Frequently Asked Questions

When paying fees to RPRA, you can select from one of the following payment methods:

• Direct debit (also known as bank withdrawal)
• Credit card
• Electronic data interchange (EDI; also commonly known as ACH or EFT)
• Electronic bill payment
• Cheque

For instructions on how to submit payment by the method you chose, read one of the following FAQs:

• How do I pay my fees to RPRA by credit card?
• How do I pay my fees to RPRA by direct debit?
• How do I pay my fees to RPRA by electronic bill payment?
• How do I pay my fees to RPRA by cheque?
• How do I pay my fees to RPRA by electronic data interchange (EDI)?

Please note:

• Invoices are due on receipt.
• Invoices are in CAD fund and payments must be sent in CAD.

We recommend using Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge or Apple Safari when accessing the Registry. If you are experiencing an issue with the Registry, try clearing your cache or updating the browser to the latest version.

If you are using a different browser, the Registry will not function.

You should use the address where you carry on business. If you carry on business in more than one location in Ontario, use the main address for your business in Ontario. If you do not have an Ontario address, use the address that relates to the activities you carry out in Ontario.

Program fees are charges that producers obligated under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016, are required to pay to RPRA annually to recover its operational costs, including costs related to building and operating the registry, providing services to registrants, and compliance and enforcement activities.

All current and past fee schedules can be found here.

To register as a PRO, contact the Compliance and Registry Team at [email protected] or call 647-496-0530 or toll-free 1-833-600-0530.

Resident in Ontario means a person having a permanent establishment in Ontario within the meaning of the Corporations Tax Act. A permanent establishment is usually a fixed place of business such as an office, factory, branch, warehouse, workshop, etc. In some cases, a corporation will be deemed to operate a permanent establishment in Ontario. These include cases where:

• The corporation produced, grew, mined, created, manufactured, fabricated, improved, packed, preserved or constructed anything in the province, in whole or in part;
• The corporation carries on business through an employee or agent in the province who has general authority to contract for the corporation; or
• The corporation carries on business through an employee or agent in the province who has a stock of merchandise owned by the corporation from which they regularly fill orders that they receive.
• A corporation will also have a permanent establishment in Ontario if it uses substantial machinery or equipment in the province, or if it is has a permanent establishment elsewhere in Canada and owns land in the province.

For more details about what constitutes a permanent establishment, see the definition of “permanent establishment” in the Corporations Tax Act.

To create a Registry account with RPRA, you will need to provide:

• CRA Business Number (BN)
• Legal Business Name
• Business address and phone number
• Address of where you work (if different from the main office)
• Contact information for your billing contact (this may also be added later)

For regulatory purposes, we need to know your legal name — the name you are incorporated under.  We also need to know your business operating name if it is different from your legal business name to add to our published list of registrants. The list of registrants will be available on our website to allow registrants to interact with one another and to provide information to the public.

Yes. You are still required to register with RPRA’s Registry even if you already have an existing account.

RPRA does not vet PROs before listing them on the website. Any business that registers as a PRO will be listed. Producers should do their own due diligence when determining which PRO to work with.

Account admins must add any new, or manage existing, contacts under the program they wish to give them access to in order for the contact to be able to submit a report or pay an invoice. The account admins are the only user than can add a Primary Contact and an Accounts Payable User to a Registry Account. 

To Manage contacts on your Registry account, please see the following steps: 

1. Log into your account. 
2. Once you are logged in, click on the drop-down arrow in the top right corner and select Manage Users. 
3. Under Actions, click Edit to update preferences of existing user primary and secondary users. 
4. Click Add New User to add an additional contact to your account. 
5. To give reporting access to a Primary Contact, select the program from the drop-down that you would like to grant them access to. 
6. Click “Set Accounts Payable User” to add an AP contact to your account. 

No, only producers are required to pay RPRA program fees.  The decision to make producers pay fees and cover RPRA’s costs was made to reflect the fact that the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016 (RRCEA) is based on a producer responsibility framework. Although producers may hire service providers to help meet their obligations, the responsibility remains with the producer.

Free riders are obligated parties that:

• Have not registered or reported to RPRA
• Have not established a collection and management system (if they are so required to), or;
• Are not operating a collection and management system (if they are so required to).

