CPSC eFiling becomes mandatory on July 8, 2026. From that date, importers of CPSC-regulated consumer products have to file their Certificate of Compliance data electronically with US Customs at the time of entry, instead of producing it only when asked. This guide covers what's changing, who it affects, what you'll need to file, and how to prepare before the deadline.
CPSC eFiling is the electronic filing of Certificate of Compliance data with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the time of entry, through the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) system.
The certificate itself isn't new. A Children's Product Certificate or General Certificate of Conformity has long been required for regulated goods. What changes on July 8 is when and how you submit it. Today you hold the certificate and produce it only if Customs asks. Going forward, the certificate data has to be filed proactively at entry.
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What;Before;As of July 8, 2026
When you file;Only if CPSC or CBP requests the certificate;Proactively, at the time of entry
How you file;Certificate held by the importer, produced on request;Certificate data submitted electronically through CBP's ACE system
Posture;Reactive;Proactive
:table
CPSC eFiling applies to importers of finished consumer products that are subject to a CPSC mandatory safety standard, rule, or ban. If your product needs a Children's Product Certificate or a General Certificate of Conformity, it's in scope.
Common categories include:
CPSC published a reference list of 600+ HTS codes, but the list is a guide, not the rule: eFiling is required whenever a product legally needs a certificate, even if its code isn't on the list. The safety rule behind the product is what governs, not the code.
Informal entry shipments are not exempt. If a product requires a certificate, it needs an eFiled certificate regardless of the shipment's value or entry type. You can read the rule's scope in this legal summary of the eFiling requirement.
To eFile, you submit a defined set of Certificate of Compliance data, known as the PGA message set, at the time of entry. The required fields are:
If a product qualifies for a testing exclusion, you note the applicable exclusion in the rules field instead of providing test data.
Not every product that looks in scope needs a full certificate. Some qualify for a disclaimer filing instead, which flags the product electronically at entry without a certificate. There are two types:
Either way, it's still an electronic filing, just not a full certificate. The right path depends on the specific product and the rule behind its HTS code. CPSC's Regulatory Robot can help you check whether a given product needs a certificate.
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NOT SURE IF YOUR PRODUCTS ARE IN SCOPE?
The fastest way to know is to check the rule sitting behind each product's HTS code before the deadline. Talk to our team to work through your catalog while the voluntary window is open.
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CPSC eFiling is mandatory for most imports on July 8, 2026, and for goods entered from a Foreign Trade Zone on January 8, 2027.
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Date;What happens
January 8, 2025;Final rule published in the Federal Register
July 8, 2026;eFiling mandatory for most imports
January 8, 2027;eFiling mandatory for goods entered from a Foreign Trade Zone
:table
There's a voluntary window before July 8 to test your filings. During the rollout, CPSC's system issues warning messages rather than rejecting entries for missing data. But CPSC still enforces certificate requirements and can request seizure of non-compliant products, so using this window to validate your classifications now is the low-risk move.
Preparing comes down to getting your product data right and lining up who files. The work breaks into four steps:
If Portless handles your US fulfillment, this is work we're already doing. We're going through product classifications with our customs brokers, code by code, ahead of the deadline, so our merchants aren't scrambling in July. It's part of the broader shift in where US import rules stand now.
CPSC eFiling is a process change, not a fire drill, if you start now. If you sell into the US and you're not sure where your products land, talk to our team to map your catalog against the rule and get your filings ready before July 8.
Not at first. During the rollout, CBP's system issues warning messages rather than rejecting entries for missing certificate data. But CPSC continues to enforce certificate requirements separately, can request seizure of non-compliant products, and uses your filing record to set your risk score, which affects how often your shipments are inspected.
No. CPSC eFiling has nothing to do with tariffs or duties. It's a product-safety filing that submits Certificate of Compliance data to CBP at the time of entry.
No. CPSC eFiling doesn't change which products require certification or testing. If your product needed a certificate before, it still does; if it didn't, this rule doesn't change that. What changes is that the certificate data must now be filed electronically at the time of entry.
No. Informal entry shipments are not exempt. If a product requires a certificate, it needs an eFiled certificate regardless of the shipment's value or entry type.
The importer of record is responsible for the certificate. In practice, the data is usually transmitted by your customs broker through ACE, but you need to provide accurate product information and certificate data before entry.
Not necessarily. The CPSC Product Registry is optional. It lets you pre-enter certificate data and file a short reference at entry instead of the full data set, which is useful for products you import repeatedly.
