CertBridge guide
CPSC eFiling requirements: what importers must file, and when
The certificate data importers of regulated consumer products must file electronically with CBP, the July 2026 compliance date, and how to check you're ready.
What changed
CPSC's eFiling rule requires the data from certificates of compliance — CPCs for children's products, GCCs for general-use products — to be filed electronically with U.S. Customs and Border Protection at importation, instead of merely being 'available upon request'. For most importers the compliance date was July 8, 2026. Filing runs through CPSC's Product Registry or a Partner Government Agency message set via ACE.
What actually gets filed
The certificate data elements: product identification, each applicable rule cited, the certifying importer or manufacturer with contact details, date and place of manufacture, date and place of testing, and the third-party lab for children's products. The recurring failure mode is not the filing mechanics — it's discovering at entry that a required data element was never collected from the factory or lab.
How to get ready
Inventory every SKU subject to a CPSC rule, then check each against the certificate content requirements of 16 CFR 1110.11. Anything missing needs supplier or lab input, which has lead time. A readiness check that names the exact missing fields per SKU turns this from an audit project into a to-do list.
Authoritative sources
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Requirements change; the linked sources are authoritative.