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WEEE UK rules for overseas sellers (the UK authorised representative)

The short answer

A business outside the UK that sells electrical or electronic equipment (EEE) directly to UK customers is a producer under the WEEE Regulations 2013. GOV.UK gives it two routes, and it must use one before it places EEE on the UK market: appoint an authorised representative established in the UK, by written mandate, or join a UK-approved producer compliance scheme. Under 5 tonnes a year, a small-producer registration with the Environment Agency, made by the producer or its representative, takes the place of scheme membership; it is due by 31 January or within 28 days of the first sale. Since the 2025 amendment (SI 2025/910), when EEE is sold to UK households through an online marketplace, the marketplace is the producer and the seller keeps only the marking and information duties. A breach is an offence. In England and Wales the fine is unlimited; Scotland and Northern Ireland keep a cap.

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If you sell electrical or electronic equipment (EEE) to customers in the UK from outside it, you are a producer under the UK’s WEEE Regulations 2013. Before your first sale, you appoint an authorised representative established in the UK, or you join a UK-approved producer compliance scheme (PCS). Under 5 tonnes a year you or your representative can register you as a small producer with the Environment Agency instead of joining a scheme. If you sell to UK households only through an online marketplace, the marketplace is the producer for those sales. This page is only what the UK adds to the EU WEEE rule. The other UK rules are on the United Kingdom page.

How you sell decides who registers

The producer is set by regulation 2D, inserted in 2025.

You sellThe producer isYou do
Directly to UK customers from outside the UK: your own website, phone or mail orderYou (reg. 2D(1)(d))Appoint a UK authorised representative or join a PCS before you place EEE on the UK market (reg. 14(2))
To UK households through an online marketplaceThe marketplace operator (reg. 2D(2), (3))Mark the equipment and give treatment information on new types. You do not register for these sales, because the marketplace is the producer (reg. 2D(3)). The marking and information duties are in reg. 24A
To business users in the UK through an online marketplaceYou. The marketplace rule covers private households onlyThe same as for direct sales
To a UK importer, distributor or retailerThe first UK-established business that makes the EEE available on the UK marketNothing to register. Check that the UK business is registered and reporting (Environment Agency)

A marketplace, for this rule, is a website or app on which people other than its operator offer goods and make contracts. Its operator controls access to it and its content, is involved in determining the terms of the sales, and takes part in the payment and in the ordering or delivery (reg. 2F).

The amendment was made on 22 July 2025 and came into force 21 days later (SI 2025/910, reg. 1).

Your representative or a compliance scheme

GOV.UK gives a business outside the UK two routes (reg. 14(2)):

  • A UK authorised representative. It must be established in the UK (reg. 2), appointed by written mandate, and it fulfils your producer obligations on your behalf. It joins a scheme for you. If you place under 5 tonnes, a small-producer registration replaces scheme membership (reg. 14(3), (11)).
  • A UK-approved PCS, joined by you. The scheme registers you with the regulator and takes on your duty to pay for the collection and treatment of household WEEE. The Environment Agency publishes the list of approved schemes.

The 5-tonne line sets the rest. It counts the tonnes of EEE you place on the UK market in the calendar year. Your records split them by the 15 categories in the regulations, and between household and business use. The weight of any batteries in the equipment is taken out and reported under the battery rules (OPSS); see the EU Battery Regulation for the EU side.

  • Under 5 tonnes: you are a small producer (reg. 2). The producer or its representative registers in the WEEE online service, which asks for the business location and names the regulator. For a business outside the UK that regulator is the Environment Agency (reg. 2, “appropriate authority”).
  • 5 tonnes or more: you join a PCS. If you registered as a small producer and then reach 5 tonnes, you tell the regulator and join a scheme within 28 days (reg. 17(2), (3)). GOV.UK words the line elsewhere as “more than 5 tonnes”. The regulation’s small producer is under 5 tonnes, so plan on joining a scheme at exactly 5.

Registering in an EU country does not register you here. The regulations require registration with a UK regulator (reg. 15).

