article 15(1) states the duty in one line. Manufacturers shall only place on the market packaging that conforms to the requirements laid down in or pursuant to Articles 5 to 12. Article 15(2) adds two acts that come before placing. Carry out the conformity assessment procedure of Article 38, or have it carried out on your behalf. Draw up the technical documentation of Annex VII. Once conformity has been demonstrated, draw up the EU declaration of conformity under Article 39.
Article 38 routes the assessment to Annex VII, which contains Module A, internal production control. Module A involves no notified body. Annex VIII does carry a notified-body field at point 7, marked where applicable, and it stays empty for packaging. Article 38 points to Annex VII alone, and Annex VII sets out one module only. What Article 15(2) does allow is for the assessment to be carried out on the manufacturer’s behalf. What cannot move is the responsibility. Point 1 of Annex VII has the manufacturer ensure and declare conformity on his sole responsibility, and point 3 of the Annex VIII model repeats the phrase. Point 4 of Annex VII sets the granularity: a written declaration of conformity for each packaging type.
There is no PPWR certificate and no mandatory third-party approval. Article 39(4) is explicit: by drawing up the declaration, the manufacturer assumes responsibility for the compliance of the packaging. Third-party test reports, certifications and recyclability assessments feed that file. None of them replaces it.
The manufacturer is a role, not a type of business
Article 3(1)(13)(a) attaches the role to whoever commissions the pack under its own name or trademark. The clause that follows, regardless of whether any other trademark is visible, removes the private-label argument. A pack carrying a retailer brand does not transfer the role back to the converter.
A coffee roaster ordering printed doypacks under its own brand will normally be the manufacturer of that packaging. The converter is the supplier. Article 3(1)(16) defines that role as any person supplying packaging or packaging material to a manufacturer. In that supply relationship the converter carries the information duty of Article 16, not the Article 15 duties. The same converter is itself a manufacturer for any packaging it places on the market under its own name, or without a brand owner behind it.
Who carries PPWR compliance for unbranded packaging
A trademark on the pack is strong evidence of where PPWR compliance sits. Article 3(1)(13) gives no rule, however, for packaging that carries no name or trademark at all.
Commission position, not regulatory text. The Commission FAQ of August 2026 fills the gap with a decisive criterion: who places the order and decides on the design specifications for that packaging.
Two consequences follow. A company that orders custom-made packaging built around its own product is the manufacturer of it, because the specifications follow the product. For generic unbranded packaging, the manufacturer is normally the company that physically produces it, because nobody else decided the design. Neither the FAQ nor the guidance document is legally binding; both state how the Commission reads the Regulation.
Manufacturer, producer and supplier are three different roles
| Role | Definition | What it carries |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Art. 3(1)(13) | Conformity with Articles 5 to 12, the Annex VII file, the Article 39 declaration, identification and contact details under Article 15(5) and (6). |
| Producer | Art. 3(1)(15) | Registration in the national register of Article 44, reporting, and the financial contribution of Article 45. Assessed separately in every Member State where the packaging is first made available. |
| Supplier | Art. 3(1)(16) | Article 16 only: provide the manufacturer with everything needed to demonstrate conformity, including the Annex VII documentation and, for contact-sensitive packaging, the food-contact file. |
The Regulation does not say in so many words how many manufacturers a supply chain can have. The Commission Notice published in the Official Journal C, 2026/3084 of 10 June 2026 reads the definition as allowing only one manufacturer in a supply chain within the meaning of the PPWR. That is one manufacturer per packaging item, not per shipment; the Commission FAQ notes that a single shipment can carry packaging from several manufacturers, each with its own documentation.
The Regulation itself separates the two roles by consequence rather than by description. The producer registers and contributes under Articles 44 and 45. PPWR compliance under Articles 5 to 12 belongs to the manufacturer, under Article 15. The two frameworks are compared on the page about PPWR and EPR. Article 6(8) modulates the producer contribution on the recyclability grade, a mechanism covered under eco-modulation of EPR fees.
