What Is GPSR? The EU General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988 Explained for Sellers

What the GPSR is and when it applies

Regulation (EU) 2023/988 on general product safety was published in the Official Journal on 23 May 2023 (OJ L 135), entered into force on 12 June 2023 and applies from 13 December 2024 (Article 52). On the same date it repealed the General Product Safety Directive 2001/95/EC (GPSD) and Council Directive 87/357/EEC on food-imitating products (Article 50).

Unlike the GPSD, which each country transposed in its own way, the GPSR applies directly with the same text everywhere. Enforcement still sits with national market surveillance authorities.

Transitional rule (Article 51). Member states may not block products that were covered by and complied with the GPSD and were placed on the market before 13 December 2024. The Commission's guidelines for businesses (C/2025/6233, published 21 November 2025; an interpretation, not the law itself) stress that "placing on the market" means the first making available on the EU market and is assessed unit by unit, not per model. Stock that is first supplied in the EU after that date must meet the new rules even if the model is unchanged.

Where it applies. The GPSR applies in the 27 EU member states. Under the Windsor Framework it also applies in Northern Ireland, for which the UK government has published guidance. It does not apply in Great Britain. For Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, application depends on incorporation into the EEA Agreement; check EFTA's official records.

Which products are covered, and what is excluded

The definition of "product" in Article 3(1) is broad: any item intended for, or likely to be used by, consumers, paid or free, including items supplied as part of a service. Professional products that have migrated to consumers, such as DIY-store tools, are covered too.

New and second-hand. Article 2(3) applies the GPSR to products that are new, used, repaired or reconditioned. The only carve-out is for products that must be repaired or reconditioned before use and are clearly marked as such. Purely consumer-to-consumer sales are outside the GPSR.

Online sales. An online offer is treated as making a product available on the EU market if it targets EU consumers (Article 4). Recital 21 points to shipping destinations, languages, payment methods, currency and domain name; mere accessibility of a website is not enough.

Excluded products (Article 2(2)):

• medicinal products for human or veterinary use; food; feed;
• living plants and animals, genetically modified organisms, and plant and animal products relating directly to their future reproduction; animal by-products and derived products;
• plant protection products;
• equipment on which consumers ride or travel that is operated by a service provider as part of a transport service;
• certain aircraft referred to in Article 2(3)(d) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139;
• antiques.

Sector legislation. Where EU law sets specific safety requirements with the same objective (toys, low-voltage electrical equipment, radio equipment, cosmetics and so on), the GPSR covers only the aspects and risks those rules do not (Article 2(1)). Even for CE-marked products, the GPSR rules on online information, accident reporting, marketplaces, Safety Gate and recalls still apply. See GPSR vs CE marking.

Economic operators: work out your role for each product

GPSR obligations depend on your role, and one company can hold different roles for different products, so decide product by product. "Economic operator" means the manufacturer, authorised representative, importer, distributor, fulfilment service provider or any other person with obligations under the regulation (Article 3(13)). Online marketplace providers are a separate category with their own duties.

Anyone who substantially modifies a product in a way that affects its safety is treated as the manufacturer (Article 13(2)–(3)).

What each operator must do

Manufacturers (Article 9)

• Design and make products that meet the general safety requirement in Article 5.
• Before placing a product on the market, carry out an internal risk analysis and draw up technical documentation, keep it up to date and keep it for 10 years (Article 9(2)–(3)).
• Mark the product with a type, batch or serial number or other identifier, or put it on the packaging or an accompanying document if size or nature does not allow it (Article 9(5)).
• Show your name, registered trade name or trade mark and your postal and electronic address, plus a single contact point if different (Article 9(6)).
• Supply clear instructions and safety information in a language consumers easily understand, as decided by the member state of sale (Article 9(7)).
• Offer public complaint channels, investigate complaints and keep an internal register of complaints, recalls and corrective measures (Article 9(11)–(12)).
• If a product is dangerous, immediately take corrective action, inform consumers and notify authorities through the Safety Business Gateway (Article 9(8)).

Importers (Article 11) and distributors (Article 12)

Importers check that the product is safe and the manufacturer has done its documentation and labelling, add their own name and postal and electronic address without hiding the manufacturer's label, and keep a copy of the technical file for 10 years. Distributors check labels and instructions before selling. If a product is dangerous, both alert the operator above them, ensure corrective action and make sure authorities are informed via the Safety Business Gateway.