Deadlines

WhoWhatBy
Small producer or its representativeApply to register31 January of the year, or within 28 days of first placing EEE on the UK market (reg. 16(1))
The regulatorTells you the outcome28 February, or within 28 days of a late application (reg. 16(4))
Producer or representative over the lineJoin a PCS15 November of the year before, or within 28 days of first placing EEE on the market after that date (reg. 14(4), (5))
Small producerReport last year’s tonnes by category, household and business31 January of the next year (reg. 17(1)(d))
PCS memberReport household EEE to the schemeEvery quarter. Business EEE once a year (Environment Agency)

Treat the first sale as the deadline. The regulations allow 28 days after the first placing, but GOV.UK tells a business outside the UK to have its representative or scheme in place before it places EEE on the UK market (Environment Agency). Keep your records for at least four years (reg. 20(4)).

What it costs

  • Small producer: the Environment Agency’s annual charge is £33.48 (Charging Scheme 2018, para. 9). These are Environment Agency charges for producers in England or outside the UK, which covers an overseas seller. The £30 in reg. 59(4) applies only to producers regulated in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
  • Compliance scheme: the scheme pays the Environment Agency a yearly charge for each member. For a member established outside the UK it is £111.59 if the member is not VAT-registered and £418.45 if it is. For a small producer member it is £33.48 (Charging Scheme 2018, para. 8). The scheme sets its own fees, which also cover the collection and treatment of the WEEE collected for you (Environment Agency). Those fees are not in the law.
  • Your representative: its fee is agreed between you and it. The regulations set none.

Marking, information and take-back duties

  • Mark each item, on a marketplace sale too, with the crossed-out wheeled bin symbol and with a date mark showing it was placed on the market after 13 August 2005 (reg. 22, reg. 23). The symbol is in the WEEE symbol guide.
  • Give treatment information, on a marketplace sale too, for each new type of EEE within one year of placing it on the market (reg. 24).
  • Where you are the producer, give your registration number to every distributor you supply (reg. 21).
  • Show no disposal cost to a consumer at the time of sale (reg. 51). This binds a non-UK supplier, whoever is the producer.
  • Take back old equipment if you sell directly to UK households. You then count as a distributor: free one-to-one take-back of equipment of an equivalent type, written information for customers, and a record of both (reg. 42, reg. 44, GOV.UK). A business that sells only online, or sells less than £100,000 of EEE a year, can join the Distributor Take Back Scheme instead. Vape retailers are excluded (OPSS), and the scheme fee covers your obligations only until .

What happens if you do nothing

Not registering as a small producer or not joining a scheme is an offence. It can lead to enforcement action (Environment Agency). The regulator can first serve an enforcement notice (reg. 88), and GOV.UK says warning letters and formal cautions may come before a prosecution (GOV.UK).

BreachPenaltyEnforced by
Not registering or joining a scheme, late or false registration data, missing reports and records (reg. 90(1))A fine. In England and Wales it is unlimited in either court. Scotland and Northern Ireland keep a cap (reg. 91(1))The Environment Agency, Natural Resources Body for Wales, SEPA or the Northern Ireland department, in their nations (reg. 87(2))
No registration number given to distributors, wrong marking, no treatment information (reg. 90(2), (2A))A fine. In England and Wales it is unlimited in either court. Scotland and Northern Ireland keep a cap (reg. 91(2))The marking: the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS). The other duties: the Secretary of State, who may appoint someone to act (reg. 87(1))
A distributor that does not offer take-back or give customer information (reg. 90(5), (6))A fine. In England and Wales it is unlimited in either court. Scotland and Northern Ireland keep a cap (reg. 91)The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS)

In England and Wales the caps in regulation 91 no longer limit the fine, because a summary fine at that level is now a fine of any amount (LASPO 2012, s. 85(1), Sentencing Act 2020, s. 122(3)). GOV.UK says the same: an unlimited fine from a magistrates’ court or the Crown Court. Scotland and Northern Ireland keep a cap. The regulations set no prison term. A director or other officer is guilty as well when the offence was committed with their consent or connivance, or through their neglect (reg. 90(10)).

The same representative idea under the packaging and battery rules is in the EPR authorised representative.