The two micro-enterprise rules are not the same rule
Two provisions move the manufacturer role, and with it PPWR compliance, from the brand owner onto the supplier of the packaging. They apply different tests and produce different scope. Reading one for the other gives the wrong answer on both.
| Test | Article 3(1)(13)(b) | Article 15(12) |
|---|---|---|
| Brand owner | Micro-enterprise under Recommendation 2003/361/EC as applicable on 11 February 2025, for the packaging or the packaged product | Same test and same reference date, but the object is the packaging only |
| Supplier location | Located in the same Member State as the brand owner | Located anywhere in the Union |
| Effect | The supplier is the manufacturer for the definition itself, and so throughout the Regulation | The supplier is the manufacturer for the purposes of Article 15 only |
A micro-enterprise employs fewer than 10 people and has an annual turnover or balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 2 million. The headcount ceiling and one of the two financial ceilings both have to hold.
Neither provision removes an obligation. Both move it onto another company that then has to be able to carry it. Neither provision requires the supplier to acknowledge the transfer, which is why a written confirmation that the supplier accepts the role and issues the declaration is worth holding. A shifted duty that nobody performs is still an infringement.
When an importer or distributor inherits PPWR compliance
Article 21 has two triggers. An importer or distributor that places packaging on the market under its own name or trademark becomes a manufacturer. So does one that modifies packaging already placed on the market in a way that could affect compliance with the relevant requirements of the Regulation. Either trigger makes that operator a manufacturer for the purposes of the Regulation, subject to the obligations of Article 15.
The statutory test is whether the change could affect compliance, so it is not limited to structure. Changing a barrier layer, a coating, an ink system or a seal specification can affect compliance and therefore triggers the test. Artwork can too, on a reading rather than on an express rule. Article 12 governs the harmonised label and Article 15(7) requires the manufacturer information to stay clear, legible and unobscured. A restyling that moves or covers either one is therefore capable of affecting compliance.
The second subparagraph of Article 21 mirrors the micro-enterprise rule. It applies where the importer or distributor is itself a micro-enterprise and its supplier is located in the Union. The supplier is then considered the manufacturer for the purposes of Article 15.
PPWR compliance duties that apply without Article 21
An importer that does not trigger Article 21 still carries PPWR compliance duties of its own, under Article 18. Before placing packaging on the market it verifies four things. That the manufacturer carried out the Article 38 assessment and drew up the Annex VII documentation. That the packaging is labelled under Article 12. That the required documents accompany it. That Article 15(5) and (6) have been met. It then adds its own name, registered trade name or registered trademark and postal address. Article 18(3) allows a digital data carrier or an accompanying document where the pack cannot carry the information.
A distributor has Article 19. It verifies that the producer subject to extended producer responsibility is registered under Article 44. It also verifies the labelling and the manufacturer and importer identification. Article 19(4) adds a restriction that is easy to miss. Information disclosed by the producer may not be used for any purpose other than verifying compliance with Articles 5 to 12, and misuse of it for commercial purposes is prohibited.
Article 20 catches the operator nobody lists. A fulfilment service provider has to ensure that warehousing, handling, packing, addressing and dispatching do not jeopardise the packaging’s compliance with Articles 5 to 12. It holds no file of its own.
What the PPWR compliance file contains
Annex VII: the technical documentation
The PPWR compliance file starts here. Module A sets the minimum contents, wherever applicable to the packaging concerned. A general description of the packaging and its intended use. Conceptual design, manufacturing drawings and materials of components. The descriptions and explanations needed to understand those drawings and the operation of the packaging. A list of the harmonised standards and common specifications applied in full or in part, and of the other technical specifications used for measurement or calculation. Where no harmonised standard was applied, a description of the solutions adopted instead. A qualitative description of how the assessments provided for in Articles 6, 10 and 11 were carried out. Test reports.
