What Is the GPSR? The EU General Product Safety Regulation Explained
The GPSR (General Product Safety Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2023/988) is the EU law on the safety of consumer products. It has applied in every EU country since 13 December 2024 and sets one simple rule: only safe consumer products may be sold – in shops and online. Depending on their role, manufacturers, importers, distributors and online marketplaces must assess risks, label products, complete their online listings and act quickly when a product is dangerous.
What is the GPSR?
The GPSR (General Product Safety Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2023/988) sets EU-wide rules on when a consumer product is safe and what everyone in the supply chain must do about it: manufacturers, authorised representatives, importers, distributors and online marketplaces. It says which details belong on the product and in the online listing, and it governs recalls and customers' rights in a recall. Where specific EU safety rules already cover a product, the GPSR applies only to the aspects and risks those rules do not cover.
What does GPSR compliance mean?
GPSR compliance means you can show that your product is safe in normal and reasonably foreseeable use, and that you meet the duties of your role. For manufacturers that mainly means: a risk analysis and technical documentation, a type, batch or serial number, your name and contact details on the product, instructions and safety information in the language of the country of sale – German for Germany – a complete online listing and a plan for complaints, accidents and recalls. If specific EU rules also apply to your product, you must meet those as well.
This page shows how Germany-based Grüner Baum GmbH reviews product scope, documentation and the Responsible Person role in practice. Reviewed by Hatice Muazzez Bodur →
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Applicable since: 13 December 2024
Regulation (EU) 2023/988
The GPSR replaced the former General Product Safety Directive (GPSD) and applies directly in every EU country. You still need to check the exclusions, any specific EU rules for your product and the requirements of the country of sale.
Regulation
GPSR in Brief
The GPSR is the safety net of EU product law: it applies whenever no more specific EU law covers a product's safety, or covers only part of it. It applies to online shops just as much as to physical stores.
It covers products made for consumers – and products consumers are likely to use even if they were designed for professionals. A few product groups are excluded.
Online sales are fully covered: if your online offer targets customers in the EU, the GPSR applies – even if you are based outside the EU.
Second-hand, repaired and refurbished products are covered too.
Software and digital features count towards safety, for example cybersecurity and functions that evolve or learn.
Every covered product needs an EU-established responsible economic operator before it is sold. If the manufacturer is outside the EU, that can be the importer or an authorised representative, for example.
“We specialise exclusively in EU GPSR.”
In brief:
If you sell consumer products in the EU, you must be able to prove they are safe. Excluded are, among others, medicinal products, food and feed, living plants and animals, plant-protection products and antiques. Check product by product whether yours is covered.
Scope
Which Products Does GPSR Cover?
The GPSR applies to consumer products, with a few exclusions. Where specific EU rules cover a particular risk, those rules apply to that risk; the GPSR can still apply to all other aspects.
✓ Product groups requiring a scope review
Furniture.
Clothing and textile products.
Household goods and kitchen accessories.
Decorative products.
Hand tools.
Simple electronic devices without specific regulation.
Children’s products and toys.
Jewellery and accessories.
Sports and leisure equipment.
Garden and outdoor products.
Second-hand, repaired, and refurbished products.
Software and applications necessary for product function.
✗ Products out of scope
Human and veterinary medicinal products (pharmaceuticals).
Food and animal feed.
Live plants and animals.
Animal by-products and derived products.
Plant protection products (pesticides).
Transport equipment on which consumers travel and which a transport service provider operates itself.
Certain aircraft – which ones is set by a list in EU aviation law.
Antiques.
Products that must be repaired or reconditioned before use – if they are sold clearly marked as such.
🌐 All Sales Channels Are Included.
Shop or distance sale, the scope check is the same. Which documents and duties apply to you depends on the product, its risks and your actual role in the supply chain.
GPSR vs GPSD
How did GPSR change the former GPSD rules?
The GPSR replaced Directive 2001/95/EC on 13 December 2024. Instead of a directive that each EU country had to transpose, a regulation now applies directly across the EU. New are clear rules on technical documentation, online listings and the responsible economic operator in the EU.
Updated 1 September 2026. This comparison is based on the binding legal text and the European Commission's 2025 guidelines for businesses.
Point
GPSD: Directive 2001/95/EC
GPSR: Regulation (EU) 2023/988
Legal form
An EU directive that each country had to transpose into its own law.