See our FAQs to understand “What is RPRA’s approach to free riders?”, and “What do I do if I think a business is a free rider?”

To note:

• Some producers only have requirements to register and report. Please refer to your specific program page on our website to understand producer obligations.
• Collection and management systems may be accomplished by a producer responsibility organization (PRO) on behalf of a producer through contractual arrangements between the producer and PRO. If a PRO is managing a producer’s collection and management requirements, producers must identify that PRO to RPRA.

A person is considered a lighting producer under the Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) Regulation if they supply lighting into Ontario and one of the following apply:

• Are the brand holder for the lighting and have residency in Canada;
• If there is no resident brand holder, have residency in Ontario and import lighting from outside of Ontario;
• If there is no resident importer, have residency in Ontario and market directly to consumers in Ontario (e.g. online sales); or
• If there is no resident marketer, do not have residency in Ontario and market directly to consumers in Ontario (e.g., online sales).

Even if you do not meet the above definition, there may be circumstances where you qualify as a producer. Read the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulation for more detail or contact the Compliance and Registry Team for guidance at [email protected] or (647) 496-0530 or toll-free at (833) 600-0530.

See our FAQ to understand “What is lighting under the EEE Regulation?”, “Who is a brand holder?”

• A lighting hauler is a person that arranges the transport of lighting used in Ontario that are destined for processing, reuse, refurbishing or disposal.
• A lighting processor is a person that processes lighting used in Ontario for the purpose of resource recovery.

If you select credit card as your method of payment, this will be done through your Registry account.

Follow these steps to complete your payment:

Follow these steps to complete your payment: 

1. In the payment method section of the Registry, select credit card as your preferred method. 
2. Enter your credit card details. 
3. Click PAY and the payment will process automatically. 

Please note: 

• Invoices are due on receipt.
• Invoices are in CAD funds and payments must be sent in CAD.
• Payment will be reflected in your Registry account once your transaction has been processed.
• Registrants can save a credit card as their preferred payment method.
• Hazardous Waste Program (HWP) registrants can enrol in Manifest Autopay with credit card as their saved payment method.

If you have questions about fee payment, contact our Compliance and Registry Team at [email protected] or call 1-833-600-0530. 

How do I pay my fees to RPRA by cheque? 

If you select cheque as your method of payment, follow these steps to complete your payment: 

1. Make your cheque payable to “Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority” 
2. Enter your Invoice Number on the memo line of the cheque 
3. Send your cheque to: 
   • Resource Productivity Recovery Authority 
   • PO Box 46114, STN A 
   • Toronto, ON 
   • M5W 4K9 

Please note: 

• Invoices are due on receipt. 
• Invoices are in CAD funds and payments must be sent in CAD. 
• It may take 2-4 weeks for your payment to be reflected in your Registry account due to mail and cheque processing times.

If you have questions relating to fee payment, contact our Compliance and Registry Team at [email protected] or call 1-833-600-0530. 

If you select direct debit (also known as bank withdrawal) as your method of payment, this will be done through your Registry account. 

Follow these steps to complete your payment: 

1. In the payment method section of the Registry, select direct debit as your preferred method. 
2. Enter your banking information/details. 
3. Review the withdrawal agreement then click “I agree to let RPRA collect my payments as per the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement.” 
4. Click PAY and the payment will process automatically. 

Please note: 

• Invoices are due on receipt.
• Invoices are in CAD funds and payments must be sent in CAD.
• Payment will be reflected in your Registry account once your transaction has been processed.
• By selecting direct debit, registrants authorize RPRA to collect payments as outlined in the withdrawal agreement.
• Registrants can save direct debit as their preferred payment method.
• Hazardous Waste Program (HWP) registrants can enrol in Manifest Autopay with direct debit as their saved payment method. 

If you have questions about fee payment, contact our Compliance and Registry Team at [email protected] or call 1-833-600-0530. 

If you select electronic bill payment as your method of payment, this will be done through your online banking account, using the bill payment functionality. It is available at most major Canadian banks (e.g., TD, RBC, BMO, Scotiabank). 

Follow these steps to complete your payment:

1. Log in to your bank account.
2. Go to the bill payment section and add RPRA as payee.
3. Enter your registration number (found on your invoice) as the account number. 