The documentation has to make conformity assessable. It also has to include an adequate analysis and assessment of the risks of non-conformity. Article 15(4) keeps the file alive. It requires procedures for series production, and a re-assessment whenever a change in design, characteristics or referenced standards could affect conformity.
Annex VIII: the eight fields of the declaration
- A unique identification of the packaging, and an identification number for the declaration itself.
- Name and address of the manufacturer and, where one is appointed, of the authorised representative.
- The statement that the declaration is issued under the sole responsibility of the manufacturer.
- The object of the declaration, described so the packaging can be traced.
- Confirmation that the object conforms to the relevant Union harmonisation legislation, with references to the other Union acts applied.
- References to the harmonised standards, common specifications or other technical specifications against which conformity is declared.
- Notified body details, where applicable, with the certificate and its conditions of validity. Empty for packaging, since Annex VII prescribes Module A alone.
- Additional information, place and date of issue, name, function and signature.
Article 39(2) requires three things at once. The Annex VIII model structure, the elements specified in the Annex VII module, and continuous updating. The declaration is also drawn up in, or translated into, the languages required by each Member State where the packaging is placed or made available. Article 39(3) allows one document to cover several Union acts requiring a declaration, provided it states which acts and their publication references. It may also take the form of a dossier of individual declarations. The document structure and a downloadable template are on the page about the PPWR declaration of conformity.
What Article 16 obliges the supplier to hand over
Suppliers provide the manufacturer with all the information and documentation necessary to demonstrate conformity. That includes the technical documentation referred to in Annex VII and required under Articles 5 to 11. It goes in a language the manufacturer easily understands, on paper or electronically. Read that as evidence feeding a file, not as a finished file changing hands. The manufacturer compiles its own Annex VII documentation and drafts its own declaration from what the supplier sends. Where appropriate, Article 16(2) folds the documentation required under the Union acts applicable to contact-sensitive packaging into the same package.
Commission position, not regulatory text. Article 16(1) states the supplier’s duty positively and says nothing about refusal. The Commission FAQ closes both ends: suppliers are in general not responsible for drawing up a declaration of conformity, and they cannot refuse to provide the documentation the manufacturer needs.
Article 3(1)(49) defines contact-sensitive packaging by reference to the product regulations it serves, Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 for food contact among them. A general letter confirming compliance is not evidence. The file holds material declarations, test reports and specifications per packaging type. That includes the substance evidence behind the PFAS limits of Article 5(5).
Article 5(5)(c) puts the fluorine evidence upstream
Article 5(5)(c) names the roles explicitly. Where total fluorine exceeds 50 mg/kg, the obligated party is the manufacturer, importer or downstream user. Those roles are defined in Article 3, points (9), (11) and (13) of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006. On request, it provides proof of the fluorine quantity to the manufacturer or importer as defined in Article 3(1), points (13) and (17), of the PPWR. That evidence feeds the Annex VII technical documentation. The obligated party is identified by its REACH status, not by its position in the packaging supply chain.
What failed PPWR compliance looks like to an authority
Article 62 lists fourteen circumstances, points (a) to (n). Paragraph 1 attaches the same first step to all of them: the Member State requires the economic operator to put an end to the non-compliance. The split appears only if the non-compliance persists, and it runs between points (a) to (f) and points (g) to (n).
The formal branch, points (a) to (f)
No declaration drawn up. A declaration drawn up incorrectly. A QR code or data carrier that does not give access to the Article 12 information. Technical documentation that is unavailable, incomplete or contains errors. Article 15(6) or Article 18(3) information that is absent, false or incomplete. Any other administrative requirement of Article 15 or Article 18 left unfulfilled.
Where non-compliance of this kind persists, Article 62(2) applies. The Member State takes all appropriate measures, prohibiting the packaging from being made available on the market or ensuring it is recalled or withdrawn.
