CPSIA Explained: Which Products Count as Children's Products, and What the Law Requires

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act transformed the regulation of children's products in the United States after a series of lead paint recalls, and it remains the framework that every brand selling toys, children's bath sets, play cosmetics, children's textiles or nursery products into the US must meet. Administered by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, it is the reason marketplaces and customs ask for a Children's Product Certificate and the reason a product that is perfectly lawful in the UK can be refused at a US port.

This guide explains the CPSIA for brands entering the US: how a children's product is defined, the substantive limits on lead and phthalates, the small parts and toy safety rules that often apply alongside, the third party testing regime, the tracking label, how the Children's Product Certificate ties it together, and how children's cosmetics fit between the FDA and the CPSC.

What the CPSIA is

Enacted in 2008, the CPSIA amended the Consumer Product Safety Act to give the CPSC new powers and to impose specific requirements on children's products. Its core provisions are a lead content limit for children's products, a lower lead limit for paint and surface coatings, a ban on specified phthalates in toys and child care articles, mandatory third party testing and certification for children's products, a tracking label requirement, the conversion of the voluntary toy safety standard into a mandatory one, and specific standards for durable infant and toddler products. It also strengthened the CPSC's recall and penalty powers and created a public database of incident reports. For a small brand the practical consequences are testing, certification and labelling before the first unit ships.

The definition: designed or intended primarily for children twelve and under

A children's product is a consumer product designed or intended primarily for children twelve years of age or younger. The CPSC judges this on four factors: the manufacturer's statement about intended use, including labelling, if reasonable; whether the product is represented in packaging, display, promotion or advertising as appropriate for children twelve or under; whether it is commonly recognised by consumers as intended for that age group; and the CPSC's age determination guidelines, which consider the characteristics of the product and the developmental abilities of children at each age. The word primarily matters: a product for general use that children also use is not a children's product, but a product whose marketing, theme or design targets children is, even if adults buy and use it too. A cartoon character bath bomb, a glitter play makeup palette or a pastel unicorn soap will be judged by what they are, not by a disclaimer.

Lead content and lead in paint

The CPSIA limits lead in any accessible component part of a children's product to a small number of parts per million by weight, with a still lower limit for lead in paint and similar surface coatings. Accessible means a part a child can touch in normal use or foreseeable abuse; inaccessible internal components may be exempt. The limits apply to every material in the product, including plastics, metals, textiles, printed decoration and packaging components that form part of the product. Certain materials are determined by the CPSC not to exceed the limits and may not need testing, but the determination is specific and the certifier must be sure it applies. Lead is the requirement that most often surprises brands, because it applies to a wash mitt's printed motif and a bath toy's paint as much as to a metal charm.

Phthalates

The CPSIA and subsequent CPSC rules prohibit specified phthalate plasticisers above a low concentration in toys and child care articles. A child care article is a product designed to facilitate sleep, feeding, sucking or teething for children three and under. Phthalates are found in flexible plastics, vinyl, some adhesives and some printed coatings, so a soft plastic bath toy, a vinyl bath book or a squeezy bottle is squarely in scope. Testing is required for plasticised components; rigid materials that cannot contain phthalates may be determined exempt.

Toys, small parts and other standards

Anything that is a toy must meet the mandatory toy safety standard, which covers mechanical hazards, flammability, chemical content, and specific requirements for many toy types, and must be tested to it. Products intended for children under three are subject to the small parts regulation, which prohibits small parts that could choke, and products for children three to six with small parts require a warning. Durable infant and toddler products such as cribs, high chairs and slings have their own mandatory standards and registration requirements. Children's sleepwear has flammability standards. A single gift set can engage several of these at once, and the certifier must identify every rule that applies.

Third party testing

Children's products must be tested for compliance with each applicable rule by a third party conformity assessment body accepted by the CPSC for that rule, listed in the CPSC's accepted laboratory search. First party testing, supplier reports from unaccepted labs and European test reports do not qualify. Testing must be on samples representative of production, must be repeated at least periodically according to the CPSC's rules, and must be repeated for any material change that could affect compliance. The test reports support the certificate and must be kept and made available to the CPSC and customs on request.