Please note:

• Invoices are due on receipt.
• Invoices are in CAD funds and payments must be sent in CAD.
• It may take 1–2 weeks for payment to be reflected in your Registry account. 

If you have questions relating to fee payment, contact our Compliance and Registry Team at [email protected] or call 647-496-0530 or toll-free at 1-833-600-0530.

If you select cheque as your method of payment, follow these steps to complete your payment: 

1.  Make your cheque payable to “Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority”
2. Enter your Invoice Number on the memo line of the cheque 
3. Send your cheque to: 
   • Resource Productivity Recovery Authority 
   • PO Box 46114, STN A 
   • Toronto, ON 
   • M5W 4K9 

Please note: 

• Invoices are due on receipt. 
• Invoices are in CAD funds and payments must be sent in CAD.
• It may take 2-4 weeks for your payment to be reflected in your Registry account due to mail and cheque processing times. 

If you have questions relating to fee payment, contact our Compliance and Registry Team at [email protected] or call 1-833-600-0530. 

If you select electronic data interchange (EDI) as your method of payment, this is an electronic payment through your bank, also commonly known as EFT or ACH.

Follow these steps to complete your payment:

1. Submit your payment using RPRA’s banking information provided on your invoice.
2. Reference your invoice number when you submit this payment to your bank so RPRA can identify your payment and send your remittance details to [email protected]

Please note:

• Invoices are due on receipt.
• Invoices are in CAD funds and payments must be sent in CAD.
• It may take 1-2 weeks for payment to be reflected in your Registry account.

If you have questions relating to fee payment, contact our Compliance and Registry Team at [email protected] or call 647-496-0530 or toll-free at 1-833-600-0530.

A lighting producer qualifies for an exemption if their average weight of supply for that calendar year is less than or equal to 700 kg.

Average supply weight is determined using the following formula:

Average weight of lighting supply = (Y3 + Y4 + Y5) / 3 

Eg. 2025 average weight of supply = (2022 + 2021 + 2020) / 3 

Lighting producers that meet the exemption criteria are exempt from:

• Registering with and reporting to RPRA
• Establishing a collection and management system
• Meeting a management requirement
• Promotion and education requirements

Producers must verify that they continue to meet the exemption annually, since their average weight of supply will change from year to year.

Producers that are exempt must keep records of the materials they supplied, as set out in section 30 of the regulation.

Producers are advised to confirm their exemption with the Compliance Team at 833-600-0530 or [email protected].

See our FAQs: “How are lighting producers’ minimum management requirements determined?” and “What do I have to do if I am an exempt lighting producer?”

An exempt producer is not required to:

• Register and report to RPRA
• Establish a collection and management system
• Meet a management requirement
• Meet promotion and education requirements

Exempt producers must retain records related to the weight of lighting supplied into Ontario each year and provide them to RPRA upon request.

See our FAQ: ‘How do I determine if I am an exempt lighting producer?’

A producer’s individual minimum management requirement is determined by the following formulas, found in section 14 of the Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) Regulation, summarized in the following chart:

It is important to note that producers must ensure that all lighting that is collected is managed, regardless of their minimum management requirement.

Note: Producers with a management requirement below a certain threshold may be exempt from registering with and reporting to RPRA. See our FAQ ‘How do I determine if I am an exempt lighting producer?’ to learn more.

No. Effective February 6, 2023, RPRA will no longer accept requests for extensions to registration or reporting deadlines. Obligated parties should make every effort to ensure they meet all submission deadlines as part of their obligations under their associated regulation.

For more guidance, read the Late Registration or Report Submissions Compliance Bulletin.

Producers are obligated parties under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act and are ultimately responsible for their data submitted through RPRA’s Registry. Producers can choose to contract with an external consultant to support their data submission, but third parties have limited permissions in the Registry as they are not regulated parties.

A producer can choose to assign a primary or secondary user profile in their Registry account to an external consultant. An external consultant may submit supply data reports and/or pay registry fees on the producer’s behalf.

External consultants cannot submit and/or sign registration, executive attestations, account admin changes or supply data adjustment documentation on behalf of a producer. External consultants cannot be account admins, nor can they manage a PRO within the Registry on behalf of a producer.