Certificates of Compliance, 68328-68332 [E8-27356]

Agencies

• Consumer Product Safety Commission

[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 223 (Tuesday, November 18, 2008)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 68328-68332]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-27356]


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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 1110


Certificates of Compliance

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Consumer Product Safety Act (``CPSA''), at section 14(a) 
as amended by section 102(a) of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement 
Act of 2008 (``CPSIA''), Public Law 110-314, requires that, for 
products manufactured on or after November 12, 2008, manufacturers 
(including importers) and private labelers of the products certify that 
the products comply with all applicable CPSA consumer product safety 
rules and similar rules, bans, standards and regulations under any 
other laws administered by the Commission by issuing a certificate that 
accompanies the product and can be furnished to certain parties. The 
certificate must specify each such rule, ban, standard, or regulation 
with which the product must comply. In general, the certification must 
be based on a test of each product or upon a reasonable testing 
program. Certificates and certification for certain children's products 
must be based on testing by third party laboratories whose 
accreditation to do so has been accepted by the Commission. The third 
party testing requirements become effective on a rolling schedule as 
the Commission issues specific laboratory accreditation requirements. 
Section 14(a)(4) of the CPSA gives the Commission the authority where 
there is more than one manufacturer, importer, or private labeler to 
designate one or more of such entities as the person(s) who shall issue 
the required certificate and to relieve all others of that 
responsibility.
    The final rule published today limits the parties who must certify 
to the U.S. importer and, in the case of domestically produced 
products, the U.S. manufacturer. It also specifies the requirements 
that an electronic certificate must meet.

DATES: Effective Date: This rule is effective November 18, 2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John ``Gib'' Mullan, Assistant 
Executive Director for Compliance and Field Operations, U.S. Consumer 
Product Safety Commission, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, Maryland 
20814; e-mail: jmullan@cpsc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction and Background

    The Commission is aware that, as a result of the extremely short 
deadline for complying with the new certificate requirement and its 
vast expansion over that previously required by section 14(a) (which 
applied only to products subject to consumer product safety standards 
under the CPSA) there is substantial confusion over what is required by 
way of certification.
    The Commission has received thousands of inquiries as to how to 
comply, when to comply, what is required in support of the 
certification, and what form the certificate must take, as well as 
hundreds of requests to evaluate an individual product as to what 
existing and future bans, standards, regulations, or rules might apply 
to it. Commission staff has been unable to respond to many of these 
inquiries due to the press of the other very early multiple statutory 
deadlines imposed on the agency by the CPSIA.
    The Commission believes that for the expanded Sec.  14(a) 
certificate program to be implemented in a fair and orderly way and to 
produce the benefits intended by Congress, it must be streamlined, at 
least in its initial phase.
    Accordingly, the Commission is exercising its authority under CPSA 
section 14(a)(4) by issuing this immediately effective final rule 
designating the importer as the sole entity that must issue the 
certificate required by section 14(a) in the case of an imported 
product.\1\ This certificate must be available to the Commission no 
later than the time when the product or shipment is available for 
inspection in the United States. The Commission is also designating the 
domestic manufacturer as the sole entity that must issue the 
certificate required by section 14(a) in the case of a domestically 
produced product. This certificate must be available to the Commission 
upon request before the product or shipment is introduced into domestic 
commerce.
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    \1\ The Commission voted 2-0 to issue this rule.
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    Section 14(g)(3) of the CPSA as added by section 102(b) of the 
CPSIA requires that the certificates required by section 14(a) of the 
CPSA ``accompany'' each product or shipment of products subject to the 
certification requirements and be ``furnished'' to each distributor or 
retailer of the product. In addition, a copy of the certificate must be 
``furnished'' to the CPSC upon request.
    The final rule issued today provides that the requirements of 
section 14(g)(3) can be satisfied by providing the statutorily required 
certificate information by electronic means. The means by which the 
certificate may be provided in electronic form is specified.
    This rule is being issued in immediate final form in recognition 
that the new, broader consumer product certification requirements 
established by CPSIA go into effect for products manufactured on and 
after November 12, 2008. The Commission expects that with time CPSIA's 
expanded certification requirements will become more routine and it 
then would consider whether this rule needs to be revised based on 
actual experience.
    The rule issued here is effective upon publication in the Federal 
Register.

