CPSC Exams After the Port: eFiling, Hold Intact and Your 3PL's Receiving Dock

By Bernardo Campelo, Forbes Business Council E-Commerce Leader, Amazon SPN Certified provider, Amazon SP-API authorized partner, and Founder of PrepVia.

Since July 8, 2026, the importer of a finished consumer product that needs a CPSC certificate has had to eFile the certificate data in CBP's Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) at the time the entry is filed, under 16 CFR 1110.13. Products admitted into a foreign trade zone and later entered for consumption or warehousing follow on January 8, 2027, according to the September 2025 correction to the rule. Mail shipments follow separate rules.

Most of the attention has gone to the filing. The part that reaches a warehouse is what happens after it. CPSC selects shipments for examination "either at the port or at the importer's premises," in the words of its June 2026 two-way messaging guidance, and the same guidance says: "The 1C releases cargo, not the 1USG." A container can clear the port, reach a receiving dock and still have an open question with CPSC.

None of those messages is new: CPSC began rolling out two-way messaging through ACE in 2020, and the Hold Intact document codes and Form 354 notices followed in 2021. What eFiling changes is the data behind them. In the final rule, CPSC wrote that a missing or false eFiled certificate "will affect a shipment's risk score, resulting in a higher likelihood of the shipment being held for an exam."

Every rule below was checked on October 28, 2026 against the CPSC, CBP, Federal Register, eCFR or U.S. Code source linked where it first appears. This is general information, not legal or customs advice: for a specific entry, talk to your licensed customs broker.

What eFiling Requires at Entry

The rule covers finished products that must be certified because a CPSC rule, ban, standard or regulation applies to them, when they are imported for consumption or warehousing. CPSC's eFiling FAQ says any product requiring certification needs an eFiled certificate "regardless of the value of the imported shipment," and adds: "There is no Section 321 (also known as de minimis) shipment exemption for eFiling."

• Who files. For eFiling, the importer is the importer of record: the owner, the purchaser or an authorized customs broker. A broker acting as importer of record may name the owner, purchaser or consignee that authorized the entry as the party responsible for CPSC compliance (16 CFR 1110.3). The certifier can have another party key in the data, and it remains legally responsible for it (16 CFR 1110.15).
• Two ways to file. In a Full PGA Message Set, the broker transmits seven data elements with the entry: Product ID, Citation Codes, Manufacture Date, Manufacture Place, Product Test Date, Testing Laboratory and Point of Contact. In a Reference PGA Message Set, the importer first loads the certificate into CPSC's Product Registry and the broker transmits three identifiers: Certifier ID, Product ID and Version ID. The Product Registry does not send anything to ACE on its own.
• The certificate. Each certificate describes only one product, and an eFiled certificate must be in English. Certifiers must make certificates available "within 24 hours" of a CPSC or CBP request and keep the supporting records for at least five years from the certificate creation date.
• The flags. CBP's agency tariff code reference defines the two flags ACE puts on HTS codes of interest to CPSC: CP1, "Consumer Product Safety Commission data may be required," and CP2, "Consumer Product Safety Commission data is required." The message set itself is specified in CBP's CPSC eFiling implementation guide.

The eFiled certificate is one document in a larger entry packet. Our guide to the customs documents for an Amazon FBA import covers the rest.

How CPSC Enforces It Today

eFiling is mandatory, but ACE will not reject an entry because the CPSC data are missing or incomplete. CBP's CSMS # 69382435 of July 29, 2026 explains that CPSC chose not to require rejection, that "CPSC may respond to trade in an SO message, with a review about the CPSC data submitted on the entry, including rejecting the CPSC data," and that "CPSC may perform enforcement actions on any entry that does not have eFiling data attached when required."

In the final rule, CPSC said that, as a matter of enforcement discretion and "at least in the initial stages of eFiling," it does not in general intend to ask CBP to deny entry based solely on missing eFiled data, and that it intends to enforce the requirement through actions such as asking CBP to seize noncompliant products. The statute behind it, 15 U.S.C. 2066, says a product "shall be refused admission" if it is not accompanied by a required certificate, or if it is accompanied by a false certificate that the manufacturer, in the exercise of due care, has reason to know is false or misleading in a material respect. Under the Consumer Product Safety Act, "manufacturer" means "any person who manufactures or imports a consumer product" (16 CFR 1110.3).

The lever an importer feels first is the risk score. The same rule says CPSC staff "anticipate that importers who consistently provide compliant certificate data will see a reduction in their risk scores, which may result in fewer holds for exams, fewer warehouse charges, and a greater facilitation of trade." That is an expectation stated in the rule, not a guarantee.

The CPSC Messages, in Order

CPSC has investigators co-located with CBP at ports of entry, according to its import surveillance page, and its messages travel through ACE to what the June 2026 guidance calls the importing community, which it says "primarily consists of importers, brokers, or express carriers." A warehouse or 3PL is not named, so the dock usually learns about a CPSC status from the importer or the broker. CPSC's Import Shipment Tracking Tool shows a status to anyone with the entry number and filer code, but CPSC says those statuses "are not official CPSC or U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) releases."

