Import intelligence for small importers, in one place.
Stuck at customs? Find out why, and by when.
Upload the CBP notice, or answer a few questions. See the hold type, your deadline and the checklist for that kind of hold.
Will Amazon accept your certificate? Check first.
Upload the CPC your supplier sent, the test report and the invoice. See the five things a reviewer looks at, before the review.
Stop waiting on the supplier for Amazon's paperwork. Your lab's test report becomes a draft certificate in your name. You review it and issue it. Get the certificate paperwork — $39 →
Fictional example — the product and documents are illustrative; the rules behind each check are real.
No signup No subscription Every answer cites its source Lists checked Nov 7, 2026
Which step are you on?
Supplier on a blacklist?
ExampleFictional example — “Crestline Textile Manufacturing Co., Ltd.” and “Harbor Lane Goods LLC” are not real companies, and the results shown are illustrative. List names, HTS codes, CFR references and deadlines are real.
Every answer shows the list or rule it came from.
Importing runs on a clock. Your broker files the entry. The legal responsibility stays with you — including the things nobody files on your behalf.
Which safety certificate does the product need?
More than one agency usually applies, and finding the second one late is what holds shipments.
What this is
Which rules apply is decided by what the product IS, not by who you buy it from, and more than one agency usually applies to the same item. Your broker will surface a flag at entry, but a flag is not the same as being told in advance what you have to produce. The pattern below is the common case by product type — a starting point for what to go and confirm, not a determination.
Which rules apply
- Housewares and kitchenware
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), plus the Food and Drug Administration for anything that touches food
- Small electronics
- Federal Communications Commission (Part 15), Department of Energy efficiency rules, and CPSC
- Textiles and soft goods
- CPSC on flammability and children's products, and the Federal Trade Commission on fiber content, RN number and care labels
- Anything with a battery
- CPSC, and the Department of Transportation as hazardous material
- Packaged non-food goods
- An Environmental Protection Agency import certification under the Toxic Substances Control Act
- Anything with wood or plant content
- A US Department of Agriculture Lacey Act declaration, filed electronically since January 2026
- Every import, whatever it is
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) origin marking, permanently on the article
What you need
- Your product's Harmonized System (HS) code, or a description precise enough to find it
- What it is made of, what powers it, and who it is for
If it's missed
You discover the requirement when the shipment is already held, which is the most expensive moment to learn it.
Which safety certificate does my product need? — Free
The free check covers two agencies: CPSC safety certificates and FCC equipment authorization. For CPSC it reads the flagged-code list — roughly 600 codes, filed electronically at entry since July 2026 — and tells you whether yours is on it; a code that is not on the list is not a clearance, because CPSC states plainly that the list does not cover every code where a certificate may be needed. For FCC it asks whether the product transmits or contains digital electronics and points to Certification or SDoC. The other agencies above are not checked here; tooling for the ones that can be automated from public data is added as it is built.
Which safety certificate does my product need?
For marketplaces like Amazon, and for customs. CPC · GCC · FCC · FDA. Free.
Checks the common CPSC safety rules, the FCC authorization path, and FDA's import steps for food, drugs and devices. Other agencies are flagged from the product type.
How CPSC decides ▸
- A statement by the manufacturer about the product's intended use, including a label, where that statement is reasonable. An age label or a "not for children" line does not decide it alone: a product whose look, size or marketing is aimed mainly at children can still be one.
- Whether the packaging, display, promotion or advertising presents it as appropriate for children 12 or younger.
- Whether consumers commonly recognise it as intended for a child 12 or younger. Something a parent or caregiver uses in a child's room, and the child does not, is not a children's product.
- The Commission's Age Determination Guidelines (September 2002) and any successor to them.
Why we ask
Which documents do I need from my supplier? — Free
A ready-made request for the compliance data your supplier already holds — organized by agency, in their language.
Get the supplier checklist — free →