II. Pertinent Statutory Provisions

    Section 14(a)(1) of the CPSA, as amended by CPSIA, requires that 
the manufacturer (including the importer) and the private labeler, if 
any, of a product that is subject to an applicable consumer product 
safety rule under the CPSA, or similar rule, ban, standard, or 
regulation under any other Act enforced by the Commission issue a 
certificate of compliance.\2\ This requirement applies

[[Page 68329]]

to any such product manufactured on or after November 12, 2008. Section 
14(a)(4) provides the Commission with authority to designate by rule 
one or more of these parties to issue the required certificate and to 
relieve the other parties enumerated in section 14 from the requirement 
to furnish certificates.
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    \2\ CPSIA section 14(a)(2) imposes additional testing 
requirements to support certificates of compliance for ``children's 
products'' as defined in section 3(a)(2) of Consumer Product Safety 
Act. Ninety days after the Commission issues those requirements for 
a given product or category of products on the rolling schedule 
specified in section 14(a)(3), the certificate for the product or 
products in question manufactured after that date must be supported 
by testing performed by a third party laboratory whose accreditation 
has been accepted by the Commission absent the Commission's exercise 
of its authority to extend such a deadline by an additional sixty 
days in certain instances. The rule set out here is equally 
applicable to certificates that must be based on third party 
testing.
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    Sections 14(g)(1) and (2) of the CPSA as added by CPSIA specify the 
information that must be provided in a certificate.
    (1) Identification of issuer and conformity assessment body.--Every 
certificate required under this section shall identify the manufacturer 
or private labeler issuing the certificate and any third party 
conformity assessment body on whose testing the certificate depends. 
The certificate shall include, at a minimum, the date and place of 
manufacture, the date and place where the product was tested, each 
party's name, full mailing address, telephone number, and contact 
information for the individual responsible for maintaining records of 
test results.
    (2) English language.--Every certificate required under this 
section shall be legible and all content required by this section shall 
be in the English language. A certificate may also contain the same 
content in any other language.

Section 14(g)(3) of the CPSA as added by CPSIA specifies the 
availability of the required certificates.
    (3) Availability of certificates.--Every certificate required under 
this section shall accompany the applicable product or shipment of 
products covered by the same certificate and a copy of the certificate 
shall be furnished to each distributor or retailer of the product. Upon 
request, the manufacturer or private labeler issuing the certificate 
shall furnish a copy of the certificate to the Commission.
    While the new provisions of section 14 do not address electronic 
certificates in general, new section 14(g)(4) does specifically address 
electronic filing of certificates for import shipments with CPSC and 
the Commissioner of Customs.
    (4) Electronic filing of certificates for imported products.--In 
consultation with the Commissioner of Customs, the Commission may, by 
rule, provide for the electronic filing of certificates under this 
section up to 24 hours before arrival of an imported product. Upon 
request, the manufacturer or private labeler issuing the certificate 
shall furnish a copy to the Commission and to the Commissioner of 
Customs.

This rule does not establish the requirements under section 14(g)(4) 
for pre-arrival electronic filing with the Commissioner of Customs and 
the Commission of certificates for imported products. Rather it 
addresses acceptable means for making electronic certificates available 
to the Commission and to distributors and retailers at this time in 
compliance with the requirements of CPSA sections 14(a) and (g). If the 
Commission elects to do so at some future date, it may address the 
specific issue of electronic filing of certificates for imported 
products with the Commission and the Commissioner of Customs by 
subsequent rulemaking.

