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Regulation explainer

What is CPSC — Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), and does it apply to your product?

small importers/resellers shipping to United States. Drafted with AI assistance from the regulation dataset and approved by a person before publication; see the editorial policy.

Guide

If you're importing or reselling children's products, toys, furniture, or other consumer goods into the United States, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) probably applies to you — whether you knew it or not.

CPSIA is enforced by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and sets hard limits on certain substances, plus paperwork you need to have ready before your product ever reaches a US customer.

**The substance limits you need to know:**

  • Lead in paint or coatings: capped at 90 ppm
  • Lead in the substrate (the base material itself): capped at 100 ppm
  • Phthalates — a group of chemicals used to soften plastics — are capped at 1000 ppm each for DEHP, DBP, BBP, DINP, DCHP, and DIBP. DEHP specifically applies to children's toys, but the group as a whole is one of the most commonly missed requirements by first-time importers.

    • If your product has painted surfaces, plastic components, or is marketed for children, these limits are the first thing you should check with your supplier.

    **The documents you need:**

  • A third-party CPSC-Accepted lab test report — self-testing or a generic factory certificate does not count
  • A General Conformity Certificate (GCC) if your product is not a children's product
  • A Children's Product Certificate (CPC) if it is a children's product
  • A tracking label on both the product itself and its packaging
  • A recall plan on file, in case an issue surfaces after the product is already in customers' hands

    • Missing any one of these can hold up a shipment at the border, get a listing pulled from a marketplace, or worse, trigger a recall after you've already sold units.

    **Does this apply to you?**

    If you're sour

    Complyra checks product and supplier information against regulatory requirements to support procurement decisions. It does not issue certifications or guarantee legal compliance; final responsibility for compliance remains with the buyer and supplier.

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