US Consumer Product Safety Laws Regarding Product Certification
and Labeling – Revisions Revealed

Compiled
by Jennifer P. Toney

 

What follows is
an edited version of Title 15, Chapter 47, Section
2063: Product
Certification and Labeling. It was
created by taking the latest version of the official code as published in
January 2007 and showing revisions imposed by the CPSIA of 2008.

 

Please note that, because the revised, official code will
not be available until at least late-2009, the CPSC’s
unofficial compilation of the code, in conjunction with the CPSIA, was used to identify revisions.

 

Edit Key:

Black type – unchanged

Grey strikethrough – deletion

Navy blue underline – addition

 

If you find this document helpful, I encourage you to leave
a comment on my blog post, where I describe the purpose of showing edits to the
Consumer Product Safety Act.
Because of the time involved with compilation and formatting, I will continue
to publish redlined sections of safety laws only if it proves to be a valuable resource for
companies and individuals.
Thank you in advance for your comments.

 

SEC. 14. [15 U.S.C.
§ 2063]

(a)
Certification
accompanying product; products with more than one manufacturer —

 

(1) GENERAL CONFORMITY
CERTIFICATION.–

Except as provided in
paragraphs (2) and (3), (1) every manufacturer
of a product which is subject to a consumer product safety rulestandard
under this Act or
similar rule, ban, standard, or regulation under any other Act enforced by the
Commissionchapter and
which is imported
for consumption or warehousing or distributed in
commerce (and the private labeler of such product if such product it
bears a private label) shall issue a certificate which

(A)
shall certify, that such product
conforms to all applicable consumer

product safety standards, and shall specify
any standard which is

applicable. Such certificate shall
accompany the product or shall

otherwise be furnished to any distributor
or retailer to whom the

product is delivered. Any certificate under
this subsection shall

be based on a test of each
product or upon a reasonable testing program, that such product
complies with all rules, bans, standards, or regulations applicable to the
product under this Act or any other Act enforced by;
shall state the Commission; and name
of the manufacturer or private labeler
issuing the certificate; and shall include the date and place of manufacture.
(2)

 

(B) shall
specify each such rule, ban, standard, or regulation applicable to the product.

 

[Effective Date.—Not
part of the Consumer Product Safety Act.—The preceding amendment made by Sec.102(a)(1)(A) of the Consumer
Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 shall take effect 90 days after
enactment of the Act.] {Date of enactment is August 14, 2008}

 

(2) THIRD PARTY TESTING REQUIREMENT.–Effective on
the dates provided in paragraph (3), before importing for consumption or
warehousing or distributing in commerce any children’s product that is subject
to a children’s product safety rule, every manufacturer of such children’s
product (and the private labeler of such children’s product if such children’s
product bears a private label) shall—

 

(A) submit sufficient samples of the children’s
product, or samples that are identical in all material respects to the product,
to a third party conformity assessment body accredited under paragraph (3) to be tested for
compliance with such children’s product safety rule; and

 

(B) based on such testing, issue a certificate that
certifies that such children’s product complies with the children’s product
safety rule based on the assessment of a third party conformity assessment body
accredited to conduct such tests.

A manufacturer or private labeler shall issue
either a separate certificate for each children’s
product safety rule applicable to a product or a combined certificate that
certifies compliance with all applicable children’s product safety rules, in
which case each such rule shall be specified.

 

(3) SCHEDULE FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THIRD PARTY
TESTING.–

(A) GENERAL APPLICATION.–Except as provided under
subparagraph (F), the requirements of paragraph (2) shall apply to any
children’s product manufactured more than 90 days after the Commission has
established and published notice of the requirements for accreditation of third
party conformity assessment bodies to assess conformity with a children’s
product safety rule to which such children’s product is subject.

 

(B) TIME LINE FOR ACCREDITATION.–

(i) LEAD PAINT.–Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of
the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, the Commission shall
publish notice of the requirements for accreditation of third party conformity
assessment bodies to assess conformity with part 1303 of title 16, Code of
Federal Regulations.

 

(ii) FULL-SIZE
CRIBS; NON FULL-SIZE CRIBS; PACIFIERS.–Not later than 60 days after the
date of enactment of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, the
Commission shall publish notice of the requirements for accreditation of third
party conformity assessment bodies to assess conformity with parts 1508, 1509,
and 1511 of such title.

 

(iii) SMALL
PARTS.–Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of the Consumer
Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, the Commission shall publish notice of
the requirements for accreditation of third party conformity assessment bodies
to assess conformity with part 1501 of such title.