III. Need for Streamlining Certificate Requirements

    Prior to enactment of the CPSIA, the certificate requirement ran to 
eleven (11) CPSA consumer product safety standards.\3\ The CPSIA 
expanded that universe to include all CPSA standards and bans and all 
similar standards, bans, rules and regulations under any other Act 
administered by the Commission, including the Federal Hazardous 
Substances Act, the Flammable Fabrics Act, the Poison Prevention 
Packaging Act, the Refrigerator Safety Act, the Children's Gasoline 
Burn Prevention Act, and the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety 
Act. Congress provided only ninety days from enactment of the CPSIA for 
the Commission and the regulated community to address this vastly 
expanded product certification requirement. As noted above, the 
Commission has received literally thousands of inquiries as to how to 
comply, when to comply, what is required in support of the 
certification, whether and how an electronic certificate might be 
acceptable, and what form the certificate must take, whether hard copy 
or electronic.
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    \3\ In most of those standards, the Commission has already 
addressed which entity must provide certificates under the prior 
version of CPSA section 14(a). See, e.g., 16 CFR part 1210, etc. 
Today's rule does not amend those standards in this respect in light 
of the significant additional certificate information now required 
by CPSA section 14(a) as amended by CPSIA.
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    The Commission is hampered in its overall efforts to implement the 
CPSIA by the fact it is funded for Fiscal year 2009 by continuing 
resolution at its funding level for FY 2008 established prior to 
enactment of those sweeping new responsibilities. Commission staff has 
been unable to respond to many inquiries due to the press of the other 
very early, multiple statutory deadlines imposed on the agency by the 
CPSIA.
    In addition, the staff has been deluged with hundreds and hundreds 
of requests to evaluate specific individual products and specify what 
bans, standards, regulations, etc., might apply to them. First, the 
Commission does not have, or expect to have, sufficient resources to 
evaluate every one of the products within the scope of the thousands of 
types of products within its jurisdiction in this manner. The CPSC has 
never ``pre-approved'' products for compliance with its standards, 
bans, regulations or rules in this manner in any event. Second, it is 
the responsibility of the manufacturer of the product as a normal 
incident of doing business to know what legal requirements of the 
Commission or otherwise apply to its products.
    The Commission is concerned by the apparent confusion among 
companies about the reach of the general certificate requirements 
including what rules apply to their products. Manufacturers and 
retailers have always been required to know which rules apply to their 
products and to assure that their products comply with those rules. 
Before it has even gone into effect, the new general certificate 
requirement has not only focused attention on safety compliance but 
also has given some companies a cause to be concerned about their 
ability to comply with the certification program.
    While the Commission expects every company to make best efforts to 
comply promptly with the new general certificate requirements, the 
Commission's resource limitations under the continuing resolution will 
force it to focus more on a product's compliance with our safety rules. 
The certificate is evidence of compliance and therefore it is 
appropriate to concentrate initially more on the substantive 
requirements underlying the certificate than on the certificate or the 
form of the certificate itself. As our resource limitations are fully 
addressed by Congress, the Commission will then be able to properly 
focus on all aspects of compliance, particularly compliance with the 
new general certification requirements.
    The Commission also recognizes that it still has work to do to 
clarify aspects of the general certification program and will be 
working to quickly resolve uncertainties.

[[Page 68330]]

    Importers should be aware that after this initial period of 
adjustment, failure to abide by the general certificate requirement 
will subject shipments to refusal of admission into the country and 
potential destruction. The Commission staff is developing Frequently 
Asked Question (FAQ) lists for posting on the Commission's World Wide 
Web site as the agency's resources permit to address issues of more 
general applicability posed by the new CPSIA requirements.
    All of the above considerations lead the Commission to the 
conclusion that at least in the initial implementation phase, the 
expanded certification program must be streamlined to minimize 
confusion in the regulated community, to allow for fairness, and to 
allow the Commission staff to respond appropriately to the most 
pressing CPSIA implementation challenges. Accordingly, by this rule, 
the Commission is limiting the certificate requirements of section 
14(a) of the CPSA to the importer in the case of products manufactured 
outside the United States and to the domestic manufacturer in the case 
of products manufactured in the United States. In the case of imports, 
the required certificate must be available to the Commission no later 
than the time when the product or shipment is available for inspection 
in the United States. In the case of domestic products, the certificate 
must be available to the Commission prior to introduction of the 
product or shipment in question into domestic commerce.

IV. Need for Electronic Certificates

    Following enactment of CPSIA on August 14th, the Commission has 
received many comments regarding the urgent need for a means for 
electronic certificates as an alternative to paper certificates. 
Importers have noted the extremely difficult task of associating paper 
certificates with the proper contents of a shipping container that may 
contain items not subject to the certification requirement and many 
items that are, but that are subject to varying certification 
requirements depending on the specific product in question. Similar 
difficulties have been noted with respect to bulk shipments that are 
then broken down for shipment to a number of distributors or retailers. 
Manufacturers of small volume per retailer products have noted the 
substantial additional complexity and cost if such products must be 
accompanied by appropriate paper certificates down to the individual 
retailer level. This later situation has been identified as extremely 
problematic for manufacturers (including importers) and private 
labelers, that are not associated with major retail chains, but who 
ship to many independent retailers. Finally many commenters have noted 
that international and domestic commerce is now largely tracked and 
otherwise conducted electronically and that a return to paper for some 
portion of that commerce is a major step backward in facilitating 
efficient trade. Based on all of the above, the Commission believes 
that immediately recognizing the suitability of electronic certificates 
provided they meet the statutory content and availability requirements 
is appropriate.