The formal branch needs no laboratory result and no technical dispute. A missing or badly drafted declaration is visible from the paperwork alone, so the process starts without waiting for a substantive finding. It still runs through the remedy step of Article 62(1) before reaching withdrawal, and the national penalties of Article 68 cover infringements of the Regulation generally.
The substantive branch, points (g) to (n)
Excessive packaging and prohibited formats under Articles 24 and 25. The re-use and refill duties of Article 27, Article 28, Article 29, Article 32 and Article 33. The recyclability requirements of Article 6 and the recycled content requirements of Article 7. Article 62(3) routes these to the national penalties laid down under Article 68. Member States have to adopt and notify those rules by 12 February 2027, and Article 68(2) requires that the penalties for Articles 24 to 29 include administrative fines.
Three PPWR compliance duties that run alongside enforcement
Three supporting duties sit alongside. Article 15(10) requires the manufacturer to supply, on a reasoned request from a national authority, all information and documentation demonstrating conformity. The language has to be one the authority easily understands, and the deadline is 10 days. Article 22 requires every economic operator to tell the market surveillance authorities, on request, who supplied it and to whom it supplied. Article 22(2) attaches a retention period to the upstream half only: 5 years for single-use packaging and 10 for reusable. Article 39(5) works the other way round. Competent authorities are to endeavour to control the accuracy of at least part of the declarations of conformity each year, on a risk-based approach. The measures they take can go as far as withdrawal of non-compliant products.
Article 15(8) closes the loop on the manufacturer’s own side. A manufacturer that considers or has reason to believe that packaging it placed on the market is not in conformity has to act. It takes the corrective measures needed to bring the packaging into conformity, withdraw it or recall it. It also informs the market surveillance authority of the Member State where it made the packaging available. Article 15(9) carves out reusable packaging placed on the market before 11 February 2025.
Two authorised representatives, two separate mandates
PPWR compliance can be administered by someone else, up to a point. Article 17 lets a manufacturer appoint an authorised representative by written mandate. Article 17(2) sets five tasks as the minimum. Keeping the declaration and the technical documentation at the disposal of market surveillance authorities for 5 or 10 years. Cooperating with competent authorities on non-compliance. Answering a reasoned request with the information and technical documentation. Making relevant documents available within 10 days of a request, reasoned or not. Terminating the mandate where the manufacturer acts contrary to its obligations.
The final subparagraph of Article 17(2) carves two things out. The Article 15(1) obligation and the drawing up of the Annex VII technical documentation cannot form part of the mandate. Both stay with the manufacturer. That is the Regulation itself, not an interpretation. The assessment can be carried out on the manufacturer’s behalf under Article 15(2); the documentation cannot be delegated.
Article 45(3) is a different appointment entirely. A producer falling under Article 3(1), point (15)(c) and (d), appoints an authorised representative for extended producer responsibility by written mandate. The appointment is made in each Member State where the producer first makes packaging or packaged products available, other than the Member State where the producer is established.
One representative holds the conformity file, the other carries the waste contribution in a named Member State. A single mandate rarely covers both.
The PPWR compliance calendar for the manufacturer role
Placing on the market decides which requirements apply
What decides whether a requirement applies is the act of placing on the market, defined in Article 3(1), point (10), as the first making available on the Union market. Packaging already placed on the market before 12 August 2026 may stay there and continue to be made available. Packaging placed on the market from that date has to meet the requirements, whenever it was produced. The one express sell-through period in the Regulation is Article 12(12), and it covers labelling alone. Packaging manufactured in the Union or imported before the labelling deadlines, which does not comply with those criteria, may be made available for 3 years from the entry into force of the labelling requirements.
Only the first date changes what PPWR compliance means in a folder. The later ones change what the packaging itself has to be. The thresholds behind them are set out on the pages about the recyclability grades and recycled content under Article 7.
Frequently asked questions on PPWR compliance
What is PPWR compliance?
