PackUK sets 1 September 2026 pEPR data deadline

In a new GOV.UK update, PackUK, working on behalf of the four UK nations, has set a resubmission deadline of 1 September 2026 for 2025 packaging data from producers that pay pEPR fees. That may sound like a small administrative change, but it is actually a very important date in the year’s payment timetable. **What pEPR means in practice:** this is the system that uses producers’ packaging data to work out what they owe. If the data is wrong, the bill can be wrong too, which is why this deadline matters far beyond paperwork.

The new deadline gives producers five months, running from the 1 April reporting deadline to 1 September 2026, to correct mistakes and send their data again. PackUK says that window should help businesses fix errors without pushing the whole fee-setting process into repeated recalculations. **What this means:** if a producer already knows its 2025 return needs changes, the time to act is now. Waiting too long risks turning a fixable reporting issue into a budgeting problem later in the year.

After 1 September, the regulators will keep carrying out compliance monitoring, but PackUK will then move ahead using the data available at that point to publish confirmed producer fees for 26/27 and issue Notices of Liability later in 2026. In plain English, that notice is the formal statement telling a producer what it must pay under the scheme. This is the clearest line in the announcement: after 1 September, any further producer data resubmissions will not change Notices of Liability or disposal fees. So the deadline is not just administrative; it is the cut-off point for what counts towards the bill.

There is another useful piece of context here. PackUK published illustrative fees for Year 2 in December 2025, but those figures were always provisional and could still shift once final data was corrected and resubmitted. PackUK now says it does not intend to publish further illustrative fees. The figures released later this year will be the confirmed Year 2 fees, and those are the figures that will be used to calculate Notices of Liability.

For producers, the most important job is simple: if corrections are needed, resubmit 2025 packaging data by 1 September 2026. If reporting is handled through a Compliance Scheme, producers are being told to contact that scheme directly and check what information is needed, and by when. **A point that is easy to miss:** the duty to correct data does not end on 1 September. Producers must still resubmit data after that date so it is as accurate as reasonably possible for their recycling obligations, even though those later corrections will not change Notices of Liability or disposal fees.

That split can feel confusing at first, so it helps to separate two ideas. One deadline affects fees and liability notices; the continuing duty to correct data affects the accuracy of the wider recycling record. The GOV.UK notice is really saying that both matter, but they matter for different reasons. PackUK says the change is designed to improve data stability and reduce fee changes during the year. For businesses, that should make planning easier. For local authorities, it should mean more certainty about the pEPR payments they are expecting.

There is also a payment detail worth keeping in mind. As in Year 1, producers will have 50 calendar days to pay, and there will be an option to pay in instalments. That gives some breathing room, but only after the data stage has been handled properly. If you are reading this as a producer, the practical takeaway is straightforward: check your 2025 packaging data now, correct it before 1 September 2026 if needed, and speak to your Compliance Scheme early if it reports on your behalf. For extra help, the EPR Helpdesk listed by PackUK can be reached on 0300 060 0002 or at EPRCustomerService@defra.gov.uk.