Written for online stores in the US selling on their own site or on marketplaces: direct-to-consumer brands, private-label and FBA sellers, dropshippers and subscription sellers.
The short version
- Find the rules for each product.Children's products, wireless gadgets, cosmetics and supplements each have their own paperwork, and marketplaces pull listings when it is missing.
- Get every document before you list.Hold lab reports, the certificate and warnings first. Make the reports, certificate and a Prop 65 warranty a condition of paying your supplier.
- File at entry and report hazards fast.File certificate data at entry. Report a possible substantial product hazard to CPSC, the product safety regulator, within 24 hours (As of Oct 2026).
Online sellers who import or put their own brand on products are in the chain of responsibility. In many states strict liability for a defective product reaches sellers in the chain of distribution, not just the maker (Restatement (Second) of Torts §402A). Some states also give a seller the manufacturer's liability when the product is sold under its own brand name, as Washington does (RCW 7.72.040(2)(e)). The rules depend on the category: children's products, wireless gadgets, cosmetics and supplements each have their own paperwork, and marketplaces pull listings when it is missing.
The importer of record answers for the entry
The importer of record owes the duty, must use reasonable care, and keeps entry records for 5 years. A seller shipping DDP from abroad is usually the importer of record. Mark the country of origin on the goods. As of Oct 2026.
19 USC 1484, 1508 and 1304
Children's products and other CPSC rules
Children's products need third-party testing and a certificate
A children's product, designed mainly for children 12 and under, needs third-party testing at a CPSC-accepted lab, a Children's Product Certificate and permanent tracking labels. Limits include 100 ppm lead in accessible substrate, 90 ppm lead in paint and surface coatings, and 0.1% for eight phthalates in toys and child care articles. Other products covered by a CPSC rule need a General Certificate of Conformity. As of Oct 2026.
16 CFR Part 1110; 15 USC 2063(a)(5); 16 CFR Parts 1303 and 1307
From July 8, 2026, importers must electronically file certificate data through CBP's ACE system at entry for imported consumer products subject to CPSC certification. For covered goods withdrawn from a foreign-trade zone, the date is January 8, 2027. As of Oct 2026.
Report within 24 hours
Report to CPSC within 24 hours of obtaining information that reasonably supports a defect that could create a substantial product hazard. Late reporting draws civil penalties. As of Oct 2026.
15 USC 2064(b); 16 CFR 1115.14(e)
Cosmetics, supplements and gadgets
- Cosmetics: FDA facility registration and product listing, safety substantiation, a US contact on the label, and serious adverse event reports within 15 business days. A business with average gross annual US cosmetics sales under $1,000,000 (adjusted for inflation) over the previous 3 years is exempt from registration, listing and GMP, unless its products regularly touch the eye's mucous membrane, are injected, are for internal use, or change appearance for more than 24 hours where the consumer does not normally remove them. Adverse event reporting always applies. As of Oct 2026.
- Supplements: structure/function claims carry the FDA disclaimer and are notified to FDA within 30 days of first marketing, and a new dietary ingredient needs a premarket notification. As of Oct 2026.
- Wireless and electronic gadgets: work out the FCC authorization route for the device. Most intentional radiators need certification and an FCC ID; many unintentional radiators use a Supplier's Declaration of Conformity with a US responsible party. Get the grant or supplier record before you list.
- PFAS: Minnesota bans intentionally added PFAS in 11 product categories, including cookware, cosmetics, textile furnishings and children's products, and California bans them in textile articles and cosmetics, both from January 1, 2025. As of Oct 2026.
Prop 65 warnings online
Warn before the purchase, not just on the box
A business may not knowingly and intentionally expose California consumers to a listed chemical above the safe harbor level without a clear and reasonable warning, unless it has fewer than 10 employees. Online, put it on the product display page, through a clearly marked link using 'WARNING', 'CA WARNING' or 'CALIFORNIA WARNING', or otherwise prominently before purchase, and also on or with the product. As of Oct 2026.
Cal. Health & Safety Code §25249.6 and §25249.11(b); 27 CCR §25602(b)
The amended short-form warning generally names at least one listed chemical; products manufactured and labeled before January 1, 2028 may keep the old short form. Ask suppliers for test data on lead and cadmium (ceramics, glazes, metal, PVC), phthalates such as DEHP (vinyl, cords) and BPA. As of Oct 2026.
Missing CPC, Prop 65 or FCC information is among the most common reasons marketplaces deactivate listings.
Packaging is next. Oregon's packaging EPR program has run since July 1, 2025, and Colorado, California, Maine and Minnesota follow with producer registration and fees through a producer responsibility organization. Small-producer exemptions differ, so check every state you ship to. As of Oct 2026.
Amazon requires a seller whose gross proceeds exceed $10,000 in a month to carry commercial general liability of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence, naming Amazon as additional insured. Check Seller Central for the current terms. As of Oct 2026.
Asked in Greymill
Testing: at a third-party lab accepted by CPSC, the product safety regulator.
Certificate and labels: a Children's Product Certificate, and permanent tracking labels on the toy.
At entry: certificate data filed through customs' ACE system, required since July 8, 2026 (As of Oct 2026).
