What Is GPSR? The EU General Product Safety Regulation Explained for Sellers (2026)

What is GPSR? The EU General Product Safety Regulation, in plain EnglishGPSR is the EU rulebook that says every consumer product sold into the EU must be safe, traceable to a real company, and accompanied by warnings and contact details a buyer can actually use. It has applied since 13 December 2024 — and 2026 is the year marketplaces started enforcing the details, not just the Responsible Person field.GPSR in one paragraphGPSR stands for the General Product Safety Regulation — Regulation (EU) 2023/988. It replaced the old General Product Safety Directive (2001/95/EC) and has applied across the EU since 13 December 2024. Unlike a directive, a regulation applies directly in every member state, so there is no national version to look up and no transposition delay.Its job is to be the safety net. If a product you sell is already covered by specific EU legislation — toys, cosmetics, electrical equipment, machinery, PPE — that legislation still applies. GPSR covers everything those rules do not: any consumer product, and any risk of a product that no sector rule addresses.Does GPSR apply to me?If you sell physical consumer products to buyers in the EU (or Northern Ireland, which follows GPSR under the Windsor Framework), it applies to you. It does not matter whether you are a limited company or a hobby seller, whether you ship from inside or outside the EU, or whether you make the product or resell it.

Manufacturers — you make it, or you sell it under your own brand name. You carry the heaviest obligations: risk assessment, technical documentation, labelling.

Importers — you bring a product into the EU from outside. You must check the manufacturer did their job, and add your own name and address.

Distributors / resellers — you sell products made by someone else inside the EU. You must verify the labelling and the Responsible Person details are there before you list.

Online marketplaces — Amazon, eBay and Etsy have their own duties, which is exactly why they now push the requirements down onto you.

Fulfilment service providers — warehouses and 3PLs established in the EU can also be the Responsible Person.

The six things GPSR actually asks of a seller

A Responsible Person established in the EU. No product may be placed on the EU market unless there is an economic operator in the Union who takes responsibility for it (Article 16). See the Responsible Person guide.

A risk assessment. A written analysis of what could go wrong — choking, sharp edges, chemicals, fire, electric shock — and what you did about it.

Technical documentation. A file describing the product and showing why it is safe, kept for 10 years and handed over to authorities on request.

Labelling and traceability. Manufacturer name, registered trade name or trademark, postal address and email; a type, batch or serial number so a specific unit can be traced.

Warnings and safety information in the right language. Warnings must reach the buyer in the language of the member state they are in, on the product, the packaging or an accompanying document — and, for distance sales, in the offer itself.

Incident reporting and remedies. If a product you sold caused an accident, you notify authorities through the Safety Business Gateway; a recall must offer repair, replacement or a refund.

What has to appear on the listing itselfThis is the part that trips sellers up. GPSR treats a marketplace listing as a distance-selling offer, and an offer has to show the safety information before the buyer clicks buy — not in the box after delivery.

The name, registered trade name or trademark of the manufacturer, plus a postal address and an electronic address (an email or a contact URL).

If the manufacturer is not established in the EU: the name, postal address and electronic address of the EU Responsible Person.

Information identifying the product, including a picture, the type and any other product identifier — model, batch or serial number.

Any warning or safety information required, in the language of the member state where the product is offered.

Why 2026 feels harder than 2025Through 2025, most marketplace enforcement was a single field: add a Responsible Person or the listing is suppressed. Sellers added a name and moved on.The 2026 wave is about the rest of it. Marketplaces are now asking for the warning text, the pictograms, the manufacturer's postal address in full, product identifiers, and — when a complaint or a market surveillance request lands — the technical file behind it. Sellers who fixed the Responsible Person field last year are getting fresh notices about labelling and safety information.Market surveillance authorities also have easier tooling now. The Safety Gate portal lets consumers report dangerous products directly, and authorities can order a marketplace to remove an offer within two working days.What happens if you ignore itPenalties are set by each member state, so there is no single EU fine figure — they range from warnings and forced listing removal up to substantial financial penalties. In practice, the first consequence for an online seller is commercial rather than legal: the listing is suppressed, the account gets a compliance strike, and the stock sits unsold.The second is the one that hurts: a customer complaint or an accident with no technical file and no Responsible Person behind it turns an administrative problem into a liability problem.The pragmatic order to do this inYou do not need a consultant to start. You need the paperwork to exist, be accurate, and be reachable.

Appoint or confirm an EU Responsible Person and get the mandate in writing.

Generate your safety information block and paste it into every EU listing.

Print the A4 safety sheet and put it in the box, or use it as your label artwork brief.

Work through the technical file checklist and fill the gaps — the risk assessment is usually the missing one.

Re-check each marketplace's compliance dashboard for the fields they specifically ask for.

Frequently asked questions

When did GPSR come into force?

Regulation (EU) 2023/988 was adopted on 10 May 2023 and has applied since 13 December 2024. There was no extended grace period — the transition was the 18 months before that date.

Does GPSR apply to handmade and small-batch products?

Yes. There is no exemption for micro-businesses, hobby sellers or handmade goods. A handmade item sold to an EU consumer needs the same safety information, traceability and Responsible Person as a factory-made one. What is proportionate is the depth of the technical file: a simple product needs a simple risk assessment, not a laboratory programme.

Does GPSR apply to second-hand goods?

Used, repaired and reconditioned products supplied in the course of a commercial activity are generally in scope, with some allowances for goods supplied as antiques or for products explicitly presented as needing repair before use. Purely private, occasional sales between consumers are outside it.

Do I need a CE mark because of GPSR?

No. GPSR does not create a CE marking obligation and does not have its own conformity mark. If your product falls under a CE directive — toys, electrical equipment, machinery, PPE — you already needed CE marking and a Declaration of Conformity for that, and GPSR sits underneath it for the risks that directive does not cover.

Does GPSR apply to digital products or services?

It applies to physical consumer products. Software matters only where it affects the safety of a product — a connected device whose firmware update could make it unsafe, for example, which GPSR explicitly asks you to consider in the risk assessment.

Is GPSR the same in the UK?

Great Britain kept its own regime (the General Product Safety Regulations 2005), so GPSR is not directly binding there. Northern Ireland does follow GPSR. A GB seller shipping into the EU still needs full GPSR compliance, including an EU-established Responsible Person.

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