Source: https://www.swhlaw.com/2008/11/certificates-of-compliance-final-cpsc.html
Timestamp: 2019-10-17 19:00:22
Document Index: 148218090

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 14', 'ART 1110', '§ 3', '§ 14', 'art 1110', 'art 1110', 'art 1110', 'art 1110', 'art 1210']

Law Offices of Steven W. Hansen: Certificates of Compliance--final CPSC Rule Nov. 10, 2008
Certificates of Compliance--final CPSC Rule Nov. 10, 2008
Finally, the agency intends to focus its enforcement efforts on a product’s compliance with our safety requirements. While the Commission recognizes that every company is expected to make its best efforts to comply promptly with the new certificate requirements, the agency intends initially to focus more on compliance with the safety rules underlying the certificate, rather than on the certificate or form of the certificate itself. For addition information and a copy of the rule, see below.
SUMMARY: The Consumer Product Safety Act (“CPSA”), at section
14(a) as amended by section 102(a) of the Consumer Product
Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (“CPSIA”), Public Law 110-314,
requires that, for products manufactured on or after November
12, 2008, manufacturers (including importers) and private
labelers of the products certify that the products comply with
all applicable CPSA consumer product safety rules and similar
rules, bans, standards and regulations under any other laws
administered by the Commission by issuing a certificate that
accompanies the product and can be furnished to certain parties.
The certificate must specify each such rule, ban, standard, or
regulation with which the product must comply. In general, the
certification must be based on a test of each product or upon a
reasonable testing program. Certificates and certification for
certain children's products must be based on testing by third
party laboratories whose accreditation to do so has been
accepted by the Commission. The third party testing
requirements become effective on a rolling schedule as the
Commission issues specific laboratory accreditation
requirements. Section 14(a)(4) of the CPSA gives the Commission
the authority where there is more than one manufacturer,
importer, or private labeler to designate one or more of such
entities as the person(s) who shall issue the required
certificate and to relieve all others of that responsibility.
The final rule published today limits the parties who must
certify to the U.S. importer and, in the case of domestically
produced products, the U.S. manufacturer. It also specifies the
requirements that an electronic certificate must meet.
EFFECTIVE DATE: This rule is effective [insert date of
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John "Gib” Mullan, Assistant
Executive Director for Compliance and Field Operations, U.S.
Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East West Highway,
Bethesda, Maryland 20814; e-mail jmullan@cpsc.gov.
The Commission is aware that, as a result of the extremely
short deadline for complying with the new certificate
requirement and its vast expansion over that previously required
by section 14(a) (which applied only to products subject to
consumer product safety standards under the CPSA) there is
substantial confusion over what is required by way of
The Commission has received thousands of inquiries as to
how to comply, when to comply, what is required in support of
the certification, and what form the certificate must take, as
well as hundreds of requests to evaluate an individual product
as to what existing and future bans, standards, regulations, or
rules might apply to it. Commission staff has been unable to
respond to many of these inquiries due to the press of the other
very early multiple statutory deadlines imposed on the agency by
The Commission believes that for the expanded § 14(a)
certificate program to be implemented in a fair and orderly way
and to produce the benefits intended by Congress, it must be
streamlined, at least in its initial phase.
Accordingly, the Commission is exercising its authority
under CPSA section 14(a)(4) by issuing this immediately
effective final rule designating the importer as the sole entity
that must issue the certificate required by section 14(a) in the
case of an imported product.1 This certificate must be available
to the Commission no later than the time when the product or
shipment is available for inspection in the United States. The
Commission is also designating the domestic manufacturer as the
sole entity that must issue the certificate required by section
14(a) in the case of a domestically produced product. This
certificate must be available to the Commission upon request
before the product or shipment is introduced into domestic
Section 14(g)(3) of the CPSA as added by section
102(b) of the CPSIA requires that the certificates required by
section 14(a) of the CPSA "accompany" each product or shipment
of products subject to the certification requirements and be
"furnished" to each distributor or retailer of the product. In
1 The Commission voted 2-0 to issue this ruleaddition, a copy of
the certificate must be "furnished" to the CPSC upon request.
The final rule issued today provides that the requirements
of section 14(g)(3) can be satisfied by providing the
statutorily required certificate information by electronic
means. The means by which the certificate may be provided in
electronic form is specified.