The facts for United Kingdom, with their sources

FactValueSourceChecked
Registration authorityThe regulator is set by where the producer has its registered office or, without one, its principal place of business: the Environment Agency (England), the Natural Resources Body for Wales, SEPA (Scotland) or the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Northern Ireland). A producer whose registered office or principal place of business is outside the United Kingdom registers with the Environment Agency.Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/3113), regulation 2, "appropriate authority", as revised on legislation.gov.uk
RegisterA small producer registers and reports through the WEEE online service (weee.service.gov.uk). A producer over the small-producer line joins a UK producer compliance scheme (PCS) approved by a regulator; the Environment Agency publishes the register of approved schemes and of registered producers.Environment Agency, Electrical and electronic equipment (EEE): producer responsibilities
Small-volume thresholdA small producer places less than 5 tonnes of EEE on the UK market in a compliance period (a year). A small producer that places 5 tonnes or more must tell the regulator it is no longer a small producer and join a PCS, both within 28 days of reaching 5 tonnes.Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/3113), regulations 2 and 17(2), (3)
Registration feeThe annual charge for registering as a small producer is £33.48. It is an Environment Agency charge, set by the Waste (Miscellaneous) (England) Charging Scheme 2018 (paragraph 9) for producers in England or outside the UK, so it applies to an overseas seller. The £30 in regulation 59 is no longer the figure for these producers; it applies only to producers regulated in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.Waste (Miscellaneous) (England) Charging Scheme 2018, Part 2, paragraph 9; Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/3113), regulation 59(4), (7A)
How the fee is setA PCS pays the Environment Agency an annual producer charge for each member. For a member established outside the UK the charge is £111.59 if it is not VAT-registered and £418.45 if it is; for a small producer member it is £33.48. These are Environment Agency charges for producers in England or outside the UK (Waste (Miscellaneous) (England) Charging Scheme 2018, paragraph 8). The £30, £210 and £445 in regulation 59(2) apply only to members regulated in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. The PCS charges its members its own fees, which include the collection and treatment costs of the WEEE collected on their behalf.Waste (Miscellaneous) (England) Charging Scheme 2018, Part 2, paragraph 8; Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/3113), regulation 59(2), (7A)
Filing deadline and frequencyA small producer, or its authorised representative, applies by 31 January of the compliance period, or within 28 days of first placing EEE on the UK market; the regulator answers by 28 February. A producer over the line joins a PCS by 15 November of the year before the compliance period, or within 28 days of first placing EEE on the market after that date. A small producer reports its tonnage to the regulator by 31 January of the following year; a PCS member reports business-to-consumer EEE to its scheme every quarter and business-to-business EEE once a year.Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/3113), regulations 14(4), (5), 16(1), (4) and 17(1)(d); Environment Agency, Report the amount of EEE you place on the market
PenaltyFailing to register as a small producer or join a PCS is an offence (regulations 14 to 16, 90(1)). Regulation 91 caps the fine on summary conviction at the statutory maximum for the registration and scheme duties (regulation 91(1)) and at level 5 on the standard scale for the registration-number, marking and treatment-information duties (regulation 91(2)); on conviction on indictment it is a fine. In England and Wales those caps no longer limit the fine: it is a fine of any amount in the magistrates' court as well as the Crown Court (Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, section 85(1); Sentencing Act 2020, section 122(3)), and GOV.UK says an unlimited fine from a magistrates' court or the Crown Court. Scotland and Northern Ireland keep a cap. The regulations set no prison term. A director or other officer is guilty too where the offence was committed with their consent or connivance, or through their neglect (regulation 90(10)).Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/3113), regulations 90 and 91; Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, section 85(1); Sentencing Act 2020, section 122(3)
Enforcement bodyThe Environment Agency, Natural Resources Body for Wales, SEPA and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs enforce the registration, scheme-membership, record-keeping and reporting duties (regulations 11 to 20), each in its own nation.Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/3113), regulation 87(2)
Enforcement bodyThe Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) enforces the marking of EEE with the crossed-out wheeled bin symbol and the duties of distributors, including a seller that supplies UK households directly.OPSS and Defra, Regulations: Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), The role of the Office for Product Safety and Standards
Local representativeA producer that is a non-UK supplier supplying EEE directly to UK private households or to users other than private households must either appoint an authorised representative established in the United Kingdom, by written mandate, to fulfil its producer obligations, or comply with the scheme-membership requirement itself (regulation 14(2)). GOV.UK states the two routes as appointing an authorised representative or joining a UK approved PCS. A registered small producer, or its representative, need not join a scheme (regulation 14(11)). Where the supplier sells only to a UK importer, distributor or retailer, it need not register: the first UK-established business that makes the EEE available on the UK market registers and reports.Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/3113), regulations 2, 2D(1)(d) and 14(1A) to (3); Environment Agency, Non UK based producers
Marketplace can file for youWhere a non-UK supplier supplies EEE to UK private households on an online marketplace, the operator of the marketplace is the producer for that EEE (the "OMP producer"). A marketplace operator that is established outside the UK must itself join a scheme or appoint a UK authorised representative. The non-UK supplier does not register for those sales and keeps the duties to mark the equipment with the crossed-out wheeled bin symbol and the date mark and to give treatment information on new types of EEE (regulation 24A). Sales to users other than private households are not covered, so there the seller stays the producer.Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/3113), regulations 2D(1)(d), (2), (3), 14(1A)(b) and 24A, inserted by SI 2025/910
National ruleThe Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Amendment, etc.) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/910) were made on 22 July 2025 and came into force 21 days later. They made the online marketplace operator the producer for EEE that non-UK suppliers sell to UK households on its marketplace, defined the marketplace operator by its control of access and content, its involvement in the terms, its payments and its ordering or delivery, and added vapes and electronic cigarettes as category 7.1 of EEE.Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Amendment, etc.) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/910), regulations 1, 5 and 20, and Explanatory Note
National ruleA producer that sells EEE directly to UK households must also act as a distributor: free one-to-one take-back of old household equipment of an equivalent type, and written information for customers. A business that sells only online, or sells less than £100,000 of EEE a year, can use the Distributor Take Back Scheme instead of providing its own take-back service. Vape retailers are excluded, and the scheme fee covers obligations only until 31 December 2026.GOV.UK, Electrical waste: retailer and distributor responsibilities