V. Electronic Certificates Can ``Accompany'' Products and Product 
Shipments and Can Be ``Furnished'' to Distributors and Retailers

    Section 14(g)(3) requires that the certificate ``accompany'' each 
product or shipment of products and be ``furnished'' to each 
distributor or retailer of the product. The legislative history of 
section 102(b) of CPSIA is silent as to the intended meaning of the 
word ``accompany.'' Among other meanings, Webster's defines 
``accompany'' to mean ``coexist or occur with.'' \4\ The Commission 
believes that a properly designed electronic certificate containing the 
information prescribed by sections 14(a) and (g) of the CPSA, as 
applicable, that is uniquely identified to the product or products 
covered by the certificate is ``coexisting'' or ``occurring with'' the 
product or products in question.
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    \4\ Webster's II New Riverside University Dictionary, Houghton 
Mifflin Company, 1994, at p. 71.
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    Webster's defines ``furnish'' as ``to supply'' or ``give.'' \5\ The 
Commission believes that an electronic certificate that can be 
reasonably accessed by distributors and retailers satisfies the 
requirement of ``furnishing'' the certificate to distributors and 
retailers of the product.
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    \5\ Id. at p. 513.
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VI. Acceptable Form of Electronic Certificate

    As noted above in section II. of this preamble, CPSA sections 14(a) 
and (g) specify the information that must be in a certificate and the 
form in which it must be available. For purposes of this rule, which 
limits the requirement to furnish certificates to importers and 
domestic manufacturers, the applicable portions of those provisions are 
as follows:
    1. Identification of the product covered by the certificate.
    2. Citation to each CPSC product safety regulation to which the 
product is being certified. Specifically, CPSIA requires that the 
certificate specify each applicable consumer product safety rule under 
the Consumer Product Safety Act and any similar rule, ban, standard or 
regulation under any other Act enforced by the Commission that is 
applicable to the product.
    3. Identification of the importer or domestic manufacturer as 
applicable certifying compliance of the product, including the importer 
or domestic manufacturer's name, full mailing address, and telephone 
number.
    4. Contact information for the individual maintaining records of 
test results, including the custodian's name, e-mail address, full 
mailing address, and telephone number. (CPSC recommends that each 
issuer maintain test records supporting the certification for at least 
three years as is currently required by certain consumer product 
specific CPSC standards, for example at 16 CFR 1508.10 for full-size 
baby cribs.).
    5. Date (month and year at a minimum) and place (including city and 
country or administrative region) where the product was manufactured. 
(If the same manufacturer operates more than one location in the same 
city, the street address of the factory in question should be 
provided.)
    6. Date and place (including city and country or administrative 
region) where the product was tested for compliance with the 
regulation(s) cited above.
    7. Identification of any third-party laboratory on whose testing 
the certificate depends, including name, full mailing address and 
telephone number of the laboratory.

Section 14(g)(2) requires that the foregoing information be available 
in English. As provided for in CPSIA, the same information also may be 
provided in any other language.
    The Commission expects that the statutory content and language 
requirements will be met for any certificate, whether issued in 
electronic or paper form.
    The Commission believes that an electronic certificate is properly 
``accompanying'' the product or shipment of the product as required by 
CPSIA if a certificate meeting the requirements of the rule issued 
today can reasonably be accessed by information on the product or 
accompanying the product or shipment, for example a unique identifier 
that can be accessed via a World Wide Web URL or other electronic 
means, provided the URL or other electronic means and the certificate 
and unique identifier are

[[Page 68331]]

available to the Commission immediately when the product or shipment 
itself is available for inspection in the United States. Similarly, if 
a reasonable means to access the electronic certificate is available to 
distributor(s) and retailer(s), the Commission believes that the 
statutory ``furnish'' requirement is met.
    As with paper certificates, for an electronic certificate to 
``accompany'' a shipment, it must be created prior to arrival of the 
shipment in question into U.S. domestic commerce. The Commission would 
expect that an electronic certificate would have a means to verify the 
date of its creation or last modification.
    Any entity or entities may maintain the electronic certificate 
platform(s) and may enter the requisite data. However, the certifying 
entity or entities remain legally responsible for the accuracy and 
completeness of the certificate information required by statute and its 
availability in timely fashion.\6\
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    \6\ It is also self evident that a product subject to an 
applicable CPSC standard, ban, or regulation is expected to comply 
therewith, irrespective of the issuance and availability of a 
certificate.
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VII. Paperwork Reduction Act

    This final rule does not impose any information collection 
requirements. Rather, it restates the express statutory requirements 
for the content of certificates that appear at sections 14(a) and (g) 
of the CPSA. Accordingly it is not subject to the Paperwork Reduction 
Act, 44 U.S.C. sections 3501 through 3520.

