CPSC to Require Conformity Certificates for More Products

October 15, 2008

Beginning November 12, 2008, importers will be required to certify in writing that their products conform with all rules, bans, regulations, or standards administered by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). This requirement applies to almost all consumer goods, including apparel, children’s products, furniture, and more.

Previously, certification was only required for specific products subject to standards promulgated by the CPSC under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA). The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), which became law on August 14, 2008, greatly expanded the general conformity requirements of 15 U.S.C. § 2063(a) to any regulation enforced by the CPSC (including the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, the Flammable Fabrics Act, the Poison Prevention Packaging Act, etc.).

The general conformity certificates must be based on a ‘reasonable’ testing program which certifies that the related product complies with all rules, bans, standards, or regulations enforced by the CPSC; and specify each such rule, ban, standard, or regulation applicable to the product for which the product was tested.

In addition, the certificates must identify the manufacturer or private labeler issuing the certificate and any conformity assessment body on whose testing the certificate depends. At a minimum, the certificates must also include the date and place of manufacture; date and place at which the product was tested; and the manufacturer’s, importer’s, and testing center’s full mailing address, telephone number, and contact information for the individual responsible for maintaining the records of test results.

The conformity certificates must accompany all applicable products or shipment of products. A copy of the certificate must be furnished to every distributor or retailer of the product and upon request to the CPSC and to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Separate certificates will be required for each product in a container.   If no certificate is issued, or if a false certificate is discovered, the shipment may be refused entry and destroyed.

The CPSC will post sample certificates on its websites. The CPSIA mandates only specific content be included in the certificates, not a specific format. For existing CPSA bans, the CPSC has already prescribed the appropriate certificate format. Where the form of the certificate is not specified, it could be in the form of a label on the product, an attachment on the shipping container, or a separate document.

For now, certificates must accompany all shipments, but are not filed with CBP, although CPSC may, by rule, provide for electronic filing of certificates in the future.   The release of a shipment does not necessarily depend on “presentation of” a certificate. However, certificates should be present when CPSC or CBP opens a container to examine a shipment or test samples.