How to Find a CPSC-Accepted Laboratory

United States federal · CPSIA third-party testing for children’s products · Reviewed 25 August 2026

Jurisdiction🇺🇸United StatesFederal scope

What “CPSC-accepted” actually means

The regulation calls these laboratories third party conformity assessment bodies, and it says so plainly: the term means a laboratory. The requirements sit in 16 CFR part 1112.

Acceptance has two layers, and conflating them is the most common misunderstanding in this area.

Acceptance is also not permanent. CPSC can suspend acceptance where a laboratory fails to cooperate in an investigation, and it can withdraw acceptance — and the regulation defines withdrawal as removal of acceptance in respect of a particular children’s product safety rule, which is another confirmation that scope is granted and removed rule by rule. Separately, whenever the Commission issues a new children’s product safety rule, that rule is added to the list in part 1112 for which third-party testing is required, so the universe of rules is not fixed either.

Before you search: know which rules you need

Identify the applicable rules before searching; the search becomes useful when filtered by rule.

1. Confirm the product is a children’s product. That means designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger.
2. Identify which children’s product safety rules it is subject to. Third-party testing and certification apply to children’s products subject to a rule — the obligation is rule-triggered, not automatic. The list of rules requiring third-party testing is maintained in 16 CFR part 1112.
3. Check whether any testing relief applies. CPSC has determined that certain materials — gemstones, precious metals, wood, paper, CMYK process printing inks, textiles and specified stainless steel — do not exceed the 100 ppm lead content limit; those materials do not require third-party testing for lead content. That determination sits at 16 CFR 1500.91.
4. Check accessibility for phthalates. The phthalate prohibitions do not apply to a component part that is not accessible to a child through normal and reasonably foreseeable use and abuse.
5. Write the rule list down. This list is what you filter the laboratory search by, and what you put in your quote request.

Using CPSC’s laboratory search

CPSC publishes the list of accepted laboratories itself, and it is the operational authority — not a lab’s own marketing page, and not a third-party directory. Work through it in this order.

1. Search by rule, not by name. The list is organised so you can see which rules and test methods each laboratory is accepted for. Start from your rule list and see who comes back, rather than starting from a brand you have heard of.
2. Record the Lab ID. Each accepted laboratory has a Lab ID alongside its name. That identifier is what lets you match a report you receive later to the entry you checked today.
3. Check the accepted scope line by line. Confirm every rule on your list appears against that laboratory. A laboratory accepted for one of your three rules covers one of your three rules.
4. Check status. Laboratories that have been subject to adverse action by CPSC appear in an inactive state, and CPSC surfaces them separately. Confirm the laboratory you are considering is not among them.
5. Note the acceptance type. CPSC publishes whether a laboratory is independent, firewalled or governmental. See the next section for what that does and does not mean.
6. Confirm location. A laboratory near your factory can reduce sample shipping cost and time. Acceptance, not geography, is what makes the report usable — but geography is what makes it convenient.

Independent, firewalled, governmental

These three acceptance types exist, and CPSC publishes which one applies to each laboratory. The disclosure requirement sits at 16 CFR 1112.19 — CPSC agreed to publish the status precisely so that manufacturers and the public can see it.

What to send before you ask for a quote

Ask the laboratory to price the proposed scope and itemise it rule by rule. Send this:

• The rule list you produced above — each children’s product safety rule you believe applies.
• The product’s intended age grade, since that drives which rules apply at all.
• A full material and component breakdown, including surface coatings, and which parts are accessible to a child.
• Any existing test reports or component part certificates you already hold, so scope can be reduced rather than duplicated.
• Product sample details — variants, colourways and sizes — and a request for the laboratory to state how many samples it needs.
• Where the product is manufactured, which determines whether the domestic manufacturer or the importer carries the certification duty.

Then ask for the quote to be itemised rule by rule. A single combined figure makes it harder to compare scopes and confirm that every rule you need is covered.

Component parts: how scope legitimately shrinks

Component part testing under 16 CFR part 1109 may support certification testing instead of repeating eligible tests on the finished product, except where a specific children’s product safety rule says otherwise. It may also support periodic testing.

What part 1109 asks for in return is documentation. The required records identify the party that conducted each test, carry an attestation that the testing complied with section 14 of the CPSA and part 1107, support traceability back through component suppliers, and include an attestation of due care from each certifier and testing party for the period the part was in its custody.

Verifying a report you have been given

Whether the report comes from your factory, a trading company or a laboratory you engaged directly, run the same checks:

1. Identify the laboratory precisely — legal name and, where shown, Lab ID — and find that exact entry in CPSC’s list. A parent company being accepted does not mean the specific laboratory that ran your test is.
2. Match every rule cited in the report against that laboratory’s accepted scope. Any rule outside its scope is unsupported.
3. Confirm the laboratory’s status is current and not subject to adverse action.
4. Check the report describes your product — the model, materials and configuration you are actually selling, not a similar item or an earlier version.
5. Check the language. CPSC specifies English for the certificate and the supporting test reports.
6. Check the date and what has changed since. A material change in design or manufacturing process is its own retesting trigger under part 1107.
7. Look for the part 1109 elements if the report relies on component parts: who tested, the compliance attestation, traceability and the due-care attestation.

Red flags

• “CPSC-approved” or “CPSC-certified” laboratory. Neither is CPSC’s regulatory designation; verify the official acceptance record and scope.
• An offer to issue your Children’s Product Certificate. The certificate is issued by the domestic manufacturer or the importer. A laboratory tests and reports; it does not certify on your behalf.
• A report with no laboratory identification you can match to CPSC’s list.
• A quote that will not itemise by rule.
• A supplier’s in-house test report offered without evidence that the testing laboratory is CPSC-accepted for every applicable rule.
• Retesting until a sample passes. If a sample fails, CPSC directs the manufacturer to investigate the reasons and address them; certification waits until the manufacturer establishes with a high degree of assurance that the finished product complies — even if other samples passed.
• Any guarantee of passing, or of a marketplace or customs outcome.

After the report: what is still yours to do

A passing report is the beginning of the obligation, not the end of it. The following responsibilities remain with the manufacturer or importer responsible for certification; no laboratory discharges them for you.

A marketplace asking for documents is a separate question

Questions about CPSC-accepted laboratories