Check your CPC package before Amazon does
See the five things a reviewer checks across your certificate, test report and invoice before Amazon accepts a children's-product listing.
A few questions about the product decide whether it needs a Children's Product Certificate (CPC), and which kind.
This is the certificate check; the answers carry over.
What it is
- 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.
Tick what the product is to continue.
This shows what a marketplace reviewer looks for across your own certificate, test report and invoice; it is not a CPSC determination and not a substitute for a marketplace's own review or a licensed lab's testing. It checks that documents name the same product and are internally consistent — never that a certificate is valid or that a listing will be accepted.
Reference · Why a marketplace rejects a children’s-product certificate
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Selling a children’s product on a marketplace like Amazon means uploading a Children’s Product Certificate (CPC) and, often, the test report behind it. A reviewer compares that package against the listing, and a rejection usually comes back with little or no explanation — which is what makes it hard to fix. The five checks below are the ones that most often decide it, drawn from the common CPC rejection reasons and the CPSC rules behind them.
The five things a reviewer checks
- Product, model and brand match — the certificate has to identify the exact item being listed, not a different model, an older version, or a product family (16 CFR 1110.11).
- Children’s-product status — a children’s product takes a CPC, not a General Certificate of Conformity (GCC); a GCC on a children’s listing is a common rejection (16 CFR Part 1200).
- CPSC-accepted lab — the testing behind a CPC has to be done by a laboratory CPSC has accepted (16 CFR Part 1112).
- Age grade — the age grade on the listing, the certificate and the test report should all agree.
- Cross-document consistency — the parties, quantities, descriptions and origin should not disagree across the documents.
What the tool does, and does not, do
It reads the seller’s own certificate, test report and invoice and shows how each of the five checks looks, cited to the CPSC rule. It is not a CPSC determination, not a lab, and not a marketplace’s own review — and it never promises a listing will be accepted or submits anything on the seller’s behalf. It is not affiliated with Amazon or any marketplace.
Common questions
Why did Amazon reject my CPC (Children's Product Certificate)?
Marketplaces reject a Children's Product Certificate most often because the certificate names a different product, model, or brand than the listing; because the age grade on the listing does not match the certificate; because the testing lab is not one CPSC has accepted; or because the certificate is a General Certificate of Conformity (GCC) when a children's product needs a CPC. The free CPC Readiness Check reads your certificate, test report and invoice and shows which of these five things a marketplace reviewer checks, each cited to the CPSC rule. It never promises a listing will be accepted.
What is a CPC and does my product need one?
A Children's Product Certificate (CPC) is the certificate CPSC's rules point to for a product made for children 12 and under; a product not made for children that a CPSC rule reaches takes a General Certificate of Conformity (GCC) instead, and one no rule reaches needs neither. The testing behind a CPC has to be done by a CPSC-accepted third-party lab, unless a testing exclusion covers it. The free requirement check inside the tool points to which kind your product needs from its HTS code and a few questions, cited to 16 CFR Part 1200.
What does a marketplace check on a children's-product certificate before accepting a listing?
Most often, five: that the product, model and brand match across the certificate, the test report and the listing (16 CFR 1110.11); that the product is a children's product taking a CPC, not a GCC (16 CFR Part 1200); that the testing lab is CPSC-accepted (16 CFR Part 1112); that the age grade matches across the listing, certificate and test report; and that the documents are internally consistent. These are the common CPC rejection reasons, each grounded in a CPSC rule; the free CPC Readiness Check runs all five and names what to fix. It does not have access to any marketplace's internal review criteria.
Does CPSC issue the CPC?
No. CPSC writes the safety rules and accepts the testing labs; it does not issue, approve or stamp a certificate. Under 16 CFR 1110.7 the importer writes and signs the Children's Product Certificate for an imported product — the U.S. manufacturer for a domestic one — on the strength of a CPSC-accepted lab's test report. There is no application and no CPSC-issued document.
Can the supplier issue the CPC instead of the importer?
Only if the supplier is the importer. The duty to certify sits with the party that imported the product, so a certificate naming the supplier as certifier does not meet the rule unless the supplier is that party. The importer may be domestic or foreign — Amazon's CPC policy says so — but a marketplace may never be listed as importer or record holder. The usual fix is to reissue the certificate with the importer as certifier on the same accepted-lab test report.
Is there an official CPC form or template?
No. There is no official form; a certificate is valid when it carries the seven items 16 CFR 1110.11 has required since July 8, 2026 — the product with a unique identifier, each rule, the certifier, the records contact, where and when it was made, where and when it was tested (including the lab), and the certifier's attestation — in English. CPSC's worked examples predate that version of the rule and carry no attestation. The free CPC Readiness Check reads a certificate the seller already has against what a marketplace reviewer checks.
Is the CPC Readiness Check affiliated with Amazon?
No. It is an independent self-check a seller runs on their own certificate, test report and invoice before submitting a marketplace listing. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Amazon or any other marketplace, and it does not submit anything on the seller's behalf.