This rule is being issued in immediate final form in
recognition that the new, broader consumer product certification
requirements established by CPSIA go into effect for products
manufactured on and after November 12, 2008. The Commission
expects that with time CPSIA's expanded certification
requirements will become more routine and it then would consider
whether this rule needs to be revised based on actual
The rule issued here is effective upon publication in the
II. PERTINENT STATUTORY PROVISIONS:
Section 14(a)(1) of the CPSA, as amended by CPSIA, requires
that the manufacturer (including the importer) and the private
labeler, if any, of a product that is subject to an applicable
consumer product safety rule under the CPSA, or similar rule,
ban, standard, or regulation under any other Act enforced by the
Commission issue a certificate of compliance.2 This requirement
applies to any such product manufactured on or after November
12, 2008. Section 14(a)(4) provides the Commission with
authority to designate by rule one or more of these parties to
issue the required certificate and to relieve the other parties
enumerated in section 14 from the requirement to furnish
Sections 14(g)(1) and (2) of the CPSA as added by CPSIA
specify the information that must be provided in a certificate.
(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.
Section 14(g)(3) of the CPSA as added by CPSIA specifies the
availability of the required certificates.
(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.
While the new provisions of section 14 do not address
electronic certificates in general, new section 14(g)(4) does
specifically address electronic filing of certificates for
import shipments with CPSC and the Commissioner of Customs.
(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.
This rule does not establish the requirements under section
14(g)(4) for pre-arrival electronic filing with the Commissioner
of Customs and the Commission of certificates for imported
products. Rather it addresses acceptable means for making
electronic certificates available to the Commission and to
distributors and retailers at this time in compliance with the
requirements of CPSA sections 14(a) and (g). If the Commission
elects to do so at some future date, it may address the specific
issue of electronic filing of certificates for imported products
with the Commission and the Commissioner of Customs by
Prior to enactment of the CPSIA, the certificate
requirement ran to eleven (11) CPSA consumer product safety
standards.3 The CPSIA expanded that universe to include all CPSA
standards and bans and all similar standards, bans, rules and
regulations under any other Act administered by the Commission,
including the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, the Flammable
Fabrics Act, the Poison Prevention Packaging Act, the
Refrigerator Safety Act, the Children's Gasoline Burn Prevention
Act, and the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act.
Congress provided only ninety days from enactment of the CPSIA
for the Commission and the regulated community to address this
vastly expanded product certification requirement. As noted
above, the Commission has received literally thousands of
inquiries as to how to comply, when to comply, what is required
in support of the certification, whether and how an electronic
certificate might be acceptable, and what form the certificate
must take, whether hard copy or electronic.
The Commission is hampered in its overall efforts to
implement the CPSIA by the fact it is funded for Fiscal year
2009 by continuing resolution at its funding level for FY 2008
established prior to enactment of those sweeping new
responsibilities. Commission staff has been unable to respond
to many inquiries due to the press of the other very early,
multiple statutory deadlines imposed on the agency by the CPSIA.
In addition, the staff has been deluged with hundreds and
hundreds of requests to evaluate specific individual products
and specify what bans, standards, regulations, etc., might apply
to them. First, the Commission does not have, or expect to
have, sufficient resources to evaluate every one of the products
within the scope of the thousands of types of products within
its jurisdiction in this manner. The CPSC has never "preapproved"
products for compliance with its standards, bans,
regulations or rules in this manner in any event. Second, it is
the responsibility of the manufacturer of the product as a
normal incident of doing business to know what legal
requirements of the Commission or otherwise apply to its
The Commission is concerned by the apparent confusion among
companies about the reach of the general certificate
requirements including what rules apply to their products.
Manufacturers and retailers have always been required to know
which rules apply to their products and to assure that their
products comply with those rules. Before it has even gone into
effect, the new general certificate requirement has not only
focused attention on safety compliance but also has given some
companies a cause to be concerned about their ability to comply
with the certification program.
While the Commission expects every company to make best
efforts to comply promptly with the new general certificate
requirements, the Commission’s resource limitations under the
continuing resolution will force it to focus more on a product’s
compliance with our safety rules. The certificate is evidence
of compliance and therefore it is appropriate to concentrate
initially more on the substantive requirements underlying the
certificate than on the certificate or the form of the
certificate itself. As our resource limitations are fully
addressed by Congress, the Commission will then be able to
properly focus on all aspects of compliance, particularly
compliance with the new general certification requirements.
The Commission also recognizes that it still has work to do
to clarify aspects of the general certification program and will
be working to quickly resolve uncertainties.
Importers should be aware that after this initial period of
adjustment, failure to abide by the general certificate
requirement will subject shipments to refusal of admission into
the country and potential destruction. The Commission staff is
developing Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) lists for posting on
the Commission's World Wide Web site as the agency's resources
permit to address issues of more general applicability posed by
the new CPSIA requirements.
