Process
How it Works
From a signed mandate agreement to a standing EU contact — here's the timeline and who's involved.
- 1
Day 1–2
Mandate agreement signed
The mandate agreement is the legal document appointing Repline27 as your EU Article 27 representative. It authorizes Repline27 to receive data protection requests and regulatory inquiries on your behalf, and it's signed first because nothing else can proceed until the appointment itself is in place.
- 2
Day 3–7
Privacy policy updated — client officially covered
Your privacy policy is updated to name Repline27 as your EU representative, replacing the blank field most platform templates leave for this. Once that's live, you're officially covered under Article 27 — the slower VAT/CE work below runs in parallel and doesn't hold this up.
- 3
Week 2–6
VAT/OSS registration completes
OSS (the One-Stop Shop) is the EU's simplified VAT scheme — it lets you report and pay VAT on EU sales through a single registration, instead of registering separately in every country you ship to. Repline27 coordinates this registration with an accountant partner.
- 4
Week 1–8Varies
CE/UKCA marking, if applicable
CE marking (EU) and UKCA marking (UK) are conformity certifications required for many physical product categories, confirming they meet safety standards before sale. This only applies if your products require it, and timing varies by category and certification lab availability.
Ready to get started?
Book a free 10-minute compliance check to confirm what's involved for your business.
Before setup finishes
What if something comes up before everything's done?
The representative appointment — steps 1 and 2 above — is the fast part. Once the mandate agreement is signed and your privacy policy is updated, usually within the first week, you're covered under Article 27 immediately. VAT/OSS registration and CE/UKCA marking take longer and run in parallel — none of that slower work pushes back your coverage start date.
Roles
Who does what
US Store
The e-commerce business shipping goods to EU customers.
Repline27 (Portugal)
The appointed EU Article 27 representative — the standing point of contact for regulators and data subjects.
Subcontracted specialists
Accountant, certification lab, and lawyer, coordinated as needed for VAT/OSS and CE/UKCA work.
Ongoing coverage
What happens after setup
Day to day, being your standing EU contact means Repline27 is the address regulators and customers can reach about your business — every notice that arrives, by post or email, is opened and read the same day. Most days, nothing arrives at all; the role exists for the day something does.
When a request does come in — a data-subject access request, a complaint, or a regulatory inquiry — the 30-day legal deadline starts on the day Repline27 receives it, not the day it's forwarded to you. Repline27 relays the full request to you the same day it's received, so you have the maximum time available to respond within that window.
The client remains responsible for the substance of any response — Repline27's role is to receive and relay each request on time, not to answer it on the client's behalf. Repline27 doesn't access, hold, or process the underlying customer data the request concerns.