Sources

  1. Official source, opened 4 October 2026Environment Agency, Electrical and electronic equipment (EEE): producer responsibilities
  2. Official source, opened 4 October 2026Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/3113), as revised on legislation.gov.uk, full text
  3. Official source, opened 4 October 2026Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Amendment, etc.) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/910), full text
  4. Official source, opened 4 October 2026Waste (Miscellaneous) (England) Charging Scheme 2018
  5. Official source, opened 4 October 2026Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, section 85
  6. Official source, opened 4 October 2026Sentencing Act 2020, section 122
  7. Official source, opened 4 October 2026Environment Agency, Report the amount of EEE you place on the market
  8. Official source, opened 4 October 2026Defra and Environment Agency, Non-UK suppliers' data: tell us how you collected it for EEE placed on the UK market via online marketplaces
  9. Official source, opened 4 October 2026GOV.UK, Electrical waste: retailer and distributor responsibilities, If you do not comply
  10. Official source, opened 4 October 2026GOV.UK, Electrical waste: retailer and distributor responsibilities, Use the Distributor Take Back Scheme
  11. Official source, opened 4 October 2026Environment Agency, Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) public registers
  12. Official source, opened 4 October 2026WEEE online service, sign in
  13. Official source, opened 4 October 2026Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/3113), regulation 2, "appropriate authority", as revised on legislation.gov.uk
  14. Official source, opened 4 October 2026Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/3113), regulations 2 and 17(2), (3)
  15. Official source, opened 4 October 2026Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/3113), regulations 14(4), (5), 16(1), (4) and 17(1)(d); Environment Agency, Report the amount of EEE you place on the market
  16. Official source, opened 4 October 2026Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/3113), regulations 90 and 91; Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, section 85(1); Sentencing Act 2020, section 122(3)
  17. Official source, opened 4 October 2026Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/3113), regulation 87(2)
  18. Official source, opened 4 October 2026OPSS and Defra, Regulations: Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), The role of the Office for Product Safety and Standards
  19. Official source, opened 4 October 2026Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/3113), regulations 2, 2D(1)(d) and 14(1A) to (3); Environment Agency, Non UK based producers
  20. Official source, opened 4 October 2026Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/3113), regulations 2D(1)(d), (2), (3), 14(1A)(b) and 24A, inserted by SI 2025/910
  21. Official source, opened 4 October 2026Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Amendment, etc.) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/910), regulations 1, 5 and 20, and Explanatory Note
  22. Official source, opened 4 October 2026GOV.UK, Electrical waste: retailer and distributor responsibilities