All of the above considerations lead the Commission to the
conclusion that at least in the initial implementation phase,
the expanded certification program must be streamlined to
minimize confusion in the regulated community, to allow for
fairness, and to allow the Commission staff to respond
appropriately to the most pressing CPSIA implementation
challenges. Accordingly, by this rule, the Commission is
limiting the certificate requirements of section 14(a) of the
CPSA to the importer in the case of products manufactured
outside the United States and to the domestic manufacturer in
the case of products manufactured in the United States. In the
case of imports, the required certificate must be available to
the Commission no later than the time when the product or
shipment is available for inspection in the United States. In
the case of domestic products, the certificate must be available
to the Commission prior to introduction of the product or
shipment in question into domestic commerce.
Following enactment of CPSIA on August 14th, the Commission
has received many comments regarding the urgent need for a means
for electronic certificates as an alternative to paper
certificates. Importers have noted the extremely difficult task
of associating paper certificates with the proper contents of a
shipping container that may contain items not subject to the
certification requirement and many items that are, but that are
subject to varying certification requirements depending on the
specific product in question. Similar difficulties have been
noted with respect to bulk shipments that are then broken down
for shipment to a number of distributors or retailers.
Manufacturers of small volume per retailer products have noted
the substantial additional complexity and cost if such products
must be accompanied by appropriate paper certificates down to
the individual retailer level. This later situation has been
identified as extremely problematic for manufacturers (including
importers) and private labelers, that are not associated with
major retail chains, but who ship to many independent retailers.
Finally many commenters have noted that international and
domestic commerce is now largely tracked and otherwise conducted
electronically and that a return to paper for some portion of
that commerce is a major step backward in facilitating efficient
trade. Based on all of the above, the Commission believes that
immediately recognizing the suitability of electronic
certificates provided they meet the statutory content and
availability requirements is appropriate.
V. ELECTRONIC CERTIFICATES CAN "ACCOMPANY" PRODUCTS AND PRODUCT
SHIPMENTS AND CAN BE "FURNISHED" TO DISTRIBUTORS AND
Section 14(g)(3) requires that the certificate "accompany"
each product or shipment of products and be "furnished" to each
distributor or retailer of the product. The legislative history
of section 102(b) of CPSIA is silent as to the intended meaning
of the word "accompany." Among other meanings, Webster's
defines "accompany" to mean "coexist or occur with."4
The Commission believes that a properly designed electronic
certificate containing the information prescribed by sections
14(a) and (g) of the CPSA, as applicable, that is uniquely
identified to the product or products covered by the certificate
is "coexisting" or "occurring with" the product or products in
question.Webster's defines "furnish" as "to supply" or "give."5
The Commission believes that an electronic certificate that can be
reasonably accessed by distributors and retailers satisfies the
requirement of "furnishing" the certificate to distributors and
retailers of the product.
As noted above in section II. of this preamble, CPSA
sections 14(a) and (g) specify the information that must be in a
certificate and the form in which it must be available. For
purposes of this rule, which limits the requirement to furnish
certificates to importers and domestic manufacturers, the
applicable portions of those provisions are as follows:
1. Identification of the product covered by the
2. Citation to each CPSC product safety regulation to
which the product is being certified. Specifically,
CPSIA requires that the certificate specify each
applicable consumer product safety rule under the
Consumer Product Safety Act and any similar rule, ban,
standard or regulation under any other Act enforced by
the Commission that is applicable to the product.
3. Identification of the importer or domestic
manufacturer as applicable certifying compliance of
the product, including the importer or domestic
manufacturer's name, full mailing address, and
records of test results, including the custodian's
name, e-mail address, full mailing address, and
telephone number. (CPSC recommends that each issuer
maintain test records supporting the certification for
at least three years as is currently required by
certain consumer product specific CPSC standards, for
example at 16 CFR 1508.10 for full-size baby cribs.).
5. Date (month and year at a minimum) and place
(including city and country or administrative region)
where the product was manufactured. (If the same
manufacturer operates more than one location in the
same city, the street address of the factory in
question should be provided.)
6. Date and place (including city and country or
administrative region) where the product was tested
for compliance with the regulation(s) cited above.
7. Identification of any third-party laboratory on
whose testing the certificate depends, including name,
full mailing address and telephone number of the
Section 14(g)(2) requires that the foregoing information be
available in English. As provided for in CPSIA, the same
information also may be provided in any other language.
The Commission expects that the statutory content and
language requirements will be met for any certificate, whether
issued in electronic or paper form.