The guidance applies this messaging to a list of product categories that "somewhat increased in June 2026," among them toys and other children's products, button cell and coin batteries, mattresses, bicycles and other electric-powered cycles, holiday lights, and power and extension cords.

The guidance also sets the review clock, which starts when the entry is filed. For an entry without additional risk factors, CPSC has 4 business hours for air and truck and 8 for ocean; with additional risk factors, 8 and 16. Business hours run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the time zone where CPSC staff work, on the federal calendar, and if the clock runs out with no action, CPSC's system sends an automatic "May Proceed." CPSC's detention FAQ, which gives different figures (16 business hours for ocean and 8 for air, with no split by risk), adds: "If the entry is provided well in advance of arrival (3 or more business days), review can be completed prior to actual arrival."

Two more points matter at the dock. The 1USG message only says the partner agencies' paperwork is complete; CBP's 1C message is the release, and the guidance is direct about it: "The 1C releases cargo, not the 1USG." And a "May Proceed" does not close CPSC's file: "It is possible for a 'May Proceed' message to be issued through ACE, with a subsequent CPSC manual notification after 1USG review, to indicate that CPSC will examine products at the importer's premises."

For brokers matching messages to codes, CBP's CSMS # 49307243 of September 2021 and its PGA status notification codes, last updated in August 2023, put CPSC's "Hold Intact with Document Review" at status code 02 (HOLD INTACT), reason code 25, sub-reason code 132; "Documents Required" at status 10, reason 90; and the availability of the Form 354 at status 15, reason 95. Check the current codes in your ABI software. Documents CPSC asks for go into DIS. Under CPSC's DIS filing guidance of August 2021, a certificate goes in as form type CPS01, and any other document must carry the agency code CPS.

Hold Intact: What the Notice Says and What Actually Obliges

CPSC's guidance describes a Hold Intact as a way to "signal an intent to examine." It does not say what the holder of the goods must do, and the term "hold intact" does not appear anywhere in the Code of Federal Regulations. When CPSC sends a Form 354 with it, the broker retrieves the form from the PGA Documents folder in the ACE Portal; we found no published copy of its text. The name suggests leaving the goods as they arrived. The binding rules come from other places, each with its own scope.

• Conditional release under bond. CPSC's detention FAQ: "There are situations where CPSC allows merchandise under examination to be moved to the importer's premises or other place agreeable to CPSC and CBP pending the results of the examination. Any such release will be a conditional release and must occur under CBP bond." CPSC tells the importer how long the conditional release period lasts, and says the typical period is 45 to 60 calendar days.
• The importer's bond. Under the basic importation bond in 19 CFR 113.62, goods released conditionally before their right of admission is decided must be redelivered timely, on demand by CBP, if they fail the admission rules. After notification, the importer also agrees to "mark, clean, fumigate, destroy, export or do any other thing" needed to comply, within the time set. The bond condition says any redelivery demand comes "no later than 30 days after the date that the merchandise was released or 30 days after the end of the conditional release period (whichever is later)."
• The redelivery demand. Under 19 CFR 141.113, the demand goes to the importer of record, or to the actual owner if an owner's declaration and superseding bond were filed, on CBP Form 4647, its electronic equivalent, another appropriate form or a letter, and it cannot be made after the entry's liquidation has become final.
• Who pays. The importer and its surety are liable jointly and severally. A default costs liquidated damages equal to the value of the merchandise involved, or three times that value if it is restricted or prohibited merchandise (19 CFR 113.62(n)(1)).
• Hazardous substances. For products under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, 16 CFR 1500.266 is explicit: once notified of a sample request, the owner or consignee "shall hold such hazardous substance and not distribute it until further notice." In these import rules, "owner or consignee" means "the person who has the rights of a consignee under the provisions of the Tariff Act of 1930" (16 CFR 1500.265), a different definition from the certificate rule's "consignee." This rule covers FHSA hazardous substances, not every CPSC-regulated product. Whether a product falls under it is a question for your broker.
• CBP exams away from the port. When CBP itself examines at the importer's premises under 19 CFR 151.7, the bond obliges the importer to hold the goods at the place of examination until they are properly released and to keep any customs seal or cording intact. These are CBP rules for CBP exams.

Fixing the goods is a separate step. CPSC's Regulated Products Handbook, dated 2013 and still published on its site, says that before reconditioning a violative import, such as relabeling it, "the firm must request and obtain authorization from the CPSC to do so prior to the goods being conditionally released by CBP for reconditioning." The statute puts every modification under the supervision of CPSC and Treasury. If CPSC refuses admission, the product is destroyed unless the owner, consignee or importer of record gets permission to export it and does so within 90 days of the approval, and storage, cartage and labor costs fall on the owner or consignee (15 U.S.C. 2066(e) and (f)).

CPSC's reach does not stop at the import process either. Under 15 U.S.C. 2065, its investigators may enter, at reasonable times, "any factory, warehouse, or establishment in which consumer products are manufactured or held, in connection with distribution in commerce," after presenting credentials and a written notice. CPSC's FAQ for businesses adds that it "is not obligated to provide advanced notice before an inspection."