The responsible person (Article 16)

A product covered by the GPSR may not be placed on the market unless an economic operator established in the EU is responsible for the tasks in Article 4(3) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020. Under Article 4(2) of that regulation this is an EU manufacturer; the importer where the manufacturer is outside the EU; an authorised representative with a written mandate; or, where none of these exists, an EU fulfilment service provider for the products it handles. The responsible person must provide documents on request, report risks, cooperate on corrective action and, where appropriate, regularly check the product against the technical documentation and labelling rules (Article 16(2)). Its name and contact details, including postal and electronic address, go on the product, packaging, parcel or an accompanying document (Article 16(3)). More in Who is the EU Responsible Person.

All economic operators also need internal product safety processes (Article 14) and must be able to give authorities risk, complaint and accident information for 10 years and supply-chain information for 6 years (Article 15). Under Article 21 you may add the same information in digital form, such as a QR code, but only in addition to the physical label, never instead of it. See GPSR technical documentation and GPSR label requirements; for ready-made label layouts you can use gpsrtools.com.

What changed compared with the old GPSD

Online sales and marketplaces

Under Article 19, an online or other distance-sales offer must show clearly and visibly at least:

1. the manufacturer's name, registered trade name or trade mark, and postal and electronic address;
2. if the manufacturer is not in the EU, the name, postal and electronic address of the responsible person;
3. information identifying the product, including a picture, its type and any other identifier;
4. any warning or safety information required on the product, packaging or accompanying document, in a language consumers easily understand as set by the member state of sale.

Article 22 adds duties for online marketplace providers, including:

• a single point of contact for authorities and for consumers, and registration on the Safety Gate Portal;
• acting on authority orders about dangerous products without undue delay and within two working days at the latest, which can extend to all identical content (Article 22(4)–(5));
• handling product safety notices from third parties within three working days (Article 22(8));
• an interface that lets traders enter the Article 19 information and displays it to consumers, plus a trader self-certification (Article 22(9)–(10));
• suspending, after a prior warning, traders who frequently offer non-compliant products (Article 22(11));
• notifying buyers directly in a recall and publishing recalls on the platform (Article 22(12)).

For sellers, this is the legal background to the manufacturer, responsible person and safety fields now found in seller back offices, and to restrictions on listings that lack them. Platform field names and procedures are set by each platform and can change. If a listing has been deactivated, see Amazon GPSR listing deactivated; for a platform comparison, see GPSR information for online listings.

Penalties and other consequences

Under Article 44, member states lay down the penalties for breaches of the obligations on economic operators and online marketplace providers; penalties must be "effective, proportionate and dissuasive"; and the rules had to be notified to the Commission by 13 December 2024.

So the GPSR itself sets no EU-wide fine amount or percentage. The often-quoted "up to 4% of annual turnover" came from the Commission's 2021 proposal; it is not in the adopted text. Maximum fines and any criminal liability depend on national law.

In practice the more immediate consequences are usually:

• authority orders to correct, stop selling, withdraw, recall or destroy products under Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 (GPSR Article 23);
• Safety Gate alerts shared EU-wide; a product found dangerous in one member state is presumed dangerous in the others (Article 29(1));
• listing removals by marketplaces and suspension of repeat offenders;
• representative actions by consumer organisations (Article 39).

What to do first

A sensible order of work is below. Note that there is no official "GPSR certificate", so there is nothing to buy before you start.

1. Map roles and laws per product. List every SKU sold into the EU, decide whether you are manufacturer, importer or distributor, and check whether toy, electrical, radio, cosmetics or other sector rules apply. The 3-step compliance check is a quick start.
2. Do the risk analysis and build the technical file: description, materials, photos, standards, test reports, risks and mitigations.
3. Put an EU responsible person in place. With no EU company and no EU importer, appoint an authorised representative in writing and print its name, postal and electronic address on the product, packaging, parcel or an accompanying document. The rules are explained in Who is the EU Responsible Person.
4. Update labels and instructions with the identifier, manufacturer and responsible-person details, and warnings in the local language.
5. Complete your listings on each marketplace and your own shop.
6. Prepare for incidents. Publish a complaint channel, create an EU Login account, and agree with your EU rep who reports accidents and runs recalls. See accidents, recalls and Safety Gate.