 

(iv) CHILDREN’S
METAL JEWELRY.–Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of the
Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, the Commission shall publish
notice of the requirements for accreditation of third party conformity
assessment bodies to assess conformity with the requirements of section
101(a)(2) of such Act with respect to children’s metal jewelry.

 

(v) BABY
BOUNCERS, WALKERS, AND JUMPERS.–Not later than 210 days after the date of
enactment of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, the
Commission shall publish notice of the requirements for accreditation of third
party conformity assessment bodies to assess conformity with parts
1500.18(a)(6) and 1500.86(a) of such title.

 

(vi) ALL
OTHER CHILDREN’S PRODUCT SAFETY RULES.–The Commission shall publish notice
of the requirements for accreditation of third party conformity assessment
bodies to assess conformity with other children’s product safety rules at the
earliest practicable date, but in no case later than 10 months after the date
of enactment of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, or, in the
case of children’s product safety rules established or revised 1 year or more
after such date of enactment, not later than 90 days before such rules or
revisions take effect.

 

(C) ACCREDITATION.–Accreditation of third party
conformity assessment bodies pursuant to the requirements established under
subparagraph (B) may be conducted either by the Commission or by an independent
accreditation organization designated by the Commission.

 

(D) PERIODIC REVIEW.–The Commission shall
periodically review and revise the accreditation requirements established under
subparagraph (B) to ensure that the requirements assure the highest conformity
assessment body quality that is feasible.

 

(E) PUBLICATION OF ACCREDITED ENTITIES.–The
Commission shall maintain on its Internet website an up-to-date list of
entities that have been accredited to assess conformity with children’s product
safety rules in accordance with the requirements published by the Commission
under this paragraph.

 

(F) EXTENSION.–If the Commission determines that
an insufficient number of third party conformity assessment bodies have been
accredited to permit certification for a children’s product safety rule under
the accelerated schedule required by this paragraph, the Commission may extend
the deadline for certification to such rule by not more than 60 days.

 

(G) RULEMAKING.–Until the date that is 3 years
after the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, Commission
proceedings under this paragraph shall be exempt from the requirements of
sections 553 and 601 through 612 of title 5, United States Code.

 

[CPSC Consideration of
Existing Requirements.—Sec. 102(c) of the Consumer
Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008. Not part of the Consumer Product Safety
Act. In establishing standards for accreditation of a third party conformity
assessment body under section 14(a)(3) of the Consumer Product Safety Act, the
Commission may consider standards and protocols for accreditation of such conformity assessment bodies by independent
accreditation organizations that are in effect on the date of enactment {August
14, 2008} of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, but shall
ensure that the protocols, standards, and requirements prescribed under section
14(a)(3) incorporate, as the standard for accreditation, the most current
scientific and technological standards and techniques available.]

 

(4)
In the case of a consumer product for which there is more than one manufacturer
or more than one private labeler, the Commission may by rule designate one or
more of such manufacturers or one or more of such private labelers (as the case
may be) as the persons who shall issue the certificate required underby
paragraph (1), (2),
or (3), of this subsection, and may
exempt all other manufacturers of such
product or all other private labelers of the product (as the case may
be) from the requirement under paragraph (1), (2), or (3)
to issue a certificate with respect to such product.

 

(5) Effective 1 year after the date of enactment of
the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, the manufacturer of a
children’s product shall place permanent, distinguishing marks on the product
and its packaging, to the extent practicable, that will enable—

 

(A) the manufacturer to
ascertain the location and date of production of the product, cohort
information (including the batch, run number, or other identifying
characteristic), and any other information determined by the manufacturer to
facilitate ascertaining the specific source of the product by reference to
those marks; and

 

(B) the ultimate purchaser
to ascertain the manufacturer or private labeler, location and date of
production of the product, and cohort information (including the batch, run
number, or other identifying characteristic).

 

 

 

(b) (b) Rules to establish reasonable testing
programs The Commission may by rule prescribe reasonable testing
programs for any
productconsumer products
which isare
subject to a consumer
product safety rule standards under this Act, or a similar rule,
regulation, standard, or ban under any other Act enforced by the Commission,chapter
and for which a certificate is required under subsection (a). of
this section. Any test or testing program on the basis of which a
certificate is issued under subsection (a) of this section may,
at the option of the person required to certify the product, be conducted by an
independent third party qualified to perform such tests, unless the Commission,
by rule, requires or testing by an independent third
party for a particular rule, regulation, standard, or ban, or for a particular
class of products. programs.

