The most common mistake regarding name and address on packaging is that a brand name and website appear, but not the full name and physical address of the party responsible for the packaging. A logo with a webshop name is not an address, and a PO box or place name alone usually does not meet what is required.
The solution is fundamentally straightforward: the name as it appears in the business register, linked to a complete business or correspondence address, must be visibly displayed on the packaging or in the accompanying documentation. Where doubt exists about who that responsible party exactly is, that is not a question you need to answer yourself — guidelines exist for that purpose, and a lawyer or the competent supervisory authority can provide clarification.
Why this often goes wrong
The mistake usually does not arise from carelessness, but from a false assumption about who the responsible party is. A webshop selling under its own brand name but having packaging made and filled by a manufacturer in another country sometimes thinks it is sufficient to show only its own business name. With private label and when purchasing through a wholesaler, the address of the original producer is sometimes inadvertently carried over, while legally a different party has become responsible. With fulfilment arrangements too, it happens that the address of the fulfilment centre ends up on the box, while that address says nothing about who is responsible for the packaging.
The regulation distinguishes between who places the packaging on the market, and that is not automatically the same party as who packs, stores or ships the goods. Who exactly that is within your own chain depends on your arrangement with suppliers and fulfilment partners. see in five questions which role suits you provides an initial direction for this, without you needing an account straight away.
Which address exactly belongs on it
A common misconception is that an email address or website address is sufficient. The thinking behind it — that a customer can reach you anyway — is understandable, but that is not the same as a traceable, physical address at which the responsible party can be held accountable to supervisory authorities and waste management organisations. A PO box is often considered insufficient in practice, precisely because it does not lead back to an actual place of business. The same applies to an address that does not match the entry in the business register: if the name on the packaging differs from the name under which the company is registered, a gap emerges between what is on the box and who can be found in the registers.
One mistake, multiple packaging types
This mistake becomes larger when a company uses multiple types of packaging: the product packaging from the supplier, its own shipping box, and possibly an outer box for bundles. It is not self-evident that the same party is responsible for each of those packages, and therefore it is also not automatic that the same address should appear everywhere. Companies that overlook this often unthinkingly transfer the information from the product packaging to the shipping box, while those two can be assessed independently of each other. worked out per subject what the regulations exactly require specifically addresses the distinction between product packaging and shipping packaging, including where the overlap does and does not exist.
How you check this in practice
A practical way to prevent this error is to place the name and address on the packaging alongside the data in the technical file and the EU declaration of conformity. If they do not match, that is a signal to find out which party is actually responsible, rather than leaving the existing print unchanged for the next print run. Doubtful cases — for example with private label via a foreign manufacturer, or when taking over a brand — are precisely the situations where it is advisable not to make up the answer yourself, but to check via the guidelines or a lawyer. Similar doubtful cases can also be found under answer to similar doubtful cases.
Would you like to quickly see whether the name and address on your own packaging match the role you have, and in which register that can be checked? The free quick-scan provides a first indication for this, without requiring you to create an account.