Costs for applying for the label
The awarding body RAL gGmbH charges a one-off fee of 600 € (plus the statutory level of VAT) for processing an application for the use of the Blue Angel ecolabel. If the licence holder applies for an extension of the right to use the environmental label for other products or services authorised to carry the label – which are sold on the market under a different brand name and/or distributed by a different sales organisation – a processing fee of 300 € (plus the statutory level of VAT) must be paid to RAL gGmbH by the applicant for the conclusion of each contract extension. Certificates can be provided in German and/or English. The processing fee is 25 € per certificate plus VAT.
In addition, the licence holder must pay an annual fee to RAL gGmbH in accordance with Article 3 (Annual Fee) of the Schedule of Fees for the Blue Angel Environmental Label for the right to use the Blue Angel ecolabel on an ongoing basis. The level of the fee is determined based on the total annual sales of all products or services that have been certified with the environmental label in accordance with the corresponding Basic Award Criteria. In accordance with Article 5 (1) (Fixing of the Fee), the licence holder is obligated to inform RAL gGmbH of the estimated annual sales of the certified products and services in the following year by 30 November of each calendar year and to pay the resulting fee by bank transfer when requested. The licence holder must provide the information on its annual sales via the RAL Web Portal.
There are a total of ten fee categories. These can be found in the latest schedule of fees. Please refer to the table below for the scale of fees (Annual fee for the use of the label) that is currently valid.
If the licence holder does not generate any sales of the products or services, the minimum amount in fee category 1 must be paid as the annual fee. In the case of products that are distributed free of charge, the manufacturing costs are used to determine the relevant fee.
Annual fee for the use of the label valid from 01/01/2025
| ANNUAL SALES (IN MILLIONS OF €) | ANNUAL FEE (IN €*) | FEE CATEGORY |
|---|---|---|
| up to 0.25 | 350 | 1 |
| from 0.25 up to 1.0 | 750 | 2 |
| from 1.0 up to 2.5 | 1.500 | 3 |
| from 2.5 up to 5.0 | 2.750 | 4 |
| from 5.0 up to 10.0 | 4.400 | 5 |
| from 10.0 up to 15.0 | 5.500 | 6 |
| from 15.0 up to 20.0 | 7.000 | 7 |
| from 20.0 up to 25.0 | 9.000 | 8 |
| from 25.0 up to 40.0 | 10.500 | 9 |
| from 40.0 | 13.500 | 10 |
(* plus VAT)
Further information on this subject
Example calculation
Company XY (licence holder) has a valid basic contract and a contract extension for the Basic Award Criteria for DE-UZ 12a “Low-emission and low-pollutant paints and varnishes”. The annual sales are €200,000 for the basic contract and €140,000 for the contract extension. The total net sales are thus €340,000. The company is thus in fee category 2 (sales from €0.25 up to €1.0 million) and must pay an annual fee of €750 plus the statutory rate of VAT.
Company XY also has valid contracts on the use of the environmental label for the Basic Award Criteria for DE-UZ 102 “Low-Emission Interior Wall Paints”: two basic contracts (sales for Contract A of €1.3 million and sales for Contract B of €1.7 million) and a contract extension with sales of €567,000. The total net sales are thus €3,567,000. The company is thus in fee category 4 (sales from €2.5 up to €5.0 million) and a fee of €2,750 plus the statutory rate of VAT will be invoiced for the annual fee.
Company XY has contracts for both DE-UZ 12a and DE-UZ 102. The company will thus receive two separate invoices for the annual fees in this case. The licence holder will be invoiced a total of €3,500 plus the statutory rate of VAT. The invoices will be made available to download on the RAL Web Portal or provided in paper form.