If you sell through a marketplace like Bol.com, Amazon or Kaufland, that marketplace is requesting in a growing number of countries proof that you comply with your packaging obligations. Usually it is not a complete file, but one specific document: a registration number. Think of the German LUCID registration number, the French UIN (unique identifier) or a registration number with Verpact in the Netherlands. The marketplace uses that number to check whether you are registered at all, not to assess your entire packaging file.
The declaration of conformity and the technical file that come with the PPWR are typically not what a marketplace requests. Those documents are intended for your own records and for supervisory authorities or commercial customers who ask for them, not for the sales platform itself. What a marketplace does want to see varies by platform and by country, and not every platform checks equally strictly in every country yet. Whether this applies to your situation depends on where you sell and through which channels; you can have that investigated in a few questions.
Why marketplaces request a registration number
In various European countries, there is also a responsibility on the platform itself when it facilitates the sale of products with unpackaged or unregistered packaging. To limit that risk, marketplaces build in a check step when new sellers register or during periodic checks. That explains why you are sometimes asked for a number when registering on the platform, and why that number can be checked again later.
The detail most frequently overlooked
The point where businesses regularly stumble is that providing a registration number to the marketplace is not always enough. In some countries, with Germany as the most well-known example, common practice is that the number must also be visibly found on the product page itself, not only behind the scenes with the platform. Anyone who enters the number once in a seller portal but does not check whether it also appears on the listing may miss this step. If the number changes, for example due to a change of authorised representative, that change must be updated in the same place.
What marketplaces typically do not request
The technical substantiation of your packaging, such as material specifications or the declaration of conformity under Annex VIII, falls outside what a marketplace usually checks. That does not mean those documents are not still required; they belong to your own file and can be requested by a supervisory authority or a commercial customer, regardless of what the sales platform requests. An overview of which documents belong there and why can be found in the knowledge base by topic.
Selling through multiple platforms and countries
If you sell through more than one marketplace, in more than one country, the number of registration numbers quickly increases. Each country with its own register can produce its own number, and not every platform accepts the same proof. Keeping track of that overview, including when a number changes or expires, is precisely where many businesses struggle once they sell through multiple channels. If you prefer not to manage that yourself by country, you can view the guided registration and the annual reporting calendar via the registration page.
What you can verify yourself
It is advisable for your own file to establish per marketplace which specific document is being requested—whether that is a number, an upload proof or a declaration—and whether that number must also be visible on your listings. Marketplaces change their terms regularly, so a one-time check is no guarantee that you will still meet what the platform expects a year from now. For questions about your specific situation, or about how a country interprets a particular role precisely, it is customary to consult the guidelines of the relevant supervisory authority or to involve a legal expert; we cite those guidelines and refer further, but do not ourselves provide an assessment in cases of doubt.
If you first want to know whether this is relevant for your packaging and your sales channels, the free quick-scan provides an initial indication, and you can read in the frequently asked questions how other entrepreneurs encounter this type of question.