The tracking label

Every children's product and its packaging must carry a permanent, distinguishing mark, to the extent practicable, that allows the manufacturer or private labeller and the ultimate purchaser to identify the manufacturer or private labeller, the location and date of production, and cohort information such as a batch or run number. The purpose is traceability for recalls. The label must be permanent for the life of the product, which for a textile means a sewn in or permanently printed label and for a moulded item means moulding, engraving or a permanent print. A sticker that peels off does not satisfy it.

The Children's Product Certificate

The CPC is the document that certifies compliance. It is issued by the US importer for imported goods or the domestic manufacturer for US made goods, based on the third party test reports, and must contain seven elements: product identification, each rule certified to, the certifier's identity, the records contact, the date and place of manufacture, the date and place of testing, and the identity of each accepted laboratory. It must accompany the product or shipment and be furnished to retailers. Our dedicated guide to CPC requirements covers it in full, and our CPC service coordinates the testing and issues the certificate through a US importer arrangement.

Children's cosmetics: FDA and CPSC together

A cosmetic marketed to children in the US answers to two agencies. Its ingredients, labelling as a cosmetic, safety substantiation and, under MoCRA, its facility registration and product listing are FDA matters. As a consumer product designed for children, the same item is subject to the CPSIA for lead, phthalates where relevant, any toy components, the tracking label and the CPC. A play makeup kit is the clearest case: FDA cosmetic rules for the colours and formulas, CPSIA for the compact, the applicators and the certificate. A children's bath set with a toy is another. Brands that meet only the FDA side arrive at the marketplace with no CPC and no tracking label.

General use products: the GCC

Products that are not children's products but are subject to a CPSC rule, such as adult apparel under flammability standards or certain household products, need a General Certificate of Conformity instead of a CPC. The GCC has similar elements but may rest on the certifier's own reasonable testing programme rather than accepted third party testing. Determining which certificate a product needs starts with the children's product definition.

Periodic testing and material change

Certification is not a single event. The CPSC's testing rules require certifiers to have a reasonable testing programme, to retest at intervals, at least annually or at longer intervals where a production testing plan or an accredited quality system is in place, and to retest whenever a material change could affect compliance with an applicable rule. A material change includes a new supplier of a component, a new colourant or paint, a new plastic resin, a change in the manufacturing process or a change in the product's design. Records of certificates and test reports must be kept for five years. Brands that certify once at launch and never again are non compliant within a year, and the marketplace re verification requests that arrive periodically are designed to catch exactly that.

A worked example: a children's bath and body gift set

A UK brand exports a children's bath set to the US: three bath bombs, a soft plastic bath toy, a printed hooded towel and a decorated box, marketed for ages three to eight. The bath bombs are cosmetics regulated by the FDA. Every component is a children's product under the CPSIA because the set is marketed to children. The toy is tested to the toy safety standard, for lead content, lead in paint and phthalates; small parts testing is not triggered for the three plus age grade but the grading must be defensible. The towel is tested for lead content and, for its printed motif, lead in paint. The box is tested for lead in its printed surface. Each of the toy, towel and box carries a permanent tracking label, and the outer box carries one for the set. The US importer issues a single CPC citing every rule tested, based on reports from an accepted laboratory, and keeps it and the reports for five years. When the towel supplier changes its print process a year later, the towel is retested and the certificate reissued.

Common CPSIA failures

• Assuming a product is general use because adults buy it. Marketing and perception decide.
• Testing only for lead. Toys need the toy standard; plasticised parts need phthalates; under threes need small parts.
• Using a non accepted lab. Or a European report.
• No tracking label, or a non permanent one.
• Certificate issued by the foreign manufacturer. The US importer must issue it.
• No retest after a material change. New paint, new plastic supplier, new decoration.
• Treating children's cosmetics as FDA only.

A consultation before you ship to the US will confirm whether each product is a children's product, which rules apply and what testing to commission.

Official sources and legislation

• CPSC: Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA)
• CPSC: Children's Product Certificate (CPC)
• CPSC: General Certificate of Conformity (GCC)
• CPSC accepted laboratory search
• Consumer Product Safety Commission
• FDA cosmetics home

Disclaimer: This article is general information, not legal advice. Regulations change and product decisions depend on your exact formulation, claims and market. Have your product assessed by a qualified professional before sale.