CPSC eFiling, explained
It is not a new certificate. It is the same certificate, transmitted as data before the goods arrive.
Updated 11 October 2026
What the texts say
Since 8 July 2026, CPSC has required certificates of compliance to be filed electronically before import, for consumer products covered by a safety rule.
Official text
Depuis le 8 juillet 2026, la Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) impose le dépôt électronique préalable des certificats de conformité pour les produits de consommation importés soumis à une norme de sécurité
— Direction générale des douanes et droits indirects, retrieved 11 October 2026Beginning July 8, 2026, importers of most regulated consumer products will be required to electronically file (eFile) certificates of compliance
— CPSC, retrieved 11 October 2026
It applies to importers of most regulated consumer products, whatever the transport and whatever the value of the shipment.
Official text
Beginning July 8, 2026, importers of most regulated consumer products will be required to electronically file (eFile) certificates of compliance
— CPSC, retrieved 11 October 2026Depuis le 8 juillet 2026, la Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) impose le dépôt électronique préalable des certificats de conformité pour les produits de consommation importés soumis à une norme de sécurité
— Direction générale des douanes et droits indirects, retrieved 11 October 2026
Without a compliant eFiling declaration, a parcel can be held at customs, and US authorities can charge storage of 0.08 USD per kilogram per working day beyond five days.
Official text
en l'absence de déclaration eFiling conforme, vos envois concernés pourront être bloqués en douane
— Colissimo Entreprise, retrieved 11 October 2026Des frais de stockage pourront alors être appliqués par les autorités américaines, à hauteur de 0,08 USD par kilogramme et par jour ouvrable de stockage au-delà de 5 jours de stockage
— Colissimo Entreprise, retrieved 11 October 2026
Leaving a field empty does not read as an exemption: Colissimo writes that missing information is read as missing data, which can mean a hold, a wait, or a request for more information.
Official text
L'absence d'information est interprétée comme une donnée manquante, et non comme une exemption
— Colissimo Entreprise, retrieved 11 October 2026un blocage, une mise en attente, ou une demande d'informations complémentaires
— Colissimo Entreprise, retrieved 11 October 2026
For a parcel, the data travels as a CPSC annex loaded in the postage tool, one per parcel, with commercial descriptions in English.
Official text
Il est nécessaire de charger un formulaire annexe CPSC par colis dans votre outil d'affranchissement au moment de la préparation de votre envoi.
— Colissimo Entreprise, retrieved 11 October 2026Les descriptions commerciales doivent impérativement être renseignées en anglais.
— Direction générale des douanes et droits indirects, retrieved 11 October 2026
A filing, not a document
The word causes half the confusion. eFiling is not a form you fill in and not a file you upload to a website: it is data transmitted to American customs at the moment goods enter, describing the certificate that covers them. The certificate is a document you hold; the eFiling is what customs receives about it.
« Since 8 July 2026, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has imposed the prior electronic filing of certificates of compliance for imported consumer products subject to a safety standard. »Two things follow from that, and they are the two things sellers most often get wrong. You cannot produce the data after the fact, because the moment has passed; and you do not transmit it yourself from France - your carrier or a broker does, from the information you give them.
It helps to picture where the data actually goes. American customs runs an electronic system that receives entry information, and the safety agency has a slot in it. Your certificate does not travel there; a set of fields describing it does, attached to the entry for your goods.
« Beginning July 8, 2026, importers of most regulated consumer products will be required to electronically file (eFile) certificates of compliance »The long form and the short form
There are two ways the data can reach customs, and the difference decides how much work each parcel is. Either the seven data elements travel with every shipment, or the product is recorded once with CPSC and the shipment carries three identifiers that point to it.
« Full PGA Message Set: The importer provides their broker with the seven required product certificate data elements for the imported product and the broker files it in the CPSC PGA Message Set. »« Reference PGA Message Set: The importer pre-enters the product certificate data into the CPSC Product Registry and then provides their broker with the Certificate Identifiers to be filed in the PGA Message Set. »For a shop posting parcels one at a time, the second is the one that makes the difference: the work is done once per product rather than once per order. Colissimo says the same thing in the form of advice to regular shippers.
« You ship regularly to the United States. Advice: to simplify your declarations, register your products in the CPSC Product Registry now »What happens when the data is missing
The honest answer has two halves, and only quoting one of them gives a false picture. CPSC has said it does not intend, at this stage, to have entry refused on the sole ground that certificate data was not filed, and that ACE will send warnings rather than rejections at first.
« At this time, CPSC does not intend to request that CBP deny entry of products into the U.S. solely based on failure to eFile certificate data via a Full PGA Message Set or a Reference PGA Message Set. »The other half is that the certificate requirement itself is unchanged and still enforced, that filed data lowers a shipment's risk score, and that your carrier applies its own rules long before American customs sees anything. Colissimo is explicit about what a missing declaration costs.
« In the absence of a compliant eFiling declaration, the shipments concerned may be held at customs »Is your product concerned?
Two minutes, no account.
Frequently asked questions
Who actually files it?
The importer, who CPSC describes as an owner, purchaser, consignee, or authorized customs broker. A seller outside the US supplies the certificate data that the filing carries.
Do I have to register my products with CPSC?
Colissimo advises regular shippers to register their products in the CPSC Product Registry. Without registration, seven elements are required for each shipment concerned.
Does anything change later in 2026?
Yes: CPSC will require eFiled certificates for mail shipments, via a Full or Reference Message Set, beginning on 22 October 2026.
Sources
- Direction générale des douanes et droits indirects, Formalités douanières à l'importation aux États-Unis · retrieved 11 October 2026
- CPSC, Rules Requiring a General Certificate of Conformity · retrieved 11 October 2026
- Colissimo Entreprise, Export vers les USA : les formalités douanières et réglementaires à anticiper · retrieved 11 October 2026
- CPSC, CPSC Guidance for Mail Shipments on Electronic Filing (eFiling) of Certificates of Compliance · retrieved 11 October 2026
- CPSC, eFiling Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) · retrieved 11 October 2026