By Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg
January 22, 2025 – More than a decade after first proposing the idea, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a final rule that will implement electronic filing of certificate of compliance information for imports of regulated consumer products and substances. This rule also makes certain revisions to the requirements for such certificates.
The CPSC states that its new eFiling program will require importers to electronically file data elements at the time of filing an entry, including (1) identification of the finished product, (2) the party certifying compliance, (3) each consumer product safety rule to which the finished product has been certified, (4) the date and place the finished product was manufactured, (5) when and where the finished product was most recently tested for compliance, and (6) contact information for the person maintaining test records.
This requirement will apply to imports of all CPSC-regulated consumer products and substances that require certification, including de minimis shipments. It will become effective July 8, 2026, for all such goods except those imported into a foreign-trade zone and subsequently entered for consumption or warehousing, for which it will become effective Jan. 8, 2027.
The CPSC believes that using electronically-filed information “will drive greater efficiencies in product inspections and more effectively target high-risk products being imported into the United States.” eFiling will also “reduce inspection frequency and hold times for compliant product importers – rewarding firms with a record of compliance and enabling their imports to move more quickly.”
The CPSC states that this rule also (1) modifies the definition of “importer” to ensure that a party eligible to make entry for imported, regulated consumer products is legally responsible for CPSC certificate requirements, (2) provides that importers will not be required to file a disclaimer message set with U.S. Customs and Border Protection for products that do not require a certificate, (3) clarifies that the requirement to certify regulated products applies to finished products and not component parts, (4) clarifies the party that is legally responsible for information on a finished product certificate, (5) requires private labelers to certify domestic products (unless they are certified by the manufacturer), and (6) aligns the agency’s existing certificate rule with other CPSC rules on testing and certification.
This article was posted with permission by Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A.