Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA)

Children's products for ages 12 and under must meet limits of 100 parts per million lead in accessible substrate, 90 ppm lead in paint and 0.1% for eight restricted phthalates in toys and child care articles, and must be tested by a CPSC-accepted third-party lab. Importers and domestic manufacturers must issue a Children's Product Certificate, and general use products subject to rules need a General Certificate of Conformity. Children's products need permanent tracking labels. Since July 2026 certificate data for imports must be eFiled.

CPSIA is the reason children's products need test reports and certificates before they ship, and missing paperwork can stop imports at the border. The importer of record, often the e-commerce brand, is responsible for the certificate, not the factory or the 3PL. For example, a brand importing silicone baby bibs must have them tested by an accepted lab, issue a Children's Product Certificate, add tracking labels, and eFile certificate data with each entry since July 2026, or CPSC and CBP can detain the goods.

• Importer of RecordIORParty legally responsible for an import
• Lot TrackingRecording batch numbers so units can be traced

• CPSC eFiling2025, effective July 2026 · Mandatory electronic filing of safety certificates
• Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA)1972 · Law creating the CPSC and its recall powers
• Reese's Law2022, standard effective 2024 · US safety rules for button and coin cell batteries

1. CPSC: The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act cpsc.gov
2. CPSC: Children's Product Certificate cpsc.gov