"Compliance does not end at the port. The dock that receives the freight should know what CPSC can still ask for."

Bernardo Campelo, Founder of PrepVia

What the Receiving Dock Should Do

No CPSC or CBP source we read names a 3PL or gives it a role in the bond: the bond binds the importer and its surety, and the redelivery demand goes to the importer of record. Two rules reach past the importer. CPSC's certificate rule defines a consignee as "a party who takes custody or delivery of imported finished products" and says it "may be held legally responsible by CPSC" for the certificate data (16 CFR 1110.3); in the rule's preamble, CPSC says the definitions explain who it may hold responsible "particularly for de minimis and mail shipments that lack the required certificate data." The statute also lets CPSC inspect any warehouse where consumer products are held for distribution. Whether either one reaches a given 3PL is a question for counsel. In practice, the importer can meet its obligations only if whoever holds the freight acts on them. The steps below are our reading of the rules, not a quote from them.

Where a Prep Center Fits

In the usual arrangement, a prep center is neither the importer of record nor the customs broker, so it does not file the entry and does not receive CPSC's messages. CPSC and CBP decide when freight with an open CPSC status may move. The importer hears about it through its broker, and the importer's bond answers for it.

PrepVia receives imported freight at our Miami warehouse and routes it into Amazon FBA. Discrepancies are reported within 24 hours of arrival, with photos. PrepVia does not operate a foreign trade zone. If you import CPSC-regulated products, share your broker's contact with us before the freight ships, and the CPSC status of each entry before it is delivered to our dock. Our breakdown of who the importer of record is when a 3PL takes the container shows where those responsibilities sit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is CPSC eFiling mandatory?

Yes. Since July 8, 2026, importers of CPSC-regulated finished products must eFile certificate data in ACE with the entry. Products entered from a foreign trade zone follow on January 8, 2027, and mail shipments follow separate rules. ACE does not reject an entry for missing CPSC data, but CPSC can reject the data in a status message and take enforcement action against the entry.

What does a CPSC Hold Intact notice mean?

CPSC's June 2026 guidance describes it as a way to signal an intent to examine the shipment, and, when applicable, it comes with a CPSC Form 354, "Notice of Conditional Release," which the broker retrieves in the ACE Portal. The guidance does not define what the holder of the goods must do. The binding obligations come from the importer's customs bond, which requires redelivery on demand, and, for FHSA hazardous substances, from 16 CFR 1500.266, which requires the owner or consignee, once notified of a sample request, to hold the goods and not distribute them until further notice.

Does a May Proceed or 1USG message mean the goods are released?

No. CPSC's guidance says "The 1C releases cargo, not the 1USG," and that CPSC can follow a "May Proceed" with a manual notification that it will examine the products at the importer's premises.

Can CPSC examine goods away from the port?

Yes. CPSC's guidance says it selects shipments for examination at the port or at the importer's premises, and its detention FAQ says merchandise under examination may be moved to the importer's premises or another place agreeable to CPSC and CBP, under a conditional release and a CBP bond, typically for 45 to 60 calendar days. CPSC can also inspect, at reasonable times and after presenting credentials and a written notice, any warehouse where consumer products are held for distribution.

Who pays if conditionally released goods are not returned?

The bond's principal and its surety, jointly and severally; the principal is usually the importer of record. Under 19 CFR 113.62 and 141.113, a failure to redeliver costs liquidated damages equal to the value of the merchandise, or three times its value for restricted or prohibited merchandise. CBP sends the demand to the importer of record, or to the actual owner if an owner's declaration and superseding bond were filed.

How long does CPSC take to review an entry?

Under CPSC's June 2026 guidance, for entries in the product categories its two-way messaging covers, the clock starts when the entry is filed: 4 business hours for air and truck entries and 8 for ocean entries, or 8 and 16 when the entry has additional risk factors. If CPSC takes no action in that time, its system sends an automatic "May Proceed." CPSC's detention FAQ adds that an entry filed 3 or more business days before arrival can be reviewed before the freight arrives.

How long can a CPSC detention take?

CPSC's detention FAQ says it has 5 business days from when the shipment is presented for examination to decide whether to detain it, and 5 more business days to issue the notice of detention. The recipient of a Notice of Sampling and Detention has 5 working days to respond, and CPSC says it typically makes admissibility decisions within 45 to 60 calendar days of that notice.

Final Take

eFiling moved CPSC's certificate check to the moment of entry, and the messages that follow can reach a shipment after it has left the port. A Hold Intact signals that CPSC intends to examine. The binding obligations sit in the importer's bond (redeliver on demand, or pay) and, for FHSA hazardous substances, in 16 CFR 1500.266, which requires holding the goods once the owner or consignee is notified of a sample request. The bond names the importer and its surety, not the dock, but the dock holds the goods, so the importer's plan works only if the dock knows the CPSC status before anyone touches the cartons.