PPWR compliance is documented evidence that a given packaging type meets the requirements of Articles 5 to 12 of Regulation (EU) 2025/40. The Regulation prescribes the form of that evidence. It is an Annex VII technical file built under Module A, plus an EU declaration of conformity in the Annex VIII structure, signed by the manufacturer. From 12 August 2026 both have to exist before the packaging is placed on the market.
Who is the manufacturer when the pack carries a retailer’s private label?
The company that had the packaging designed or manufactured under its own name or trademark. Article 3(1)(13)(a) adds that this holds regardless of whether any other trademark is visible on the pack. A co-packer producing under a retailer brand does not become the manufacturer by printing it. If the retailer commissioned the pack under its own brand, the role sits with the retailer.
How should manufacturers prepare for PPWR?
Manufacturers prepare for PPWR by working out which packaging types they are the manufacturer of, then building one Annex VII file per type. Name the person who will sign each declaration. Request the Article 16 documentation from every supplier in a structured form rather than as a compliance letter. Substance testing has its own lead time and starts first. The file has to be complete on the day the packaging is placed on the market, not on the day an authority asks.
Does a supplier’s declaration of conformity discharge our obligation?
No. Article 39(4) places responsibility on the party that draws up the declaration for the packaging it places on the market. A supplier declaration is an input to your Annex VII file. Passing it on unchanged leaves you at Article 62(1)(a), no declaration drawn up, which Article 62(2) answers with prohibition, recall or withdrawal once the non-compliance persists.
Can we sell packaging produced before 12 August 2026?
It depends on when it is placed on the market, not on when it was produced. Article 3(1), point (10), defines placing on the market as the first making available on the Union market, so packaging already placed before that date may continue to circulate. Stock produced earlier but placed on the market afterwards has to meet the requirements. The single express sell-through period is Article 12(12). It allows non-conforming packaging manufactured or imported before the labelling deadlines to be made available for 3 years from the entry into force of those labelling requirements.
What should companies do before PPWR enforcement starts?
Companies should check the four points of PPWR compliance an authority can verify without testing anything. That a declaration exists per packaging type. That it is drawn up correctly. That the technical documentation is complete and free of errors. That the Article 15(6) contact details are on the pack or in the accompanying document. Those sit at Article 62(1), points (a) to (f). Article 62(2) answers a persisting formal breach with prohibition, recall or withdrawal.
Does the packaging converter have to issue the PPWR declaration of conformity?
Not normally. For branded sales packaging the converter is the supplier, and the brand owner that had the pack designed or manufactured under its own name is the manufacturer. The declaration is therefore the brand owner’s. The Commission FAQ, which is not binding, states both halves. Suppliers of packaging are in general not responsible for drawing up a declaration of conformity, and they cannot refuse to provide the Article 16 documentation the manufacturer needs. Two situations reverse the position. The first is the micro-enterprise rules of Article 3(1)(13)(b) and Article 15(12). The second is unbranded packaging, where the Commission places the role with whoever ordered the pack and decided the design specifications.
Sources
Regulation (EU) 2025/40, Articles 3, 5, 6, 7, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 32, 33, 38, 39, 44, 45, 62, 68 and 71. Annexes VII and VIII. Text as published in the Official Journal L of 22 January 2025. European Commission, Commission Notice on the guidance document for Regulation (EU) 2025/40, Official Journal C, 2026/3084 of 10 June 2026, on the single-manufacturer reading.
European Commission, Frequently Asked Questions on the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, 2nd edition, August 2026, on unbranded packaging and on the supplier’s duty to hand over documentation. Neither the Notice nor the FAQ is legally binding. Both state the Commission position on how the Regulation should be read, and this page marks the passages that rest on them. Recommendation 2003/361/EC, Annex, Article 2(3) for the micro-enterprise definition. Regulations (EC) No 1935/2004 and (EC) No 1907/2006.
Every article and paragraph reference on this page was checked against the Official Journal text rather than against secondary sources.
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Content reviewed by Laura Ionescu · 17.08.2026