VIII. Executive Order 12988

    According to Executive Order 12988 (February 5, 1996), agencies 
must state in clear language the preemptive effect, if any, of new 
regulations. This regulation is issued under authority of the CPSA and 
the CPSIA. The CPSA provision on preemption appears at section 26 
thereof. The CPSIA provision on preemption appears at section 231 
thereof. Otherwise the preemptive effect of this rule would be 
determined in an appropriate proceeding in a court of competent 
jurisdiction.

IX. Environmental Considerations

    This final rule falls within the scope of the Commission's 
environmental review regulations at 16 CFR 1021.5(c)(2) which provide a 
categorical exclusion from any requirement for the agency to prepare an 
environmental assessment or environmental impact statement for product 
certification rules.

X. Immediate Effective Date

    The Commission is issuing this rule as an immediately effective 
final rule. Section 553(b) of the Administrative Procedure Act 
(``APA''), 5 U.S.C. 553, excludes rules from the otherwise applicable 
notice and comment requirements of the APA, inter alia, where the 
agency for good cause finds that notice and comment are impracticable 
or contrary to the public interest. Here, the CPSIA statutory deadline 
for issuance of certificates is November 12, 2008 for products 
manufactured on or after that date. There is substantial confusion in 
the regulated community as to the application and implementation of 
that requirement. Moreover, the Commission's resources are extremely 
challenged by the myriad of near term statutory deadlines for 
implementation of various other CPSIA provisions. Accordingly, the 
Commission finds that notice and comment on this rule is impracticable 
and would not be in the public interest.
    Section 553(d) of the APA excludes certain final rules from the 
otherwise applicable APA requirement that the effective date of a rule 
be at least 30 days after publication of the rule. The pertinent 
exclusions here are for a rule that relieves a restriction and ``as 
otherwise provided for good cause shown and published with the rule.'' 
In view of the certificate deadline of November 12, 2008 for products 
subject to the requirement that are manufactured on or after that date, 
the Commission finds that good cause exists to make this rule effective 
immediately.

List of Subjects in 16 CFR Part 1110

    Consumer protection, labeling.


0
For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Commission amends Title 16 
of the Code of Federal Regulations by adding a new part 1110 to read as 
follows:

PART 1110--CERTIFICATES OF COMPLIANCE

Sec.
1110.1 Purpose and scope.
1110.3 Definitions.
1110.5 Acceptable certificates.
1110.7 Who must certify and provide a certificate.
1110.9 Form of certificate.
1110.11 Contents of certificate.
1110.13 Availability of electronic certificate.
1110.15 Legal responsibility for certificate information.

    Authority: Pub. L. No. 110-314, Sec.  3, 122 Stat. 3016, 3017 
(2008); 15 U.S.C. 14.

PART 1110--CERTIFICATES OF COMPLIANCE


Sec.  1110.1  Purpose and scope.

    (a) This part 1110:
    (1) Limits the entities required to provide certificates in 
accordance with section 14(a) of the Consumer Product Safety Act, as 
amended (CPSA), 15 U.S.C. 2063(a), to importers and U.S. domestic 
manufacturers;
    (2) Specifies the content, form, and availability requirements of 
the CPSA that must be met for a certificate to satisfy the certificate 
requirements of section 14(a); and
    (3) Specifies means by which an electronic certificate shall meet 
those requirements.
    (b) This part 1110 does not address issues related to type or 
frequency of testing necessary to satisfy the certification 
requirements of CPSA section 14(a). It does not address issues related 
to CPSA section 14(g)(4) concerning advance filing of electronic 
certificates of compliance with the Commission and/or the Commissioner 
of Customs.


Sec.  1110.3  Definitions.

    The following definitions apply for purposes of this part 1110.
    (a) Electronic certificate means, for purposes of this part 1110, a 
set of information available in, and accessible by, electronic means 
that sets forth the information required by CPSA section 14(a) and 
section 14(g) and that meets the availability requirements of CPSA 
section 14(g)(3).
    (b) Unless otherwise stated, the definitions of section 3 of the 
CPSA and additional definitions in the Consumer Product Safety 
Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), Pub. L. 110-314, apply for purposes of 
this part 1110.


Sec.  1110.5  Acceptable certificates.