 

 

 

(c) (c) Form and contents of labels
The Commission may by rule require the
use and prescribe the form and content of labels which contain the following
information (or that portion of it specified in the rule) —-

 

(1)
The date and place of manufacture of any consumer product.

 

(2) The cohort
information (including the batch, run number, or other identifying
characteristic) of the product.

 

(3) (2)
A suitable identification of the manufacturer of the consumer product, unless
the product bears a private label in which case it shall identify the private
labeler and shall also contain a code mark which will permit the seller of such
product to identify the manufacturer thereof to the purchaser upon his request.

 

(4) (3) In the case of a consumer
product subject to a consumer product safety rule, a certification that the
product meets all applicable consumer product safety standards and a
specification
of the standards which are applicable.

 

Such
labels, where practicable, may be required by the Commission to be permanently
marked on or affixed to any such consumer product. The Commission may, in
appropriate cases, permit information required under paragraphs (1) and (2) of
this subsection to be coded.

 

(d) REQUIREMENT FOR
ADVERTISEMENTS.—No advertisement for a consumer product or label or packaging
of such product may contain a reference to a consumer product safety rule or a
voluntary consumer product safety standard unless such product conforms with the applicable safety requirements of such rule or
standard.

 

[Effective date.—Not part of the Consumer Product Safety Act.—This section
shall take effect on the date that is 60 days after the enactment of the
Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008.]

 

(d) ADDITIONAL
REGULATIONS FOR THIRD PARTY TESTING.–

(1) AUDIT.–Not later
than 10 months after the date of enactment of the Consumer Product Safety
Improvement Act of 2008, the Commission shall by regulation establish
requirements for the periodic audit of third party conformity assessment bodies
as a condition for the continuing accreditation of such conformity assessment
bodies under subsection (a)(3)(C).

 

(2) COMPLIANCE; CONTINUED TESTING.–Not later than
15 months after the date of enactment of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement
Act of 2008, the Commission shall by regulation—

 

(A) initiate a program by which a manufacturer or
private labeler may label a consumer product as complying with the
certification requirements of subsection (a); and

 

(B) establish protocols
and standards–

(i) for ensuring that a
children’s product tested for compliance with an applicable children’s product
safety rule is subject to testing periodically and when there has been a
material change in the product’s design or manufacturing process, including the
sourcing of component parts;

(ii) for the testing of
random samples to ensure continued compliance;

 

(iii) for verifying that a
children’s product tested by a conformity assessment body complies with
applicable children’s product safety rules; and

 

(iv) for safeguarding
against the exercise of undue influence on a third party conformity assessment
body by a manufacturer or private
labeler.

 

{Note: P.L. 110-314 contained the two foregoing provisions both
denominated as being codified as §14(d) of the CPSA.}

 

(e) WITHDRAWAL OF
ACCREDITATION.–

(1) IN GENERAL.–The Commission may withdraw its
accreditation or its acceptance of the accreditation of a third party
conformity assessment body accredited under this section if the Commission
finds, after notice and investigation, that—

 

(A) a manufacturer, private labeler, or
governmental entity has exerted undue influence on such conformity assessment
body or otherwise interfered with or compromised the integrity of the testing
process with respect to the certification of a children’s product under this
section; or

 

(B) such conformity
assessment body failed to comply with an applicable protocol, standard, or
requirement established by the Commission under subsection (d).

 

(2) PROCEDURE.–In
any proceeding to withdraw the accreditation of a conformity assessment body,
the Commission—

 

(A) shall consider the
gravity of the conformity assessment body’s action or failure to act,
including–

(i) whether
the action or failure to act resulted in injury, death, or the risk of injury
or death;

 

(ii) whether the action or
failure to act constitutes an isolated incident or represents a pattern or
practice; and

 

(iii) whether and when the
conformity assessment body initiated remedial action; and

 

(B) may–

(i) withdraw
its acceptance of the accreditation of the conformity assessment body on a
permanent or temporary basis; and

 

(ii) establish
requirements for reaccreditation of the conformity assessment body.

 

(3) FAILURE TO COOPERATE.–The Commission may
suspend the accreditation of a conformity assessment body if it fails to
cooperate with the Commission in an investigation under this section.

 

 

(f) DEFINITIONS.–In this section:

(1) CHILDREN’S PRODUCT SAFETY RULE.–The term
`children’s product safety rule’ means a consumer product safety rule under
this Act or similar rule, regulation, standard, or ban under any other Act
enforced by the Commission, including a rule declaring a consumer product to be
a banned hazardous product or substance.