In your supplier contract: no payment until the lab reports, the certificate and a Prop 65 warranty (California's chemical warning rules) arrive. Missing certificate or Prop 65 information is among the most common reasons marketplaces pull listings.
Once it sells: if you get information that reasonably supports a defect that could create a substantial product hazard, report it to CPSC within 24 hours (As of Oct 2026).
Shall I draft the document request for your factory?
Ask it about your own business
Paste this into Greymill with your own figures, and Rules & Licensing works it through for your business.
I run an online shop in [state], in the US. I sell [product category] that I [import, private-label or buy from a US distributor], and I ship to [states]. List the certificates, testing, warnings, registrations and filings each product needs before it goes live, and what to ask my supplier for. Products: [list].
More for online retail and ecommerce in the US
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- Sales tax when Amazon collects some of it and your stock sits in other statesHow economic and inventory nexus work for an online seller, what marketplace facilitator laws do and do not cover, the state income tax and tariff refund traps, and why to clean up past exposure before you sell.Read the lesson
- Shipping promises, a refund policy that holds up, and the 3PL clause that caps your lossFederal and state rules decide what your shipping times, refund policy, warranties and subscriptions must say, and your 3PL and supplier contracts decide who pays when stock is lost.Read the lesson
- Paying packers, an overseas assistant and a freelance designer the right wayOnline sellers lean on packers, virtual assistants and freelancers: how classification works for each, which tax form each one needs, and the wage rules that bite at peak.Read the lesson
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- A Prop 65 notice or a website accessibility demand letter has arrivedWhat to do in the first days after a Prop 65 60-day notice or an ADA website demand letter, and how to make the next one less likely.Read the lesson
Open the interactive lesson · Every online retail and ecommerce lesson · What Greymill knows about the trade
Sources
The primary sources behind this lesson, checked Oct 2026.
- 16 CFR Part 1110; 15 USC 2063(a)(5) (Product rules: wireless gadgets, FCC paperwork, CPSC, FDA, PFAS and packaging)
- 16 CFR Part 1303; 15 USC 1278a (Product rules: wireless gadgets, FCC paperwork, CPSC, FDA, PFAS and packaging)
- 16 CFR 1307.3 (Product rules: wireless gadgets, FCC paperwork, CPSC, FDA, PFAS and packaging)
- eFiling final rule (Product rules: wireless gadgets, FCC paperwork, CPSC, FDA, PFAS and packaging)
- 21 USC 364h(a) and (b); 21 USC 364a, 364b, 364c; FDA Registration and Listing guidance, Small Businesses and footnote 3 (Product rules: wireless gadgets, FCC paperwork, CPSC, FDA, PFAS and packaging)
- 21 CFR 101.93(a) (Product rules: wireless gadgets, FCC paperwork, CPSC, FDA, PFAS and packaging)
- 19 USC 1484; 1508; 1304 (Imports: de minimis, importer of record and where tariffs live)
- Federal Register final rule, "Background" and 19 CFR 145.12; Public Law 119-21 section 70531(b); 19 USC 1321(a)(2)(A) and (C). (Imports: de minimis, importer of record and where tariffs live)
- §25249.6 (Prop 65 and website accessibility suits)
- §25249.7(b)(1) (Prop 65 and website accessibility suits)
- 27 CCR §25601 to §25607; §25602(b); §25603(b) (Prop 65 and website accessibility suits)
- 913 F.3d 898 (9th Cir. 2019) (Prop 65 and website accessibility suits)
- Civ. Code §51(f), §52(a) (Prop 65 and website accessibility suits)
- 81 Cal. App. 5th 1026 (2022) (Prop 65 and website accessibility suits)
- UCC §7-209 (Contract red flags)
- UCC §7-204(b) (Contract red flags)
- 17 USC 204(a) (Contract red flags)
- FTC guidance (Marketplaces: fees, account health, INFORM act and brand protection)
- Account Health help pages (Marketplaces: fees, account health, INFORM act and brand protection)
- 37 CFR 2.6(a)(1) (Marketplaces: fees, account health, INFORM act and brand protection)
- 17 USC 512(c), (f) (Marketplaces: fees, account health, INFORM act and brand protection)
- "Who is covered by the INFORM Consumers Act?", "What information must online marketplaces collect?" (Marketplaces: fees, account health, INFORM act and brand protection)
- Restatement (Second) of Torts §402A (Insurance and product liability)
- 625 S.W.3d 101 (Tex. 2021) (Insurance and product liability)
- Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §82.001, §82.002 (Insurance and product liability)
- 16 CFR Part 465; 16 CFR 1.98 (Hard cases: sales tax, FEDERAL tax, cash and exit)
- 34 TAC §3.286 (Hard cases: sales tax, FEDERAL tax, cash and exit)
- 15 USC 381 (Hard cases: sales tax, FEDERAL tax, cash and exit)
- Thresholds (Hard cases: sales tax, FEDERAL tax, cash and exit)
- IRC §111 (Hard cases: sales tax, FEDERAL tax, cash and exit)
- Tax Law §1141(c); R&TC §6811 (Hard cases: sales tax, FEDERAL tax, cash and exit)