CPSC eFiling for international mail shipments

Already in force: Registry data before arrival

16 CFR 1110.13(a)(1) says that for finished products made outside the US and imported by mail, the certifier must enter the certificate data elements into CPSC's Product Registry before the product arrives in the US.

For other entries the Registry is optional: you can file the Full PGA message set instead. For mail imports it is not.

Sources: eCFR: 16 CFR 1110.13, eFiling (mail imports: Registry data before arrival); CPSC eFiling FAQ

Entry type 13: mandatory from 20 January 2027

Entry type 13 is CBP's electronic entry for international mail. CBP had set 22 October 2026 as its mandatory date, and on 14 October 2026 it moved the date to 20 January 2027. CBP says there are no changes to international mail entry procedures before then, and it encourages filers to start using the optional entry type 13 process now.

CPSC's mail-shipment bulletin gives 22 October 2026. We found no CPSC update after CBP's announcement, so ask your broker how they will handle your mail shipments in the meantime.

The Quick Start Guide says eFiling has no de minimis exemption, so a low shipment value does not remove the requirement.

Sources: CBP: international mail Entry Type 13 mandatory date moved to 20 January 2027 (14 Oct 2026); CPSC bulletin on eFiling for international mail shipments; CPSC eFiling Quick Start Guide

The two ways to file

The Full PGA message set puts all seven certificate data elements into the entry. The Reference PGA message set sends only three IDs from the CPSC Product Registry: Certifier ID, Product ID and Version ID.

For mail imports the certificate has to be in the Registry anyway, so the Reference path, entering the data once and reusing the three IDs, is the natural fit. CPSC's Quick Start Guide recommends it for repeat imports.

Sources: CPSC eFiling Quick Start Guide; CPSC: eFiling and the CPSC Product Registry; eCFR: 16 CFR 1110.13, eFiling (mail imports: Registry data before arrival)

The Registry does not talk to ACE

The CPSC Product Registry does not communicate with CBP's ACE system. After you enter and certify a certificate, you pass the three IDs to whoever files the entry, such as your customs broker or the party handling your mail shipment entries.

Sources: CPSC: eFiling and the CPSC Product Registry; CPSC eFiling Quick Start Guide

What a small importer should do now

A practical order of work:

• Work out which of your products need a certificate. The free CertPrepy scope checker gives general information by product type.
• Get the test reports and build the certificate. Children's products need testing by a CPSC-accepted lab.
• Create the record in the CPSC Product Registry and certify it yourself. For mail imports this is already required before the goods arrive.
• Give the three IDs to whoever files your entries, and ask how they will carry them on mail shipments before and after 20 January 2027.

Sources: CPSC eFiling Quick Start Guide; Federal Register: Certificates of Compliance (90 FR 1800); eCFR: 16 CFR 1110.13, eFiling (mail imports: Registry data before arrival)

What we do not know

Whether CPSC will move its own mail date to match CBP's, and how individual postal operators and carriers will collect the IDs from senders. Ask your carrier or broker directly.