 

(2) THIRD PARTY CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT BODY.–_

(A) IN GENERAL.–The term `third party conformity
assessment body’ means a conformity assessment body that, except as provided in
subparagraph (D), is not owned, managed, or controlled by the manufacturer or private labeler of a
product assessed by such conformity assessment body.

 

(B) GOVERNMENTAL PARTICIPATION.–Such term may
include an entity that is owned or controlled in whole or in part by a
government if—

(i) to
the extent practicable, manufacturers or private labelers located in any nation
are permitted to choose conformity assessment bodies that are not owned or
controlled by the government of that nation;

 

(ii) the entity’s testing
results are not subject to undue influence by any other person, including
another governmental entity;

 

(iii) the entity is not
accorded more favorable treatment than other third party conformity assessment
bodies in the same nation who have been accredited under this section;

(iv) the entity’s testing results are accorded no
greater weight by other governmental authorities than those of other third
party conformity assessment bodies accredited under this section; and

 

(v) the entity does not
exercise undue influence over other governmental authorities on matters
affecting its operations or on decisions by other governmental authorities
controlling distribution of products based on outcomes of the entity’s
conformity assessments.

 

(C) TESTING AND CERTIFICATION OF ART MATERIALS AND
PRODUCTS.–A certifying organization (as defined in appendix A to section
1500.14(b)( 8 ) of title 16, Code of Federal Regulations
(or any successor regulation or ruling)) meets the requirements of subparagraph
(A) with respect to the certification of art material and art products required
under this section or by regulations prescribed under the Federal Hazardous
Substances Act (15 U.S.C. 1261 et seq.).

 

(D) FIREWALLED CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT BODIES.–Upon
request, the Commission may accredit a conformity assessment body that is
owned, managed, or controlled by a manufacturer or private labeler as a third
party conformity assessment body if the Commission by order finds that—

(i) accreditation
of the conformity assessment body would provide equal or greater consumer
safety protection than the manufacturer’s or private labeler’s use of an independent
third party conformity assessment body; and

 

(ii) the conformity
assessment body has established procedures to ensure that—

 

(I) its test results are protected from undue
influence by the manufacturer, private labeler or other interested party;

4 (This section was
titled: “Notification and Repair, Replacement, or Refund”)

 

(II) the Commission is notified immediately of any
attempt by the manufacturer, private labeler or other interested party to hide
or exert undue influence over test results; and

 

(III) allegations of undue
influence may be reported confidentially to the Commission.

 

(g) REQUIREMENTS FOR
CERTIFICATES.–

(1) IDENTIFICATION OF ISSUER AND CONFORMITY
ASSESSMENT BODY.–Every certificate required under this section shall identify
the manufacturer or private labeler issuing the certificate and any third party
conformity assessment body on whose testing the certificate depends. The
certificate shall include, at a minimum, the date and place of manufacture, the
date and place where the product was tested, each party’s name, full mailing
address, telephone number, and contact information for the individual
responsible for maintaining records of test results.

 

(2) ENGLISH LANGUAGE.–Every certificate required
under this section shall be legible and all content required by this section
shall be in the English language. A certificate may also contain the same
content in any other language.

(3) AVAILABILITY OF CERTIFICATES.–Every
certificate required under this section shall accompany the applicable product
or shipment of products covered by the same certificate and a copy of the
certificate shall be furnished to each distributor or retailer of the product.
Upon request, the manufacturer or private labeler issuing the certificate shall
furnish a copy of the certificate to the Commission.

 

(4) ELECTRONIC FILING OF CERTIFICATES FOR IMPORTED
PRODUCTS.–In consultation with the Commissioner of Customs, the Commission
may, by rule, provide for the electronic filing of certificates under this
section up to 24 hours before arrival of an imported product. Upon request, the
manufacturer or private labeler issuing the certificate shall furnish a copy to
the Commission and to the Commissioner of Customs.

 

(h)
RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.–Compliance of any children’s product with third party
testing and certification or general conformity certification requirements
under this section shall not be construed to exempt such children’s product
from any requirement that such product actually be in conformity with all
applicable rules, regulation, standards, or ban under any Act enforced by the
Commission.

 

Sources:

Consumer
Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA)

US Code, Title
15, Chapter 47: Commerce and Trade, Consumer Product Safety, January 2007

Unofficial
Compilation of Amended Consumer Product Safety Act developed by CPSC Staff