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EAR stands for Elektro-Altgeraete Register. The stiftung elektro-altgeraete register, or stiftung ear, is the producers' joint body under the German Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act (ElektroG). Among other things it handles the registration of producers and receives the quantity filings required by law.

Legally, stiftung ear is a foundation. The German Environment Agency has, however, transferred official ElektroG duties to it. In those areas stiftung ear acts as an authority.

Anyone who counts as a producer under the ElektroG and places electrical or electronic equipment on the German market generally needs a WEEE registration with stiftung ear before doing so. Companies based outside Germany can be affected too. Depending on the case, an authorised representative in Germany is required.

“Producer” under the ElektroG means more than manufacturing the devices yourself. Companies that sell devices under their own brand, or that first bring electrical equipment into Germany from abroad, can also count as producers. What matters is how, and under whose name, the products reach the German market.

The WEEE Reg. No. DE is issued as part of registration with stiftung ear. Producers may generally only place registrable electrical and electronic equipment on the German market once registration has succeeded.

The ElektroG distinguishes six categories of electrical and electronic equipment. For registration with stiftung ear, devices are additionally assigned to specific device types. Among other things, a distinction is made between devices that can also be used in private households and devices used exclusively commercially. In EAR Pilot you set the right device type once per product.

Online marketplaces such as Amazon or eBay have to check that a valid WEEE registration exists for the electrical equipment on offer. A rejection can be caused by a wrong WEEE number, a different brand, or a registration that does not match the product. Check in particular that brand, producer, WEEE number and the registration held at stiftung ear all agree.

Which EAR filings are required depends on your role and on your registered device types. Producers and authorised representatives have to report, among other things, the quantities of electrical and electronic equipment placed on the German market. For b2c devices this includes the monthly Ist-Input filing in particular. Further filings, for example on exports, take-back or annual quantities, can also be required.

The Ist-Input filing is a monthly quantity report for b2c electrical equipment. It reports the mass of electrical and electronic equipment placed on the German market within the month in question.

For the EAR filing, the mass of the devices placed on the market in the period is determined. EAR Pilot calculates the reportable weight automatically from the units sold and the product weight you stored, and assigns the quantities to the matching device type.

No. EAR Pilot handles the monthly Ist-Input filing for b2c devices, i.e. devices that can be used in private households. b2b quantities are reported only once a year by 30 April (§ 27(2) ElektroG). You submit that report directly in the EAR portal as before.

The monthly Ist-Input filing for b2c devices generally has to be submitted by the 15th of the following month. Quantities from July, for example, have to be reported by 15 August.

Yes. If you are registered as a producer for a device category, you have to submit the monthly quantity report (Ist-Inputmeldung) even for months in which you did not place any such electrical equipment on the German market. In that case a quantity of 0 kg is reported. EAR Pilot detects these months automatically and includes the zero filing in the filing process.

Filings that are missing, incorrect or late can constitute an administrative offence under the ElektroG. Depending on the breach, fines can follow. The monthly stiftung ear deadlines should therefore be kept to.

There is no single overall price for a WEEE registration. The fees depend on the specific registration and on which services of stiftung ear are needed. For b2c devices there can be additional costs, for example the insolvency-proof guarantee required by law. The fees charged by stiftung ear are separate from the cost of EAR Pilot.

EAR Pilot takes over the recurring steps of the monthly EAR filing. Sales data is pulled from the connected sales channels, matched to the products and device types you stored, and the quantities to be reported are calculated automatically. You then receive the finished filing to review.

Yes. You can review your calculated EAR filing and then approve it with one click. Alternatively, with the right configuration, automatic submission to stiftung ear can be switched on, which removes the monthly manual approval.

Yes. Before submission you can see and follow the calculated quantities per device type and per product. The filing is only submitted after your approval. With automatic submission on, this step happens automatically.