An EU regulation that applies directly in every EU country.
Applicable period
Products correctly placed on the market under the old rules before 13 December 2024 may still be sold (transitional rule).
Applies since 13 December 2024. Whether it applies to a product depends on the product and the risk.
Safety records
General product-safety duties for producers and distributors.
Manufacturers must expressly carry out an internal risk analysis, draw up technical documentation and keep it for ten years.
Online sales
The general safety duties applied to all sales channels.
The GPSR sets when an online offer targets EU customers, which details belong in the listing and which duties online marketplaces have.
EU responsible operator
The old directive had no comparable rule.
Every covered product needs a responsible economic operator established in the EU before it is sold.
Product and risk remain decisive: for risks already covered by specific EU product law, the GPSR does not replace that law.
Putting the GPSR into practice: the seven key steps
For manufacturers, importers and distributors, these are the seven steps that matter most. Work through them in order.
Check whether your product is covered. Is it a consumer product, and does none of the exclusions apply? A scented candle or a phone case is covered by the GPSR, for example; food is not.
Assess and document the risks. Before you sell, carry out an internal risk analysis and draw up technical documentation. Keep both available to the authorities for ten years.
Make the product traceable. Put a type, batch or serial number, or another clearly visible identifier, on the product.
Add the manufacturer details. Your name or registered trade mark, postal address and email address go on the product – and only where that is not possible, on the packaging or in an accompanying document.
Include instructions and safety information. Supply clear instructions and safety information in a language consumers can easily understand, as set by the country of sale. In Germany, that means German.
Complete your online listing. Show the manufacturer, the EU responsible person where needed, a product photo, the product type and identifier, and the warnings – clearly and visibly.
Prepare for complaints, accidents and recalls. Set up a public contact channel for complaints, investigate and record complaints, report accidents through the EU Safety Business Gateway and decide how you would withdraw or recall a product if needed.
If your business is already established in the EU, check your labels with our label compliance check.
If you are a manufacturer based outside the EU, you need a responsible economic operator established in the EU, such as an EU Responsible Person.
Scope
Who Falls Under GPSR Responsibility?
The GPSR assigns duties by supply-chain role. A business can hold several roles for the same product – what counts is what it actually does.
🏭
Manufacturer
Designs & produces the product
✍️
Authorised Representative
Acts under a written manufacturer mandate
📦
Importer
Brings products from outside the EU
🚚
Distributor
Distributes the product within the EU
🏷️
Fulfilment Service Provider
May become the responsible operator in defined circumstances
🛒
Online Marketplace Provider
Has its own duties as a platform
⚠️ If the manufacturer is outside the EU, the actual supply chain decides who the responsible economic operator in the EU is: the importer, an authorised representative appointed in writing or – in defined circumstances – a fulfilment service provider.
In practice
GPSR in Practice: B2B, Handmade, Recalls, Templates, German Fines and Warning Letters
Once the core duties are clear, these are the six questions manufacturers and sellers ask most. Here are the short answers. You will find the exact legal references in the table at the end of this page.
Does the GPSR apply to B2B products?
Yes, as soon as the product can end up with consumers. The GPSR covers products meant for consumers and also products that consumers are likely to use in reasonably foreseeable conditions – even if they were designed for professionals. A note such as “for business customers only” is therefore not enough on its own.
Typical borderline case: Renovation and building products that also reach private buyers through DIY stores or open online marketplaces. The European Commission uses exactly this example in its guidelines.
Business, not private: What counts is whether you supply the product in the course of a commercial activity – whether you charge for it or give it away.
Online shops: If your online offer targets consumers in the EU, the GPSR applies. Whether a B2B-only shop really excludes consumers depends on how it stops private buyers from ordering in practice.
Purely professional products: Products that will reasonably never reach consumers are outside the GPSR. In Germany, though, the Product Safety Act (ProdSG) still applies to such products where no specific EU rules exist.
Handmade, one-off and made-to-order products: does the GPSR apply?
Yes. There is no exemption for handmade goods, small batches or one-off pieces. Anyone who makes a product, or has it made, and sells it under their own name or brand is a manufacturer – including a one-person business or an Etsy shop. If you pour candles and sell them online, you have the same basic duties as a candle factory.
