CPSC eFiling: The Importer's Guide to the July 8, 2026 Deadline

On July 8, 2026, consumer product imports covered by a CPSC safety rule pick up a new requirement at the United States border. If your product is subject to a Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) rule, standard, or ban, the certificate data behind it must be filed electronically with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) when the entry is made. Miss it, and the entry risks rejection or a hold.

This guide covers what the rule requires, who it hits, the two ways to file, and a five-step plan to get ready.

The requirement comes from a CPSC final rule titled Certificates of Compliance, published January 8, 2025 at 90 FR 1800, amending 16 CFR part 1110. In plain terms: importers must file certificate of compliance data electronically with CBP at the time of entry, through CBP's Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), using CPSC's Partner Government Agency (PGA) Message Set.

A certificate of compliance (CoC) is the umbrella term for two documents:

• Children's Product Certificate (CPC): for children's products, meaning products designed or intended primarily for ages 12 and under that are subject to a children's product safety rule. A CPC must be based on testing by a CPSC-accepted third-party lab, and it is issued by the importer, not the factory and not the lab. Examples: toys, pacifiers, rattles, cribs, strollers, high chairs, play yards, children's sleepwear and apparel, children's bicycles and kids' helmets, children's jewelry, infant bath seats.
• General Certificate of Conformity (GCC): for general-use products subject to a CPSC rule, standard, or ban. A GCC is backed by a test of each product or a reasonable testing program; there is no third-party lab mandate. Examples: adult bicycles, bicycle helmets, mattresses, carpets and rugs, general wearing apparel, cigarette and multi-purpose lighters, architectural glazing, garage door operators, walk-behind mowers, and button-cell or coin-battery products.

eFiling does not create new testing or certification duties. It takes the certificate you are already required to have and makes its data part of the customs entry itself.

July 8, 2026 is the mandatory date for all covered imports: commodity entries, informal entries, former de-minimis parcels, and mail (through a modified mechanism, described below). There are no earlier mandatory phases; filing before July 8 happens only through CPSC's voluntary eFiling stage.

One category gets more time: entries from a Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ), entry type 06, become subject on January 8, 2027.

Two details matter especially for smaller importers:

• There is no low-value exemption. The eFiling rule contains no de minimis carve-out, and since August 29, 2025 there is no de minimis lane anyway: Executive Order 14324 suspended duty-free de minimis treatment for all countries. Former sub-$800 parcels now flow through standard ACE entries, which is exactly where the CPSC message set attaches on July 8. The background is in our de-minimis explainer and the small-parcel compliance cascade.
• International mail works differently. ACE cannot process mail, so for mail shipments the certificate data must be entered into the CPSC Product Registry before the shipment arrives.

Not sure whether your products are covered? On January 27, 2026, CPSC circulated a list of roughly 600 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes flagging products likely to require eFiling. We walk through it in which products require CPSC eFiling.

The Importer of Record (IOR) files. Under 19 U.S.C. 1484(a)(2)(B), that is the owner, the purchaser, or an authorized customs broker. In practice, your broker will usually transmit the data as part of the entry.

Transmission is not responsibility. The finished product certifier, normally the importer (where a broker is the IOR, the filing may identify the owner, purchaser, or consignee under 16 CFR 1110.11(a)(3)), owns the validity, accuracy, completeness, and availability of the certificate data. A broker filing does not transfer liability. The full division of labor is in what your broker will and won't do.

Under 16 CFR 1110.11, the certificate data covers:

• Product identification and description sufficient to match the product to its certificate
• Each applicable rule, standard, or ban
• Finished product certifier name and contact details
• Manufacturer name, address, and contact details
• Testing lab name, address, and contact details
• Date and place of manufacture
• Date and place of testing
• Records-custodian contact details
• An attestation of compliance

Brokers operationalize this as roughly seven PGA data elements. Keep the underlying records for five years.

Two routes satisfy the same obligation. The Full PGA Message Set transmits every data element with every entry. The Reference Message Set pre-registers each product in the CPSC Product Registry once, then sends just three identifiers per entry — Certifier ID, Product ID, Certificate Version ID. For repeat SKUs, the Registry route is usually the calmer one. The full decision guide — including the break-even arithmetic — is at Full vs. Reference Message Set, and the Registry walkthrough at how to register in the CPSC Product Registry.

After July 8, 2026, entries without eFiled certificate data risk rejection and holds. Non-certified or non-compliant products risk refusal of admission and port holds. The certificate obligations behind the filing carry CPSC civil penalties that currently run up to $120,000 per knowing violation and up to $17,150,000 for a related series of violations.

None of this calls for panic. It calls for a product list, a calendar, and one conversation with your broker.

1. Inventory your products against CPSC rules. List every imported SKU and identify which CPSC rule, standard, or ban applies to each. The roughly 600 flagged HTS codes are a useful screen, but the certificate question is rule-by-rule, not just code-by-code.
2. Get or refresh your certificates. Children's products need a CPC based on CPSC-accepted third-party lab testing. General-use products need a GCC backed by a test of each product or a reasonable testing program. Confirm every data element is current. And be honest about the clock: lab testing runs on the lab's schedule, and a fresh test commissioned now may not return before July 8. If a covered product cannot have its certificate in time, sequence that shipment to arrive after the certificate exists — and move your non-covered SKUs forward in the meantime.
3. Choose your filing mode. Few SKUs and rare shipments lean toward the Full Message Set; repeat SKUs lean toward Reference.
4. Register in the Product Registry. Required if you choose the Reference route, and required for any mail shipments regardless of mode.
5. Brief your broker. Agree on who sends what, in which format, and how far ahead of arrival. Your broker can transmit only what you deliver.

Selling through Amazon adds a second, separate compliance track. See the FBA seller's CPSC eFiling checklist.

Want to know which of these dates actually hit your catalog? Run your products through the free 2026 Compliance Deadline Checker.

What is CPSC eFiling?

CPSC eFiling is the requirement, finalized at 90 FR 1800 and amending 16 CFR part 1110, that importers file certificate of compliance data electronically with CBP at the time of entry. The data travels through the ACE system using CPSC's Partner Government Agency (PGA) Message Set.

When does CPSC eFiling become mandatory?

July 8, 2026 for all covered imports, including commodity entries, informal entries, former de-minimis parcels, and mail. Entries from a Foreign Trade Zone (entry type 06) follow on January 8, 2027. Filing before July 8 is voluntary, through CPSC's eFiling voluntary stage.

Is there a de minimis or low-value exemption from CPSC eFiling?

No. The eFiling rule has no de minimis exemption, and Executive Order 14324 suspended duty-free de minimis treatment for all countries effective August 29, 2025. Former sub-$800 parcels now move through standard ACE entries, which is exactly where the CPSC message set attaches on July 8, 2026.

What data has to be filed at entry?

Under the Full PGA Message Set, the certificate data elements listed in 16 CFR 1110.11, which brokers operationalize as roughly seven PGA elements. Under the Reference Message Set, just three identifiers per entry: Certifier ID, Product ID, and Certificate Version ID, after the product is pre-registered in the CPSC Product Registry.

What happens if I miss the July 8, 2026 deadline?

Entries without eFiled certificate data risk rejection and holds, and non-certified or non-compliant products risk refusal of admission and port holds. The underlying certificate obligations carry CPSC civil penalties of up to $120,000 per knowing violation and up to $17,150,000 for a related series of violations.