CertSeven

Opening your CPSC Product Registry account

It is where CPSC keeps certificate data, and it is what lets a parcel carry three identifiers instead of a full certificate.

Updated 11 October 2026

What the texts say

  • CPSC describes the Product Registry as a secure online application where importers store and manage their product certificate data, and self-registration is open.

    Official text
    • The CPSC Product Registry is a secure online application where importers can store and manage their product certificate data — CPSC, retrieved 11 October 2026
    • Self-registration is currently OPEN and accepting new participants. — CPSC, retrieved 11 October 2026

  • Signing up asks for an email, a company name and an Importer of Record number.

    Official text
    • fill in the email, company name and Importer of Record (IOR) number, and select Submit. — CPSC, retrieved 11 October 2026

  • CPSC writes that an entity certifying the products without being the importer of record does not need to provide an IOR number to create a business account.

    Official text
    • If, however, the non-IOR owner, purchaser, or consignee is certifying the products, the entity does not need to provide an IOR number when creating business accounts. — CPSC, retrieved 11 October 2026
    • If this is an IOR they should provide their IOR number, a unique ID assigned by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, when creating an account. — CPSC, retrieved 11 October 2026

  • Three fields identify a stored certificate: Certifier ID, Product ID and Version ID. The Certifier ID is chosen at sign-up or generated by the system.

    Official text
    • Certifier ID, Product ID, and Version ID are the three fields needed to identify a specific certificate stored in the Product Registry. — CPSC, retrieved 11 October 2026
    • Create a unique Certifier ID* or use the system generated value in the 'Certifier ID' field. — CPSC, retrieved 11 October 2026

  • Each time a certified product is updated, a new Version ID has to be created for it.

    Official text
    • The user must create or generate a new Version ID, unique to the product, each time a certified product is updated. — CPSC, retrieved 11 October 2026

  • The Registry is a standalone repository: CPSC writes that it does not communicate with CBP's ACE system. Registering does not file anything at the border.

    Official text
    • the CPSC Product Registry serves as a stand-alone central data repository and does not communicate with CBP's ACE system. — CPSC, retrieved 11 October 2026

What the account is for

The Product Registry is a store, not a filing channel. You record a product's certificate data there once, and in exchange you get identifiers that a shipment can carry instead of the whole certificate. It is the difference between restating seven elements per parcel and quoting three references.

« The CPSC Product Registry is a secure online application where importers can store and manage their product certificate data »
CPSC · CPSC Product Registry · retrieved 11 October 2026

One misunderstanding is worth heading off straight away, because it changes what you expect from the account: the Registry does not talk to American customs by itself. Someone still files at entry; the Registry only holds what that filing refers to.

So the account is worth opening for one reason and not another. It will not file anything for you and it will not tell you whether your product is regulated. What it does is turn a page of data into three references, which is exactly what a parcel-sized shipment needs.

« the CPSC Product Registry serves as a stand-alone central data repository and does not communicate with CBP's ACE system. »
CPSC · CPSC Product Registry · retrieved 11 October 2026

Signing up from Europe

The sign-up form asks for an email, a company name and an importer of record number, and that third field is where European sellers stop, because they do not have one and cannot get one easily.

« fill in the email, company name and Importer of Record (IOR) number, and select Submit. »
CPSC · eFiling Product Registry User Guide, version 3.0 · retrieved 11 October 2026

CPSC's page for importers answers it directly: an entity that is certifying products without being the importer of record does not have to supply that number when creating its business accounts.

« If, however, the non-IOR owner, purchaser, or consignee is certifying the products, the entity does not need to provide an IOR number when creating business accounts. »
CPSC · eFiling Resources for Importers · retrieved 11 October 2026

The three identifiers, and what they mean

Once a product is recorded, three fields identify its certificate, and they are the three that end up on the parcel annex. They are worth understanding rather than copying, because two of them are yours to choose and one of them changes over time.

« Certifier ID, Product ID, and Version ID are the three fields needed to identify a specific certificate stored in the Product Registry. »
CPSC · eFiling Product Registry User Guide, version 3.0 · retrieved 11 October 2026

The certifier ID identifies you and is created once. The product ID is one of seven kinds of identifier you already use in your own catalogue - a GTIN, an SKU, a model number. The version ID is the one that moves: it describes a version of the certificate, and a new one is expected each time the certified product is updated.

Pick the product identifier you already use everywhere else rather than inventing one for CPSC. The point of these fields is that a customs officer, your carrier and your own stock list are all talking about the same object, and a bespoke number defeats that.

« This ID consists of one of seven possible ID Types (e.g., GTIN, SKU, UPC, Model Number, Serial Number, Registered Number, Alternate ID). »
CPSC · eFiling Product Registry User Guide, version 3.0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
« The user must create or generate a new Version ID, unique to the product, each time a certified product is updated. »
CPSC · eFiling Product Registry User Guide, version 3.0 · retrieved 11 October 2026

Is your product concerned?

Two minutes, no account.

Frequently asked questions

What identifier can I use for a product?

The Registry accepts one of seven ID types: GTIN, SKU, UPC, Model Number, Serial Number, Registered Number or Alternate ID.

Who do I ask when the Registry refuses something?

CPSC gives the address of its eFiling support on the Product Registry page: eFilingSupport@cpsc.gov.

Is registering worth it for a few parcels a year?

Colissimo advises it for regular shippers, to simplify declarations. Without it, seven elements are required for each shipment concerned, on every parcel.

Sources