For most of the past decade, importing a regulated consumer product into the United States required a Certificate of Compliance: a document certifying that the product met applicable CPSC safety rules, based on testing by an accredited lab. The requirement to have the certificate existed. The requirement to actually file it with anyone did not. Importers maintained certificates internally and produced them if a CPSC inspector asked. Most of the time, nobody asked.

As of this morning, that system no longer exists.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has rolled out one of the most significant changes to product compliance in over a decade: mandatory electronic filing of product certificate data at import. This is not just a technical update. It is a fundamental shift in how compliance must be operationalized, documented, and transmitted.

From July 8, 2026, importers must electronically file product safety certificate data with US Customs and Border Protection at the moment of entry. Missing it means your shipments get held at US customs. The rule applies to any finished consumer product classified under approximately 600 specific harmonized tariff schedule codes, regardless of shipment value. There is no de minimis exemption.

What Has Changed?

Previously, importers were responsible for creating and retaining Certificates of Compliance to demonstrate adherence to applicable CPSC safety rules, but those certificates were not submitted with entry documentation. The new rule changes how existing compliance information must be submitted and managed. It does not introduce new testing or safety requirements.

The distinction is important. You do not need to test more, certify differently, or meet new safety standards. What you need to do is have your existing certification data structured, digitized, and ready to transmit electronically at the exact moment your shipment files for entry. Certificate data must now be proactively filed at the time of import, not held in reserve.

Required data elements include product identification, applicable CPSC rules, the certifier’s contact information, the records custodian, manufacturing date and location, testing date and location, and an attestation of compliance. Product identification must include at least one unique identifier such as a GTIN, model number, serial number, SKU, or UPC, along with a description sufficient to match the product to the certificate.

Two filing options exist. The Full PGA Message Set requires the importer to provide their broker with all seven required product certificate data elements, and the broker files them in CBP’s Automated Commercial Environment. The Reference PGA Message Set allows importers to enter certificate data in CPSC’s Product Registry and transmit a unique reference ID through ACE, which is the more efficient option for sellers importing the same products repeatedly.

Who This Affects in Ecommerce

The eFiling requirement applies to international ecommerce sellers shipping direct to US customers, businesses fulfilling orders from overseas factories or third-party manufacturers, and cross-border sellers importing into the US from any country, whether the UK, China, India, Canada, Australia, or elsewhere.

The product categories in scope are not exotic. Toys, apparel, furniture, batteries, jewelry, mattresses, strollers, and carpets are among those in scope, alongside electronics, household goods, recreational products, and children’s items. If you sell anything that could theoretically hurt someone and you import it, there is a reasonable chance you are affected.

The no de minimis exemption detail is the one most likely to catch smaller sellers off guard. Shipments under $2,500 that previously cleared through informal consolidated entry will now need a separate customs entry, which may carry additional fees.

What Happens If You Miss It

Failure to provide required certificate information may result in shipment delays, additional CBP or CPSC scrutiny, requests for supporting documentation, or other import compliance issues.

In some cases, CPSC exams can hold cargo for up to 60 days, and you are responsible for the related costs. For any seller operating on tight inventory cycles, a 60-day hold on incoming product is not an inconvenience. It is a potential stockout, a missed sales window, and a supply chain disruption that cascades forward. Importers that are not compliant will likely experience delays in the release of their shipments and increased scrutiny by the CPSC at the port of entry.

The FTZ Extension

One partial reprieve for some importers: for products entered from a Foreign Trade Zone for consumption or warehousing, the compliance date is January 8, 2027. If your US import operation runs through an FTZ, you have six more months. If it does not, today is the date.

The Product Registry Is Worth Setting Up Now

For sellers who regularly import the same products, the CPSC Product Registry is the most efficient option. Businesses can register their products once, receive a reference ID, and transmit that ID at entry rather than re-filing full certificate data with every shipment. The registration process takes time to complete, and anyone who has not already started it should do so immediately. Importers must also maintain compliance certificates and supporting test or certification records for at least five years from the certificate creation date.

Our Take

Compliance Just Became a Condition of Entry, Not a Back-Office Function

The CPSC eFiling rule is a genuinely significant structural change to how consumer product compliance works in the United States, and the timing of its mandatory enforcement, landing today alongside the EU’s new parcel duty, Amazon Canada’s FBA prep changes, the eBay fee restructuring, and the USPS hazmat fee, makes this one of the most operationally consequential weeks for ecommerce importers and sellers in recent memory.

The rule itself is defensible in intent: providing certificate data earlier in the import process allows the CPSC to better assess risk, focus inspections on higher-risk products, and reduce unnecessary delays for compliant shipments.

The problem is that “defensible in intent” and “ready to execute on day one” are different things, and a significant number of smaller importers and cross-border sellers almost certainly arrived at today without their certificate data structured, their broker briefed, and their Product Registry account set up.

Those sellers are about to find out what a customs hold costs, and the lesson will be expensive.