The Commission believes that an electronic certificate is
properly "accompanying" the product or shipment of the product
as required by CPSIA if a certificate meeting the requirements
of the rule issued today can reasonably be accessed by
information on the product or accompanying the product or
shipment, for example a unique identifier that can be accessed
via a World Wide Web URL or other electronic means, provided the
URL or other electronic means and the certificate and unique
identifier are available to the Commission immediately when the
product or shipment itself is available for inspection in the
United States. Similarly, if a reasonable means to access the
electronic certificate is available to distributor(s) and
retailer(s), the Commission believes that the statutory
"furnish" requirement is met.
As with paper certificates, for an electronic certificate
to "accompany" a shipment, it must be created prior to arrival
of the shipment in question into U.S. domestic commerce. The
Commission would expect that an electronic certificate would
have a means to verify the date of its creation or last
Any entity or entities may maintain the electronic
certificate platform(s) and may enter the requisite data.
However, the certifying entity or entities remain legally
responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the certificate
information required by statute and its availability in timely
This final rule does not impose any information collection
requirements. Rather, it restates the express statutory
requirements for the content of certificates that appear at
sections 14(a) and (g) of the CPSA. Accordingly it is not
subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. sections 3501
through 3520.
According to Executive Order 12988 (February 5, 1996),
agencies must state in clear language the preemptive effect, if
any, of new regulations. This regulation is issued under
authority of the CPSA and the CPSIA. The CPSA provision on
preemption appears at section 26 thereof. The CPSIA provision
on preemption appears at section 231 thereof. Otherwise the
preemptive effect of this rule would be determined in an
appropriate proceeding in a court of competent jurisdiction.
This final rule falls within the scope of the Commission's
environmental review regulations at 16 CFR 1021.5(c)(2) which
provide a categorical exclusion from any requirement for the
agency to prepare an environmental assessment or environmental
impact statement for product certification rules.
The Commission is issuing this rule as an immediately
effective final rule. Section 553(b) of the Administrative
Procedure Act ("APA"), 5 U.S.C. 553, excludes rules from the
otherwise applicable notice and comment requirements of the APA,
inter alia, where the agency for good cause finds that notice
and comment are impracticable or contrary to the public
interest. Here, the CPSIA statutory deadline for issuance of
certificates is November 12, 2008 for products manufactured on
or after that date. There is substantial confusion in the
regulated community as to the application and implementation of
that requirement. Moreover, the Commission's resources are
extremely challenged by the myriad of near term statutory
deadlines for implementation of various other CPSIA provisions.
Accordingly, the Commission finds that notice and comment on
this rule is impracticable and would not be in the public
Section 553(d) of the APA excludes certain final rules from
the otherwise applicable APA requirement that the effective date
of a rule be at least 30 days after publication of the rule.
The pertinent exclusions here are for a rule that relieves a
restriction and "as otherwise provided for good cause shown and
published with the rule." In view of the certificate deadline of
November 12, 2008 for products subject to the requirement that
are manufactured on or after that date, the Commission finds
that good cause exists to make this rule effective immediately.
Title 16 of the Code of Federal Regulations by adding a new part
PART 1110-- CERTIFICATES OF COMPLIANCE
Authority: Pub. L. No. 110-314, § 3, 122 Stat. 3016, 3017
(2008); 15 U.S.C. § 14.
(1) limits the entities required to provide certificates in
accordance with section 14(a) of the Consumer Product Safety
Act, as amended (CPSA), 15 U.S.C. 2063(a), to importers and U.S.
domestic manufacturers;
(2) specifies the content, form, and availability
requirements of the CPSA that must be met for a certificate to
satisfy the certificate requirements of section 14(a); and
(3) specifies means by which an electronic certificate
shall meet those requirements.
(b) This part 1110 does not address issues related to type
or frequency of testing necessary to satisfy the certification
requirements of CPSA section 14(a). It does not address issues
related to CPSA section 14(g)(4) concerning advance filing of
electronic certificates of compliance with the Commission and/or
The following definitions apply for purposes of this part
(a) Electronic certificate means, for purposes of this
part 1110, a set of information available in, and accessible by,
electronic means that sets forth the information required by
CPSA section 14(a) and section 14(g) and that meets the
availability requirements of CPSA section 14(g)(3).
(b) Unless otherwise stated, the definitions of section 3
of the CPSA and additional definitions in the Consumer Product
Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), Pub. L. 110-314, apply
for purposes of this part 1110.
A certificate that is in hard copy or electronic form and
complies with all applicable requirements of this part 1110
meets the certificate requirements of section 14 of the CPSA.
