1. What is GCC Certification?
GCC stands for General Certificate of Conformity.It is a written general conformity certificate statement that manufacturers and importers of general use products (i.e., non-child products) must issue based on reasonable testing, as stipulated in the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA).
2. What are the requirements for a U.S. GCC certificate?
Manufacturers and importers of general use products (i.e., non-child products) subject to consumer product safety rules must demonstrate compliance with all applicable rules in the general conformity certificate (GCC).
Manufacturers or importers of such products must provide testing records or reasonable testing procedures for each product in their GCC. Products sold on Amazon without a GCC certificate may face penalties such as removal, detention, fines, or lawsuits.
3. Which products require GCC certification?
All non-child (general use) products fall under the GCC scope, such as: automotive parts, architectural glass materials, bicycle helmets, lawnmowers, swimming pool slides, bunk beds, trash cans, paints and similar surface coatings, bicycles, clothing, and darts.
4. What are the testing standards for GCC certification?
Currently, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has not issued regulations mandating general requirements for a “reasonable testing program” for all general use (non-child) consumer products. This means businesses can choose testing standards based on their products. However, some products fall under mandatory control and require testing for corresponding items.
The following list of mandatory standards includes CPSC regulations, which contain specific requirements for reasonable testing programs:
16 CFR part 1610, Flammability Standards for Clothing Textiles
16 CFR part 1203, Safety Standards for Bicycle Helmets
16 CFR part 1204, Safety Standards for Omnidirectional Civil Band Base Station Antennas
16 CFR part 1205, Safety Standards for Walk-Behind Electric Lawn Mowers
16 CFR part 1209, Safety Standards for Cellulosic Insulation
16 CFR part 1210, Safety Standards for Lighters
16 CFR part 1211, Safety Standards for Automatic Residential Garage Door Operators
16 CFR part 1212, Safety Standards for Multi-Purpose Lighters
If your product is not listed above and is subject to other consumer product safety rules or standards, you can develop a reasonable testing program based on your situation.
A reasonable testing program should provide a high level of assurance to manufacturers or importers that their consumer products comply with applicable consumer product safety rules or standards.
5. What information must be included in the GCC certificate?
1. Product identification covered by this certificate: A detailed description of the products covered by this certification to match the certificate with each covered product, not other products.
2. Reference to each consumer product safety regulation under which this product is certified: The certificate must separately identify each consumer product safety rule applicable to the product as administered by the Commission.
3. Identification of the importer or domestic manufacturer certifying product compliance: Provide the name, complete mailing address, and telephone number of the importer or domestic manufacturer certifying the product.
4. Contact information for the individual maintaining test result records: Provide the name, complete mailing address, email address, and telephone number of the person maintaining test records to support certification.
5. Date and location of product manufacture: For the date of manufacture, at least the month and year should be provided. For the place of manufacture, at least provide the city (or administrative region) and country where the product was manufactured or finally assembled. If the same manufacturer operates multiple locations in the same city, provide the street address of the factory.
6. Date and location of testing to determine compliance with the above consumer product safety rules: Provide the testing location and date of testing or the testing report upon which certification is based.
7. Identification of any third-party laboratory upon which the test certificate depends: Generally, for GCC, this section should be marked as “N/A” because third-party laboratory testing is not a requirement for non-child products (this is only a requirement for child products and must be included in CPC). However, if the certifying agency voluntarily uses third-party laboratory test results as the basis for issuing GCC, the law requires the certifying agency to provide the name, complete mailing address, and telephone number of the third-party laboratory.
6. Differences between CPC and GCC certification
CPC and GCC are both certifications that manufacturers or importers must obtain for products as stipulated in the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). The main difference is that CPC is for children’s products (targeted at children 12 years and younger), while GCC applies to general or non-child products.