A proportionate risk analysis: You need an internal risk analysis and technical documentation even for a single piece. Test reports or applied standards only have to be included where that is appropriate for the possible risks.
No series procedures for one-offs: The GPSR only asks for procedures that keep every unit equally safe when products are made in series.
Labelling still applies: A one-off piece also needs an identifier, such as an item or serial number, and your manufacturer details with postal and email address.
Made to order and repairs: If you make something to a customer's order, you are still the manufacturer. If you only modify a consumer's own product on their behalf and for their own use, that does not make you a manufacturer.
Services: Pure services are outside the GPSR. Products that you supply or make available as part of a service are not.
Recalls: which remedies are consumers entitled to?
If you are a manufacturer and have reason to believe your product is dangerous, you must act at once: take corrective measures – up to a withdrawal or recall – inform your customers and notify the authorities through the EU Safety Business Gateway. Importers have matching duties.
Tell customers directly: You must contact every affected customer you can identify, directly and without delay, using the customer data you already hold. If you cannot reach everyone, also spread the recall through your website, social media and points of sale.
The recall notice: It carries the heading “Product safety recall”. Words such as “voluntary” or “precautionary” that play down the danger are not allowed. The European Commission has set a template for it.
A choice of at least two remedies: Customers must get an effective, free and timely remedy and be able to choose between at least two options: repair, replacement with a safe product of the same type and at least the same value and quality, or a refund of at least the price paid.
Exception and fallback: You may offer only one remedy if the others would be impossible or disproportionately expensive. If a repair or replacement is not completed within a reasonable time, the customer is always entitled to a refund.
No cost to customers: Customers do not pay for shipping or returns. Products that cannot be transported must be collected at your expense.
There is no mandatory official template for all GPSR documentation. But there are two official aids you can use:
The European Commission's guidelines: They include a model for technical documentation and checklists for every role: manufacturers, authorised representatives, importers, distributors, fulfilment service providers, the EU responsible person and online marketplaces. The model is expressly not mandatory.
A template for recall notices: The Commission has set this template in a separate implementing regulation.
Model: the GPSR details that belong on the product, the packaging and the online listing
Detail
Content
Where?
Manufacturer
Name, registered trade name or registered trade mark, postal address and email address
On the product, otherwise on the packaging or an accompanying document; also in the online listing
Responsible person in the EU (if the manufacturer is established outside the EU)
Name, registered trade name or registered trade mark, postal address and email address
On the product, its packaging, the parcel or an accompanying document; also in the online listing
Importer (if any)
Name, registered trade name or registered trade mark, postal address and email address
On the product, otherwise on the packaging or an accompanying document
Product identifier
Type, batch or serial number, or another clearly visible identifier
On the product, otherwise on the packaging or an accompanying document; in the online listing as the product identifier
Online listing
Product picture, product type and any other product identifiers
In the online listing
Warnings and safety information
Instructions and safety information in the language of the country of sale – German for Germany
On the product, its packaging or an accompanying document; warnings also in the online listing
Fines in Germany: what has applied since 19 February 2026
The GPSR itself sets no fine amounts – each EU country does that. Germany amended its Product Safety Act (Produktsicherheitsgesetz, ProdSG) for this purpose. The new rules have applied since 19 February 2026.
Who enforces: As a rule, the market surveillance authorities of the German federal states.
What can lead to a fine: For example a missing or incomplete risk analysis or technical documentation, a missing product identifier or manufacturer details, missing details of the responsible economic operator, an incomplete online listing or an unreported accident. Negligence is enough.
How much: Up to €100,000 if a manufacturer fails to take a necessary corrective measure or an importer fails to ensure it is taken. Up to €10,000 in all other cases. These are maximum amounts, not fixed rates.
When it becomes a crime: Anyone who deliberately and persistently repeats one of these two serious breaches, or thereby endangers life, health or another person's property of significant value, commits a criminal offence. The penalty is up to one year in prison or a criminal fine.
German is mandatory: Instructions, safety information and the warnings in the online listing must be in German for the German market.
Online marketplaces: Certain marketplace duties carry their own fines under Germany's Digital Services Act (Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz, DDG).
Warning letters (Abmahnungen): the extra risk from German competition law
In Germany, authorities are not the only ones who can act against breaches. Competitors and certain associations can send you a warning letter (Abmahnung) when mandatory information or labelling is missing, and demand that you stop the breach. Whether a particular GPSR duty can be enforced this way is decided by the courts, case by case.