    A certificate that is in hard copy or electronic form and complies 
with all applicable requirements of this part 1110 meets the 
certificate requirements of section 14 of the CPSA. This does not 
relieve the importer or domestic manufacturer from the underlying 
statutory requirements concerning the supporting testing and/or other 
bases to support certification and issuance of certificates.


Sec.  1110.7  Who must certify and provide a certificate.

    (a) Imports. Except as otherwise provided in a specific standard, 
in the case of a product manufactured outside the United States, only 
the importer must certify in accordance with, and provide the 
certificate required by,

[[Page 68332]]

CPSA section 14(a) as applicable, that the product or shipment in 
question complies with all applicable CPSA rules and all similar rules, 
bans, standards, and regulations applicable to the product or shipment 
under any other Act enforced by the Commission.
    (b) Domestic products. Except as otherwise provided in a specific 
standard, in the case of a product manufactured in the United States, 
only the manufacturer must certify in accordance with, and provide the 
certificate required by, CPSA section 14(a) as applicable, that the 
product or shipment in question complies with all applicable CPSA rules 
and all similar rules, bans, standards, and regulations applicable to 
the product or shipment under any other Act enforced by the Commission.
    (c) Availability of certificates.
    (1) Imports. In the case of imports, the certificate required by 
CPSA section 14(a) must be available to the Commission from the 
importer as soon as the product or shipment itself is available for 
inspection in the United States.
    (2) Domestic products. In the case of domestic products, the 
certificate required by CPSA section 14(a) must be available to the 
Commission from the manufacturer prior to introduction of the product 
or shipment in question into domestic commerce.


Sec.  1110.9  Form of certificate.

    As required by CPSA section 14(g)(2), the information on a hard 
copy or electronic certificate must be provided in English and may be 
provided in any other language.


Sec.  1110.11  Content of certificate.

    As required by CPSA sections 14(a) and 14(g), a certificate must 
contain the following information:
    (a) Identification of the product covered by the certificate.
    (b) Citation to each CPSC product safety regulation or statutory 
requirement to which the product is being certified. Specifically, the 
certificate shall identify separately each applicable consumer product 
safety rule under the Consumer Product Safety Act and any similar rule, 
ban, standard or regulation under any other Act enforced by the 
Commission that is applicable to the product.
    (c) Identification of the importer or domestic manufacturer 
certifying compliance of the product, including the importer or 
domestic manufacturer's name, full mailing address, and telephone 
number.
    (d) Contact information for the individual maintaining records of 
test results, including the custodian's name, e-mail address, full 
mailing address, and telephone number. (CPSC suggests that each issuer 
maintain test records supporting the certification for at least three 
years as is currently required by certain consumer product specific 
CPSC standards, for example at 16 CFR 1508.10 for full-size baby 
cribs.)
    (e) Date (month and year at a minimum) and place (including city 
and state, country, or administrative region) where the product was 
manufactured. If the same manufacturer operates more than one location 
in the same city, the street address of the factory in question should 
be provided.
    (f) Date and place (including city and state, country or 
administrative region) where the product was tested for compliance with 
the regulation(s) cited above in subsection (b).
    (g) Identification of any third-party laboratory on whose testing 
the certificate depends, including name, full mailing address and 
telephone number of the laboratory.


Sec.  1110.13  Availability of electronic certificate.

    (a) CPSA section 14(g)(3) requires that the certificates required 
by section 14(a) ``accompany'' each product or product shipment and be 
``furnished'' to each distributor and retailer of the product in 
question.
    (1) An electronic certificate satisfies the ``accompany'' 
requirement if the certificate is identified by a unique identifier and 
can be accessed via a World Wide Web URL or other electronic means, 
provided the URL or other electronic means and the unique identifier 
are created in advance and are available, along with access to the 
electronic certificate itself, to the Commission or to the Customs 
authorities as soon as the product or shipment itself is available for 
inspection.
    (2) An electronic certificate satisfies the ``furnish'' requirement 
if the distributor(s) and retailer(s) of the product are provided a 
reasonable means to access the certificate.
    (b) An electronic certificate shall have a means to verify the date 
of its creation or last modification.


Sec.  1110.15  Legal responsibility for certificate information.

    Any entity or entities may maintain an electronic certificate 
platform and may enter the requisite data. However, the entity or 
entities required by CPSA section 14(a) to issue the certificate remain 
legally responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the 
certificate information required by statute and its availability in 
timely fashion.

    Dated: November 10, 2008.
Todd A. Stevenson,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. E8-27356 Filed 11-13-08; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P