EDM portal Austria: how to register – GLN, reports and obligations

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At a glance

What the EDM is and what it is not

EDM stands for Elektronisches Datenmanagement (Electronic Data Management). It is the e-government system of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Climate and Environmental Protection, Regions and Water Management (BMLUK) for reports and registrations in the waste and environmental field^[1]. Legal texts still name the former climate protection ministry; the BMLUK is responsible today^[5][4].

At its core is the master data register ZAReg, with the registered office, sites and plants of every registered company^[1]. The activity profile you select determines your applications, for example waste electrical equipment, batteries, packaging or consignment notes for hazardous waste^[1][2].

The EDM is not a licence. Anyone who places packaging, electrical equipment or batteries on the market usually also participates in an approved collection and recovery system, colloquially called “licensing”^[6][8][17]. An EDM account does not prove this participation.

Who must register

Whether you must be in the EDM depends on your role in each product area. For packaging, the responsible party is called the primary obligated party (Primärverpflichteter): packers, importers and producers of service packaging established in Austria, as well as foreign mail-order retailers selling to private final consumers^[6]. For electrical equipment and batteries, it is called the producer, including importers in Austria and foreign distance sellers^[5].

The sources we checked do not list primary obligated parties that license fully through a system as being required to register themselves; for packaging, the law links EDM registration to a reporting obligation^[6][13]. A separate procedure applies to the single-use deposit (Einwegpfand), see Deposit in Austria.

How EDM registration works

The BMLUK recommends the route via the USP (Unternehmensserviceportal, the Austrian business service portal)^[2]. It requires a USP account; you log in with ID Austria or a USP identifier^[2][3].

• Assign the procedure right: the USP administrator, for example the management, assigns the procedure right for the EDM to the person responsible^[2].
• Start registration: tile “edm.gv.at” in the USP, then “Unternehmen im EDM registrieren” (register company in the EDM)^[2].
• Check master data: company register number (Firmenbuchnummer), legal form and registered office come from the business register; changes are made only in the source register^[2].
• Select activities: for example producer of electrical equipment or batteries; the selection determines your EDM applications^[2].
• Complete: the confirmation is available for download immediately; the management receives an information letter^[2].

Without USP access, for example as a company established abroad, you submit the online registration application on edm.gv.at. Select “Ausländische Rechtsform” (foreign legal form); the Austrian company register number is then not required^[2]. You enter company details, a four-digit industry code (ÖNACE) and the activity profile. The registration office checks the application and sends the user name, person GLN and password by electronic delivery or by post; registration is complete with the first login^[2].

Since 29 May 2026, all users of a company log in either only via the USP or only with EDM credentials^[3]. If no decision has been reported, login with EDM credentials remains; previous USP users then need their own EDM credentials^[3].

GLN and GTIN

The GLN (Global Location Number) is a 13-digit number that the EDM assigns automatically^[1][2]:

• **Person GLN** for the company; for new Austrian companies, the public administration GLN from the business register, starting with 911^[2]
• **Site GLN** for each business site^[1]
• **Plant GLN** for each plant at a site^[1]

In the EDM you will come across GTINs (Global Trade Item Numbers) as technical identifiers for reference data, for example for waste types in the waste catalogue. The EDM specifies these codes; you do not apply for them yourself^[21]. A product GTIN that a company applies for at GS1 Austria for its articles is something different.

Registration as an authorised representative

An authorised representative is a person established in Austria who takes over the waste-law obligations of a foreign producer or distance seller and reports the masses it has placed on the market^[2][11]. An authorised representative is mandatory for distance sellers from the EU and third countries that sell directly to end customers in Austria; EU producers that supply Austrian retailers can appoint one^[2][7].

• The authorised representative registers in the EDM with the activity profile “Hersteller/sonstige Meldepflicht” (producer/other reporting obligation)^[2][11].
• They submit a certified power of attorney in German or English; it states the scope, for example the collection category, their consent and their right to conclude contracts on your behalf^[2][8].
• The BMLUK checks it and flags them in the ZAReg as an authorised representative; your company is created in the ZAReg with your data^[2][11].
• The authorised representative receives secondary-user credentials for your data; you can request main-user credentials from the helpdesk^[2].

The appointment, change and termination of an authorised representative take effect only at the end of a calendar quarter; the authorised representative may act from the appointment under civil law^[7][11]. There is exactly one authorised representative per product group^[7].

After registration: licensing and reports

The guide on the packaging licence explains the difference between registration and licensing.

Costs

Registration in the EDM is free of charge for companies, including the assignment of the GLN^[1]. Only those who have no technical means of electronic submission and register in writing with the Umweltbundesamt pay a fee of 40 euros^[5]. Costs arise outside the EDM: the fees of the collection and recovery system, which each system sets itself, and, for companies established abroad, the fee of the authorised representative^[8].

