Last week, a Final Rule that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) approved on December 18, 2024, and published on January 8, 2025, took effect. Beginning July 8, 2026,¹ importers must electronically file (eFile) their certificates of compliance (in the form of required data elements) from the CPSC with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the time of entry.² Importers, domestic manufacturers and private labelers must certify that finished products meet CPSC rules, bans, standards or regulations with either a General Certificate of Conformity (GCC) or a Children’s Product Certificate (CPC).

CPSC’s eFiling rule does not change the substantive requirements for an importer’s products to comply with these GCC or CPC standards, but it does change the administrative process by which importers communicate their products’ certification. Previously, CPSC only required importers to provide compliance certificates if CPSC examined a shipment for noncompliant products, and CPSC did not use this information to target shipments for compliance review. Importers now must submit to CBP through the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) seven key data elements from their compliance certificates, regardless of shipment size or value, when filing for entry. CPSC plans to use this additional information to better identify shipments containing noncompliant products.

Who is Responsible for eFiling

Under the law, importers are responsible for certifying compliance for their shipments and will need to update their entry processes to avoid CPSC’s and CBP’s increased scrutiny at the border. CPSC has generally equated the term “importer” to mean the party that serves as the “importer of record” on a customs entry. CPSC has advised, though, that the party responsible for eFiling the data is not the same as the party responsible for certifying the finished product. However, customs brokers who serve as the importer of record, as permitted under U.S. customs law, may disclaim responsibility for certifying CPSC compliance within the e-filing message set. To do so, the customs broker, instead of providing the required data elements below, needs to identify the owner, purchaser or consignee of the finished product as the party responsible for compliance with CPSC certificate requirements when submitting the data points to CBP. The customs broker should include the party’s name, address and contact information.

Required Certificate Data Elements to eFile

At the time of entry, importers of record, unless disclaiming responsibility in accordance with the process described above, must now provide CBP with the seven data elements below:

(1)        The Product Identification: Certificates should have one of the following unique identifiers to match it with the finished product: the global trade item number (GTIN); model number; registered number; serial number; stock keeping unit (SKU); universal product code (UPC); or alternate identifier.

(2)        The Applicable CPSC Rules: Certificates must include the applicable CPSC rule, ban, standard or regulation for the finished product.

(3)        The Contact Information for the Certifier: The contact information for the party certifying the finished product’s compliance, including the party’s name, address, email and phone number.

(4)        The Contact Information for the Certificate’s Records: The contact information for the party maintaining the records on behalf of the finished product certifier, including the individual’s name, address, email and phone number.

(5)        The Date and Place of Manufacture: The date and place of manufacture, production, or assembly, including the location’s name, address, email and phone number.

(6)        The Testing Date and Place: The date and place the finished product was most recently tested for compliance, including the testing location’s name, address, email and phone number. If the finished product falls under a testing exclusion, then the importer must provide the testing exclusion in lieu of the testing date and place.

(7)        The Attestation: The finished product certifier’s attestation that the finished product complies with CPSC rules, bans, standards, and regulations and that the information in the certificate is true and accurate. CPSC has provided methods for attesting the certificate within CBP’s Partner Government Agency (PGA) Message Set in ACE.

How to eFile in ACE: Full vs. Reference Message Set

CPSC created two methods for importers to provide this information through CBP’s PGA Message Set in ACE:

(1)        The Full Message Set: Importers input all required certificate data in the form of data elements. The Full Message Set includes a checkbox for the attestation requirement.

(2)        The Reference Message Set: Importers use a reference ID for certificate data entered into CPSC’s Product Registry, which is a certificate database created and maintained by CPSC. Importers can enter certificate data for regulated consumer products into the Product Registry prior to filing for entry with CBP and then submit the unique reference identifier associated with the certificate in ACE. The Product Registry also includes the required attestation.

Importers with repeated shipments of the same finished product should consider utilizing the Reference Message Set method as they will only need to input the reference ID from CPSC’s Product Registry for each shipment rather than all seven data elements. The Full Message Set may be best for importers that infrequently import finished products that require a CPSC certificate.

CPSC does not require a disclaimer PGA Message Set for products that do not require a compliance certificate, but the agency has stated that submitting one may potentially reduce the importer’s risk score. However, overuse or misclassification of disclaimers may create other compliance exposure with CPSC and CBP.

How CPSC Will Use eFiling and Steps Importers Should Take Now

Previously, CPSC only relied on information provided to and by CBP to target noncompliant products. CPSC hopes to use this additional data to better identify noncompliant products entering the country, particularly for small parcel shipments. While CPSC has stated that it does not intend to request that CBP deny entry for shipments based on an importer’s failure to eFile, the agency also stated that it will adjust the risk score associated with the shipment based on the submitted data. The agency also has identified approximately 600 subheadings in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States that it will primarily focus on due to their mandatory standards of certification or high-risk potential to consumers. CPSC has stated that it believes that this approach will increase the efficiency of port inspections and facilitate faster clearance for importers with strong compliance records.

Importers that fail to properly comply with CPSC’s eFiling rule may face greater delays with their shipments at the border and should take active steps to ensure they have the information ready upon entry. These steps include identifying covered products, reviewing compliance certificates, designating key points of contact and coordinating with customs brokers and supply chain partners. Importers should also update their compliance programs and continue to monitor for new CPSC developments.

Contact Information

Akin has extensive experience advising on compliance, enforcement, and remediation activities related to importer requirements, broker requirements, CPSC enforcement and the customs laws of the United States. If you have questions about this alert, would like assistance strengthening your compliance programs and/or would like to be prepared in response to this Final Rule, please contact our team.

¹  Products entered into the U.S. from Foreign Trade Zones have a later compliance date of January 8, 2027.

²  Certificates of Compliance, 90 Fed. Reg. 1800 (Jan. 8, 2025). CPSC published this rule in the Federal Register on January 8, 2025, to amend 16 C.F.R. § 1110 to add the eFiling process for imported finished products.