Last verified August 19, 2026

CPC or GCC — which certificate your product needs

Both are certificates of compliance under 16 CFR 1110, so both carry the same seven elements and both have to name every rule the product was certified against. What separates them is who tested it and on what authority.

A Children’s Product Certificate is required when the product is designed or intended primarily for children 12 or younger, and it rests on testing at a CPSC-accepted laboratory. A General Certificate of Conformity covers everything else subject to a rule, and no statute requires a third-party test behind it.

Where they differ	Children’s Product Certificate	General Certificate of Conformity
Which products it applies to	Any children's product that is subject to a children's product safety rule, before importing for consumption or warehousing or distributing it in commerce	Every manufacturer of a product which is subject to a consumer product safety rule under the CPSA, or a similar rule, ban, standard or regulation under any other Act enforced by the Commission — except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3)
What counts as a children’s product	Designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger (15 U.S.C. 2052(a)(2))	—
What the certificate rests on	Yes — samples must go to a third party conformity assessment body accredited by the CPSC, and the certificate is issued on those results (15 U.S.C. 2063(a)(2))	A certificate that the product complies with each applicable rule, ban, standard or regulation, issued by the manufacturer or private labeler — third-party testing is not required by statute for general-use products (15 U.S.C. 2063(a)(1))
Who issues it	The importer, for imported finished products (16 CFR 1110.7(a)). For domestically manufactured products the manufacturer — but where the product is privately labeled, the PRIVATE LABELER is the finished product certifier unless the manufacturer issues the certificate (16 CFR 1110.7(b)). Both paragraphs open “except as otherwise provided in a specific rule, ban, standard, or regulation”.	The importer, for imported finished products (16 CFR 1110.7(a)). For domestically manufactured products the manufacturer — but where the product is privately labeled, the PRIVATE LABELER is the finished product certifier unless the manufacturer issues the certificate (16 CFR 1110.7(b)). Both paragraphs open “except as otherwise provided in a specific rule, ban, standard, or regulation”.
Elements it must carry	7, under 16 CFR 1110.11(a)(1)-(7)	7, under 16 CFR 1110.11(a)(1)-(7)
Naming the rules	16 CFR 1110.11(a)(2) — the certificate must state each consumer product safety rule under the CPSA, or similar rule, ban, standard or regulation, and identify separately all applicable rules, bans, standards, or regulations	16 CFR 1110.11(a)(2) — the certificate must state each consumer product safety rule under the CPSA, or similar rule, ban, standard or regulation, and identify separately all applicable rules, bans, standards, or regulations
Where it has to travel	It must accompany the applicable product or shipment covered by it; a copy must be furnished to each distributor or retailer; and on request the certifier furnishes a copy to the Commission (15 U.S.C. 2063(g)(3))	It must accompany the applicable product or shipment covered by it; a copy must be furnished to each distributor or retailer; and on request the certifier furnishes a copy to the Commission (15 U.S.C. 2063(g)(3))
The lab’s accepted scope	Only within an accepted scope — a third party conformity assessment body may only issue test results for purposes of section 14 of the CPSA that fall within a scope for which the CPSC has accepted its accreditation (16 CFR 1112.15(a))	—
eFiling with CBP begins	8 July 2026	8 July 2026
eFiling from an FTZ begins	8 January 2027	8 January 2027

Two cells are an em dash and that is a fact rather than a gap: the children’s-product age test and a laboratory’s accepted scope are things a GCC does not have. The rows that repeat across both columns are 16 CFR 1110 and 15 U.S.C. 2063(g)(3), which govern certificates of compliance generally — so the repetition is the answer.

Every figure above is the value carried in this site’s claim register, re-verified against its primary source on 2026-09-04. Sources: 15 U.S.C. 2063, 16 CFR 1110.11 and 90 FR 45917.