What it is
The General Product Safety Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/988), the GPSR, is the EU’s horizontal product-safety law. It replaced the old General Product Safety Directive and has applied since 13 December 2024. As a regulation it is directly applicable in identical terms across the Union, and it covers non-food consumer products to the extent they are not governed by more specific sector law.
Why it matters for compliance
The GPSR is almost always relevant: even a product with its own detailed regime looks to the GPSR for anything that regime leaves open, and for the general framework of surveillance and recalls. Its most commercially significant rule is Article 16 — a product may only be placed on the market if there is an economic operator established in the Union (a responsible person) accountable for compliance. Since this took effect, online marketplaces have removed offers that lack one. It also tightens traceability, labelling, online-sales information and accident reporting.
How to use it
- Confirm an EU-established responsible person exists for every product you sell to EU consumers.
- Carry out and keep a risk assessment showing the product is safe in normal and foreseeable use.
- Make sure product/operator identification, warnings and instructions appear as required.
- Report dangerous products and accidents through the Safety Business Gateway.
Good to know
The GPSR turned product safety and market access into the same conversation: no responsible person and no documentation means no listing, regardless of how safe the product actually is.
Visit the official GPSR — (EU) 2023/988 site ↗How Conphora helps
Conphora turns obligations like these into one managed workflow — it matches each product to the rules that apply, flags the gaps, and keeps your evidence ready for retailers and authorities.