The test file for your market
Name the US as your market when you ask for the quotation and the reports come with it. The standards we test against are on the compliance page.
### Importing to the US ###
Children's Product Certificate for a stuffed animal: a filled example
A Children's Product Certificate (CPC) is the US importer's written statement that a toy for children under 12 meets every CPSC rule that applies to it, based on tests at a CPSC-accepted lab. The importer issues it, not the factory. Since 8 July 2026 its seven data elements are also filed with customs at entry, whatever the shipment is worth.
Below: the seven elements with a filled example for one of our 15 cm alpacas, the rules a stuffed animal is certified to, what eFiling changed, the tracking label, and the three states that want a label of their own. Checked against the CPSC's certificate page and 16 CFR part 1250 on 30 September 2026.
### The example ###
Children's Product Certificate example for a stuffed animal
The CPSC asks for seven elements, in English, and prescribes no template. This is how they read for a mini alpaca. Everything in brackets is yours to fill in from your own company and from the test report.
Specimen: Children's Product Certificate
| Element | What it asks | For a mini alpaca |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Product | What the certificate covers, specific enough to tell it apart | Mini alpaca stuffed animal, 15 cm, real alpaca fur, Naturals line, shade Sahara. [Item code as on the invoice] |
| 2. Rules | Each CPSC children's product safety rule it is certified to | 16 CFR part 1250 (toys, ASTM F963); 15 U.S.C. 1278a (lead content); 16 CFR part 1307 (phthalates); 16 CFR part 1501 (small parts). [As the test report lists them] |
| 3. Who certifies | The US importer or domestic manufacturer, with address and phone | [Your company, street address, city, state, ZIP, phone] |
| 4. Records | The person who keeps the test records | [Name, title, company, address, email, phone] |
| 5. Made | Month and year, and the place of manufacture | [Month and year of the batch], Lima, Peru |
| 6. Tested | Month and year, and the place of testing | [As on the test report] |
| 7. Lab | The third party, CPSC-accepted lab, with address and phone | [As on the test report] |
The CPSC publishes its own example for a toy with the same seven headings. Its advice on citations is worth taking: name the rule by its part number, so whoever reads the certificate can check it without asking you.
### Who writes it ###
The importer issues the certificate, not the workshop
If you bring the toys into the United States, you are the importer, and the certificate is yours to issue and to stand behind.
What your supplier gives you is what the certificate is built on: the test reports from a CPSC-accepted lab, the date and place of manufacture of the batch, and the batch mark that goes on the tracking label. What you add is your own company, the person who keeps the records, and your signature on the statement that it all holds.
Since the rule of January 2025 the importer means the importer of record at customs. A broker can file for you, but the certificate and the records behind it stay with you, and the test records are kept for five years (16 CFR 1107.26).
### The rules ###
The CPSC rules a stuffed animal is certified to
Which rules apply is decided by the product, and the lab decides it from the sample. For a stuffed animal these are the ones that come up.
Rules that apply to a soft toy
| Rule | What it covers | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| 16 CFR 1250ASTM F963-23 | The US toy safety standard, mandatory since 20 April 2024. Section 4.27 covers stuffed and bean bag toys | Every toy for children under 14 |
| 15 U.S.C. 1278a | Total lead content in accessible parts | Every children's product |
| 16 CFR 1307 | Eight phthalates, 0.1% each | Plasticised parts of a children's toy, such as moulded eyes or a nose |
| 16 CFR 1501 | Small parts that can be swallowed | Toys for children under 3 |
| 16 CFR 1303 | Lead in paint and surface coatings | Only if the toy is painted or coated |
### Since 8 July 2026 ###
eFiling: the certificate now goes to customs
Since 8 July 2026 the seven elements are filed electronically with US Customs at entry, as data rather than a document, and there is no exemption for a low value parcel.
The data travels in the CPSC's message set in ACE, or you enter it once in the CPSC Product Registry and your broker files the reference. The CPSC is plain about value: "There is no Section 321 (also known as de minimis) shipment exemption for eFiling." A carton of minis sent by post needs a filed certificate as much as a container does.
What happens without one is spelled out as well: the CPSC asks customs to hold and seize products that do not comply. So have the certificate ready before the goods leave Lima, not when the broker asks for it.
### On the toy ###
The CPSIA tracking label: requirements and an example
Section 14(a)(5) of the Consumer Product Safety Act asks for permanent marks on the product and on its packaging, as far as practicable, that let a batch be traced. On a stuffed animal that is a sewn-in label.
Specimen: tracking label
| Required | For a mini alpaca |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer or private labeler | [Your company, if the toys carry your label], or the maker's name |
| Place of production | Lima, Peru |
| Date of production | [Month and year of the batch] |
| Batch or run | [Batch number, the same one as on the certificate] |
The batch number is what ties the three together: the label on the toy, the test report and the certificate. Ask your supplier for it in writing with the order, and check that the three match before you file.
### State rules ###
Pennsylvania, Ohio and Massachusetts want a law label too
Three states regulate stuffed toys on their own: they ask for a registration and a law label stating that the filling is all new material.
Pennsylvania's stuffed toy program registers the maker or importer and issues a number that goes on the label; Ohio and Massachusetts accept that number but keep their own registration, including for importers. Pennsylvania has also asked for lab reports with a registration since August 2024. None of this replaces the federal certificate, and all of it is checked on the label in the shop, so settle it before the first carton ships.
### From us ###
What comes from the workshop with a US order
The minimum
$500 an order, mixed freely across every collection, colour and size. Ordering and terms.
Questions about the Children's Product Certificate
Yes, if it is designed or intended mainly for children 12 or younger and it is sold in the United States. A stuffed animal is a toy, so it is tested to the toy standard and certified on a Children's Product Certificate before it is imported.
For toys made abroad, the US importer. The workshop supplies the test reports, the date and place of manufacture and the batch number; the importer writes the certificate, signs for it and keeps the records for five years.
Yes. Since 8 July 2026 the certificate's seven data elements are filed with customs at entry, and the CPSC states that there is no de minimis exemption for eFiling. A small parcel needs a filed certificate like any other shipment.
Yes, as long as it comes from a CPSC-accepted third party lab, covers the rules that apply to the product and matches the batch you import. The certificate itself is still issued by you as the importer.
Yes. The CPSC asks for the certificate and the test reports behind it in English. It does not prescribe a template, only the seven elements.
### Shipped to your door · quoted within 24 hours ###
Build the mix. The quotation comes back within 24 hours.