Consequences of missing registration

Anyone who does not meet a registration or reporting obligation commits an administrative offence (Verwaltungsübertretung) under § 79 Abs. 3 AWG 2002^[5]. § 79 Abs. 2 AWG 2002 applies to a missing mandatory authorised representative and to missing system participation^[5]. Electronic marketplaces must exclude primary obligated parties and producers whose system participation they cannot ensure; fulfilment service providers must then refrain from providing their service^[18].

Deadlines and timeline

PPWR and EDM: what applies, what is open

Since 12 August 2026, the EU Packaging Regulation (PPWR) has applied directly^[19][13]. According to the BMLUK, nothing changes for the time being in the participation obligation of primary obligated parties or in the reporting channels; the collection and recovery system continues to report packaging for which obligations have been discharged^[13][14]. Amendments to the AWG 2002 and the Verpackungsverordnung, which have not yet been promulgated, are to bring adjustments^[13][5]. Once the EU legal acts on the producer register are available, the BMLUK intends to adapt the EDM application; when is open (see timeline)^[13][14]. The guide on extended producer responsibility (EPR) explains the PPWR roles.

Common mistakes

• Mistaking an EDM account for a licence. Solution: conclude system participation separately and provide proof of it^[6][8].
• Registering twice. Solution: search for the company first; request existing credentials from the helpdesk^[2].
• Planning the appointment of an authorised representative for the middle of a quarter. Solution: change only at the end of a quarter, without a gap^[7][8].

For companies from Germany and abroad

A German company does not need its own establishment for Austria, but it does need a clear role for each delivery route^[6][5]:

• **Direct sales to private customers in Austria** via an online shop or marketplace: you are the primary obligated party or producer and must appoint an authorised representative in Austria^[6][7].
• **Delivery to an Austrian retailer or importer**: they are usually the primary obligated party or producer. As an EU company, you can voluntarily take over the obligations yourself via an authorised representative^[7][8].

The authorised representative takes over your obligations in Austria, reports your quantities and may conclude contracts in your name, for example with a collection and recovery system^[11][8]. Your German registration with stiftung ear (the German WEEE register) or in LUCID (the German packaging register) does not replace any of these steps; the guides on the WEEE number and the packaging licence show how it works in Germany, and for Austria our article on selling to Austria. In its digital needs analysis, ClearoSystems classifies which obligations apply per product, role, sales channel and country, currently for companies whose home market is Austria, the Netherlands or Switzerland, with Germany to follow; we then support you with registration, reports and the appointment of an authorised representative.

Status and changes

As of 16 October 2026. On that day we checked the registration, helpdesk and login pages on edm.gv.at, the EDM page, the PPWR information sheet of 10 June 2026 and the battery transition page of the BMLUK, §§ 11, 12a to 13a, 13g, 21, 22 and 79 AWG 2002 (last amended by BGBl. I Nr. 84/2024), the Verpackungsverordnung 2014, the EAG-VO and the Batterienverordnung in the consolidated version in the RIS, as well as the USP pages on authorised representatives and packaging reports^{[1][2][3][5][8][9][10][11][12][13][15]}. Changes: 15 October 2026, first version; 16 October 2026, technical clarifications after expert review (GTIN in the EDM). Translated from the German version of 16 October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to register in the EDM if I only license packaging through a collection and recovery system?

According to the sources we checked, usually not yourself: the system reports your quantities to the register. You need your own registration as soon as you have a reporting obligation of your own, for example as a self-importer without system participation, as a large-volume generator or as a filler of reusable containers, or if you also place electrical equipment or batteries on the market.

Can a German company register without a company register number?

Yes. In the online registration application on edm.gv.at, select “Ausländische Rechtsform” (foreign legal form); the Austrian company register number is then not required. If you deliver directly to end customers in Austria, your authorised representative also registers and creates your company in the ZAReg on the basis of the power of attorney.

How long does registration take?

Via the USP, it is completed immediately after three steps. With a direct application on edm.gv.at, the registration office first checks the data; the credentials arrive by electronic delivery or by post, which for foreign companies means postal delivery time. The appointment of an authorised representative only becomes visible in the system at the end of a calendar quarter.

I have lost my EDM credentials. What should I do?

Use the function for forgotten or blocked credentials on edm.gv.at or contact the EDM helpdesk of the Umweltbundesamt. Do not create a second account; each company may only be registered once.

Does the PPWR change anything about my EDM registration?

Not at present. Existing registrations and reporting channels continue to apply until Austria amends the AWG and the Verpackungsverordnung. The ministry expects new requirements for data entry in the EDM from 2028 or 2029 at the earliest.