This does not relieve the importer or domestic manufacturer from
the underlying statutory requirements concerning the supporting
testing and/or other bases to support certification and issuance
(a) Imports. Except as otherwise provided in a specific
standard, in the case of a product manufactured outside the
United States, only the importer must certify in accordance
with, and provide the certificate required by, CPSA section
14(a) as applicable, that the product or shipment in question
complies with all applicable CPSA rules and all similar rules,
bans, standards, and regulations applicable to the product or
shipment under any other Act enforced by the Commission.
(b) Domestic products. Except as otherwise provided in a
specific standard, in the case of a product manufactured in the
United States, only the manufacturer must certify in accordance
(1) Imports. In the case of imports, the certificate
required by CPSA section 14(a) must be available to the
Commission from the importer as soon as the product or shipment
itself is available for inspection in the United States.
(2) Domestic products. In the case of domestic products,
the certificate required by CPSA section 14(a) must be available
to the Commission from the manufacturer prior to introduction of
the product or shipment in question into domestic commerce.
As required by CPSA section 14(g)(2), the information on a
hard copy or electronic certificate must be provided in English
and may be provided in any other language.
As required by CPSA sections 14(a) and 14(g), a certificate
(a) Identification of the product covered by the
(b) Citation to each CPSC product safety regulation or
statutory requirement to which the product is being certified.
Specifically, the certificate shall identify separately each
applicable consumer product safety rule under the Consumer
Product Safety Act and any similar rule, ban, standard or
regulation under any other Act enforced by the Commission that
is applicable to the product.
(c) Identification of the importer or domestic manufacturer
certifying compliance of the product, including the importer or
domestic manufacturer's name, full mailing address, and
(d) Contact information for the individual maintaining
records of test results, including the custodian's name, e-mail
address, full mailing address, and telephone number. (CPSC
suggests that each issuer maintain test records supporting the
certification for at least three years as is currently required
by certain consumer product specific CPSC standards, for example
at 16 CFR 1508.10 for full-size baby cribs.).
(e) Date (month and year at a minimum) and place (including
city and state, country, or administrative region) where the
product was manufactured. If the same manufacturer operates
more than on location in the same city, the street address of
the factory in question should be provided.
(f) Date and place (including city and state, country or
administrative region) where the product was tested for
compliance with the regulation(s) cited above in subsection (b).
(g) Identification of any third-party laboratory on whose
testing the certificate depends, including name, full mailing
address and telephone number of the laboratory.
(a) CPSA section 14(g)(3) requires that the certificates
required by section 14(a) "accompany" each product or product
shipment and be "furnished" to each distributor and retailer of
(1) An electronic certificate satisfies the "accompany"
requirement if the certificate is identified by a unique
identifier and can be accessed via a World Wide Web URL or other
electronic means, provided the URL or other electronic means and
the unique identifier are created in advance and are available,
along with access to the electronic certificate itself, to the
Commission or to the Customs authorities as soon as the product
or shipment itself is available for inspection.
(2) An electronic certificate satisfies the "furnish"
requirement if the distributor(s) and retailer(s) of the product
are provided a reasonable means to access the certificate.
(b) An electronic certificate shall have a means to verify
the date of its creation or last modification.
Any entity or entities may maintain an electronic
certificate platform and may enter the requisite data. However,
the entity or entities required by CPSA section 14(a) to issue
the certificate remain legally responsible for the accuracy and
completeness of the certificate information required by statute
and its availability in timely fashion.
2 CPSIA section 14(a)(2) imposes additional testing requirements to support certificates of compliance for "children's products" as defined in section 3(a)(2) of Consumer Product Safety Act. Ninety days after the Commission issues those requirements for a given product or category of products on the rolling schedule specified in section 14(a)(3), the certificate for the product or products in question manufactured after that date must be supported by testing performed by a third party laboratory whose accreditation has been accepted by the Commission
absent the Commission's exercise of its authority to extend such a deadline by an additional sixty days in certain instances. The rule set out here is equally applicable to certificates that must be based on third party testing.
3 In most of those standards, the Commission has already addressed which entity must provide certificates under the prior version of CPSA section 14(a). See, e.g., 16 CFR part 1210, etc. Today's rule does not amend those standards in this respect in light of the significant additional certificate information now required by CPSA section 14(a) as amended by CPSIA.
4 Webster's II New Riverside University Dictionary, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994,
at p. 71.
6 It is also self evident that a product subject to an applicable CPSC standard, ban, or regulation is expected to comply therewith, irrespective of the issuance and availability of a certificate.
[FR Doc. 2008-27356 Filed 11/13/2008 at 4:15 pm; Publication
Date: 11/18/2008]