Who may send one: Among others, competitors, registered trade associations, qualified consumer associations and chambers. They are expected to send a warning letter before going to court.
Who pays: Where the breach concerns information and labelling duties in online trade, competitors cannot claim their warning-letter costs from you. You still have to stop the breach.
Prevention: Complete mandatory details on the product and in the online listing reduce not only the risk of fines but also the risk of warning letters.
Since 13 December 2024. As an EU regulation, it applies directly in every EU country without having to be transposed into national law. You still need to check, product by product, whether your product falls under the GPSR, under specific EU rules or – for different risks – under both.
What does GPSR stand for?
GPSR stands for General Product Safety Regulation. It refers to Regulation (EU) 2023/988, which has set the basic rules for safe consumer products in the EU since 13 December 2024.
What is the scope of the GPSR?
The GPSR applies to products placed or offered on the EU market unless an exclusion applies. Where specific EU law covers a particular risk, that law governs that risk and the GPSR covers all other aspects. So check the scope for each product and each risk, not just by a broad category name.
Did the GPSR replace the GPSD?
Yes. The GPSR repealed the General Product Safety Directive 2001/95/EC, often called the GPSD, with effect from 13 December 2024. Products correctly placed on the market under the old rules before that date may still be sold; anything placed on the market after that date falls under the GPSR.
Which products fall within the GPSR?
In principle, all consumer products – new, second-hand, repaired and refurbished. It also covers products meant for professionals that are likely to end up with consumers, such as renovation materials sold in DIY stores. Where specific EU rules cover a risk, those rules apply to that risk, so a broad product category alone does not tell you which rules apply.
Who has duties under the GPSR?
Manufacturers, authorised representatives, importers and distributors each have duties that match their role, and so do online marketplaces. On top of that, every covered product needs a responsible economic operator established in the EU. Your role depends on what you actually do: selling through a marketplace does not remove your duties as a manufacturer, importer or distributor.
Does the GPSR create one standard compliance certificate?
No, there is no official GPSR certificate for all products. You show safety with evidence for your specific product: technical documentation, traceability and labelling, plus test reports or declarations where other EU laws require them. A document sold as a “GPSR certificate” does not replace that evidence.
What are a manufacturer's obligations under the GPSR?
Manufacturers must design and make their product safely, analyse the risks before selling it, draw up technical documentation and keep it for ten years. The product needs a type, batch or serial number, the manufacturer's name, postal address and email address, and instructions and safety information. Manufacturers also need a contact channel for complaints, must take corrective action at once if a product is dangerous and must report accidents through the EU Safety Business Gateway.
What is the difference between the GPSR and Germany's ProdSG?
The GPSR is an EU regulation and applies directly in Germany. The Product Safety Act (Produktsicherheitsgesetz, ProdSG) is German law: among other things, it requires safety information in German, makes the federal-state authorities responsible in principle and sets the fines and criminal penalties for GPSR breaches. It also applies on its own to products outside the GPSR for which no specific EU rules exist.
What do you need to sell in Europe from the US or UK? A sourced 2026 checklist: product safety, an EU Responsible Person, labels, listings, VAT, customs, EPR.
Many GPSR guides still quote the 2021 proposal or the repealed directive. 12 common citations checked against the current text of Regulation (EU) 2023/988.
Every statement on this page can be checked here: topic, exact legal reference and a link to the official text. We deliberately leave article and section numbers out of the text above.
Topic
Legal basis
Official text
What the GPSR is, since when and where it applies
Regulation (EU) 2023/988 (GPSR); application from 13 December 2024 and direct applicability in all Member States: Article 52
Article 44 GPSR; section 28(2) ProdSG (breaches); section 28(3) ProdSG: up to €100,000 for breaches of Article 9(8)(a) or Article 11(8)(b) GPSR, otherwise up to €10,000; section 29 ProdSG (criminal offence); amending act of 3 February 2026, BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 29, in force since 19 February 2026
Competent authorities, German language, products outside the GPSR in Germany
Section 25(1) ProdSG (federal-state authorities); section 6 ProdSG (language); sections 1(3) and 3(2) ProdSG (non-harmonised products); language of the country of sale: Article 9(7) GPSR
