Toy and merch importers must now file safety certificates at the US border

Since July 8, 2026, importers bringing toys and other regulated consumer products into the United States must file their compliance certificate data electronically when the goods arrive. The data goes to the Consumer Product Safety Commission through the same customs system that brokers already use. For goods first entered into a foreign trade zone, the rule starts on January 8, 2027.

The CPSC says the change adds no new testing. "It creates no new testing, certification, or compliance obligations," said Acting Chairman Peter A. Feldman. What has changed is that the certificate is now checked at the border instead of sitting in a file. Shipments with missing or incomplete data can be delayed, held or examined, according to guidance FedEx sent to its customers. One Japanese toy shop paused its US shipments in July because some of its older stock lacked the certificate data the new process expects.

Each Filing Includes:

• A product identifier, such as the barcode number (GTIN)
• Each CPSC safety rule the product is certified to
• The date the finished product was made
• The name and address of the manufacturer
• The date of the most recent compliance test
• The name and address of the testing laboratory
• Contact details for whoever keeps the test records

Importers who bring in the same product again and again can register it once in the CPSC Product Registry, then file a short reference of three items at each entry instead.

What it means for buyers

• Test before the goods leave the factory. Toys for children aged 12 and under need a Children's Product Certificate based on testing by a CPSC accepted laboratory. Book the lab early so testing does not hold up your shipment.
• Collect the data with the order. Ask your factory and lab for every item on the list above before the goods ship, and give it to your customs broker.
• Update it for every run. The manufacturing and test dates change with each production run, so the filing has to change with them.
• Register repeat products. If you reorder the same plush or figure, the Product Registry saves time at every entry.
• Check whether your item counts as a children's product. Collectibles designed and marketed for adults generally are not, but another CPSC rule may still apply. Your lab or broker can confirm.

This article is general information and not legal or customs advice.

Top image: CBP officers inspect cargo at the Port of Philadelphia. James Tourtellotte, US Customs and Border Protection, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Source: US Consumer Product Safety Commission