ICPE — site environmental obligations (France)
A list of checks and obligations with their cadence, ready to add to your agenda.
For French businesses whose site falls under the ICPE nomenclature (classified installations for environmental protection), across the three regimes: declaration, registration and authorisation. Covers the five-yearly periodic inspection of declared 'DC' installations, self-monitoring of water and air emissions, the annual GEREP return and site record-keeping. Does NOT cover day-to-day waste traceability (see the France waste traceability kit), occupational safety, fire safety, or the site-specific prefectoral order, which always prevails.
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Ask what is in the manuals, how often the maintenance is due and what it takes to do it.
What it already has at hand
- No manual on this page
- 8 planned checks, the most frequent every 6 months from installation
Planned checks
Informative summary verified on 11/09/2026. It does not replace legal advice: the regulation cited prevails. If you spot an error, report it.
Some checks are only mandatory in certain countries: pick yours and the list follows.
In Italy this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
- 01
File the annual GEREP emissions and waste return by 31 March
Operators of establishments listed in Annex I of the 31 January 2008 order file online, on the GEREP portal, the previous year's air and water emissions, water abstraction and waste produced. Proof is the submission receipt. Applies to establishments in Annexes I a and I b (ICPE under authorisation or registration, fish farms, urban wastewater plants, mining sites, activities above the thresholds of Regulation 166/2006), and each pollutant is reported only once its threshold is exceeded: for example more than 2 t/year of hazardous waste, more than 2,000 t/year of non-hazardous waste, more than 50,000 m³/year of mains water.
every year by 31 MarchLegal obligationArrêté du 31 janvier 2008 art. 4 et art. 7 ; Code de l'environnement art. R512-46 ; règlement (CE) n° 166/2006 (E-PRTR)France onlySourceverified on 11/09/2026 - 02
Notify the prefecture of any substantial change to the installation
Before carrying it out, the operator notifies the prefect of any substantial change to the installation, to the nature or volume of the activities or to the processes used, as well as any change of operator and cessation of activity. Proof is the filing receipt issued by the authority through the national online procedure. Applies to all ICPE, in all three regimes; what counts as a substantial change differs considerably between declaration, registration and authorisation, so consult the DREAL before starting work when in doubt. Cadence to be confirmed on the cited source.
continuous checkLegal obligationCode de l'environnement art. R512-54 (régime de déclaration) ; art. R181-46 (régime d'autorisation)France onlySource - 03
Operate source separation of the 7 waste streams
Producers or holders of professional waste separate at source paper/cardboard, metal, plastic, glass, wood, mineral fractions (rubble, concrete, brick, tile, ceramics) and plaster, and have them collected separately for recovery. Proof: per-stream collection contracts and annual recovery attestations. Applies to all producers and holders of professional waste (companies, public bodies, local authorities), with a possible exemption for those using the public service and staying below a combined 1,100 litres per week.
continuous check, confirm every 12 monthsLegal obligationCode de l'environnement art. D543-278 à D543-287 ; décret n° 2016-288 du 10 mars 2016 ; décret n° 2021-950 du 16 juillet 2021France onlySourceverified on 11/09/2026 - 04
Run self-monitoring of water and air emissions
The operator implements the self-monitoring programme (measurements, sampling, analyses) required by the prefectoral authorisation or the applicable ministerial order and sends the results to the classified-installations inspectorate. Proof: laboratory analysis reports and the periodic GIDAF submissions; for some parameters of connected effluents (COD, BOD5, suspended solids, total nitrogen and phosphorus) art. 60 of the 2 February 1998 order sets a frequency no lower than weekly. Applies to ICPE under authorisation and, by cross-reference, to many registered or declared ICPE where the sector order provides for it: the nature and frequency of measurements are set case by case in the prefectoral order, from which the real cadence must be copied.
continuous check, confirm every 12 monthsLegal obligationArrêté du 2 février 1998 art. 58 à 60France onlySourceverified on 11/09/2026 - 05
Keep the chronological waste register up to date
An establishment producing or dispatching waste keeps a chronological register of waste produced, dispatched, received and treated, updated at each movement. Proof is the register itself, which may be electronic and must be kept at least three years, with the content set by the 31 May 2021 order. Applies to all professional waste producers and holders, collectors, carriers, dealers, brokers and operators of transit, grouping or treatment facilities; households are exempt.
continuous check, confirm every 1 monthsLegal obligationCode de l'environnement art. R541-43 ; arrêté du 31 mai 2021France onlySourceverified on 11/09/2026 - 06
Have the first periodic inspection done within 6 months of commissioning
For a new DC installation the first periodic inspection by an approved body must take place within six months of commissioning. Proof is the first inspection report, which starts the five-year cycle. Applies to newly commissioned DC installations; reclassification carries different deadlines: 5 years on downgrading, 2 years where the installation becomes DC through a change in the nomenclature.
every 6 months from installationLegal obligationCode de l'environnement art. R512-58France onlySourceverified on 11/09/2026 - 07
Have the periodic ICPE inspection carried out (DC regime)
The operator of an ICPE subject to declaration with periodic control ('DC' in the nomenclature) asks an approved body in writing to check compliance with the applicable ministerial order. Proof is the inspection report issued by the body and kept on site: the administration is not a recipient. Applies only to headings flagged 'DC' in the ICPE nomenclature; DC installations inside an establishment that also holds ICPE under authorisation or registration, and EMAS-registered installations, are exempt.
every 60 months since the last inspectionLegal obligationCode de l'environnement art. L512-11 et art. R512-55 à R512-66France onlySourceverified on 11/09/2026 - 08
Obtain and keep the annual recovery attestation
The operator of the recovery facility or the intermediary collecting the separated streams delivers to the producer, before 31 March each year, an attestation stating tonnages, the nature of the waste separately collected the previous year and its final recovery destination. The producer must chase it and keep it, since it is the producer who is asked for it during an inspection. Applies to producers and holders of professional waste subject to the 7-stream sorting duty.
every year by 31 MarchLegal obligationCode de l'environnement art. D543-284 ; arrêté du 18 juillet 2018France onlySourceverified on 11/09/2026
In Germany this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In Switzerland this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In Austria this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In United Kingdom this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In Spain this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In Portugal this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In United States this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In Other country this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
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