If you sell consumer goods in the European Union, the regulatory landscape has permanently shifted. The General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR)—which went into full effect on December 13, 2024—replaced the outdated 2001 directive, specifically closing loopholes that previously allowed unsafe products to slip into the market via e-commerce.
Today, compliance is not optional. Online marketplaces like Amazon, Zalando, and Shopify now legally act as gatekeepers. If you cannot provide a verified GPSR compliance dossier for your catalog, your products face immediate delisting, your vendor accounts risk suspension, and your inventory could be frozen.
Whether you are a direct-to-consumer brand, an importer, or a marketplace seller, use this definitive checklist to ensure your products stay compliant and on the market.
Your obligations under the GPSR depend heavily on your position in the supply chain.
Check Applicability: The GPSR applies to almost all non-food consumer products sold offline and online in the EU. (Note: Specific goods like food, medicine, and living plants are exempt, while products covered by stricter sector-specific laws, like toys, must meet both sets of rules).
Identify Your Legal Role: Are you the manufacturer, importer, distributor, or fulfilment service provider ? Manufacturers hold the heaviest burden (risk assessments, labelling), while distributors must ensure the manufacturer has met all requirements before selling the item. See our guide to product categories covered by GPSR to check where your goods fall.
If your business is based outside the EU, you cannot legally sell consumer goods to European buyers without a physical representative established within the Union.
Contract an RP: This entity can be an EU-based manufacturer, an importer, a designated Authorized Representative, or a fulfilment service provider.
Assign Duties: The RP acts as your legal liaison with EU market surveillance authorities. They must hold your product's technical safety files, verify your Declarations of Conformity, and cooperate immediately during mandatory safety recalls.
Display Their Details: The RP's full name, postal address, and email address must appear on the physical product, its packaging, or the enclosed documentation, as well as on your online product listings. Learn more in our EU Responsible Person GPSR guide.
You can no longer assume a simple product is inherently safe; every product requires documented proof of safety.
Perform a Hazard Analysis: Evaluate physical, mechanical, chemical, electrical, and hygiene risks. You must also account for cybersecurity (for connected devices) and the safety of vulnerable user groups, such as children or the elderly. Our GPSR risk assessment guide walks through the process step by step.
Compile the Technical File: Create a comprehensive "digital product passport" that includes:
Retain Records: You are legally required to keep this Technical File available for 10 years and must be able to produce it rapidly upon a regulatory authority's request.
Missing or incorrect labels are among the top causes of border rejections and marketplace enforcement actions under the GPSR. Digital links (like QR codes alone) are not accepted; physical labels are mandatory.
Ensure your product labels include:
Product Identifiers: Type, model, and serial or batch number.
Manufacturer Info: Name, registered trade name, and physical contact address.
Responsible Person Info: Name and contact details of your EU RP.
Safety Warnings: Clear instructions and warnings translated into the official languages of every specific EU member state where the product is sold. See our full GPSR labelling requirements guide and the ready-to-use GPSR label template for Amazon and eBay sellers.
The GPSR holds online sales to the exact same standard as physical retail.
Update Product Pages: Every online listing must clearly display the manufacturer's contact details, the EU Responsible Person's details, product identifiers, and any relevant safety warnings or age restrictions. Amazon and eBay sellers should also review our GPSR compliance guide for Amazon and the eBay GPSR requirements overview.
Register on the EU Safety Gate: Sellers operating their own independent online stores (e.g., via Shopify) must register via the EU Safety Gate Online Marketplace Module. This ensures streamlined communication with authorities for incident tracking. Non-compliant sellers can also face steep penalties—see our breakdown of GPSR penalties and how to avoid fines, and what to do if a product recall becomes necessary.
Staying ahead of GPSR obligations doesn't need to be a solo effort. Our team can help you appoint an EU Authorised Representative, prepare your GPSR compliance dossier, and manage ongoing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) obligations across every EU market. Contact our compliance specialists today, or view our pricing plans to get started.
