GPSR explained: what UK and EU marketplace sellers must do now

The EU General Product Safety Regulation has applied since 13 December 2024. What UK sellers shipping to the EU or Northern Ireland need on products and listings.

If you sell consumer products to customers in the EU or Northern Ireland, the EU General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR), Regulation (EU) 2023/988, already applies to you. It has applied to products placed on those markets since 13 December 2024. In practice you need four things: an economic operator established in the EU or Northern Ireland who is responsible for each product, clear manufacturer and product identification details on the product or its packaging, safety information in a language the buyer understands, and the same core details shown in your online listings. Sales to customers in England, Scotland and Wales are not covered by the GPSR. Great Britain has its own product safety rules, and those are being reformed.

This guide sets out the main obligations in plain terms. It is general information, not legal advice. Your duties depend on exactly what you sell and how you sell it, so take professional advice for your own products, especially if they are also covered by specific rules such as those for toys, electrical equipment or cosmetics.

Who the GPSR covers

The GPSR is the EU's general safety framework for non-food consumer products. It requires products placed on the market to be safe and sets duties for manufacturers, importers, distributors, fulfilment service providers and online marketplaces. Where a product is also covered by its own EU legislation, that legislation still applies and the GPSR fills the gaps.

Because of the Windsor Framework, Northern Ireland follows the GPSR too. UK government guidance confirms that the regulation has applied there since 13 December 2024, and its detailed guidance is aimed at businesses in Great Britain that sell into Northern Ireland but have no presence in the EU. Products lawfully on the market before that date benefit from transitional provisions, but anything placed on the market since then must meet the new rules.

The responsible economic operator

The requirement that catches most UK sellers out is the responsible economic operator. A product covered by the GPSR cannot be placed on the EU or Northern Ireland market unless an economic operator established there is responsible for it. GOV.UK guidance lists who can take on that role, in this order:

• the manufacturer, if it is established in the EU or Northern Ireland
• an authorised representative appointed by the manufacturer, who must be based in the EU or Northern Ireland
• the importer, where there is no established manufacturer or authorised representative
• a fulfilment service provider, where none of the above is established there

Established means a genuine presence, and the guidance is clear that a PO box address is not enough. The responsible operator must check technical documentation and labelling, keep documents for ten years, provide information to market surveillance authorities on request, notify them of risks and cooperate on corrective action such as recalls. Its name and contact details, including a postal address, must be shown on the product, its packaging, the parcel or an accompanying document such as a delivery note.

For a GB brand with no EU or Northern Ireland entity, the usual route is to appoint an authorised representative under a written mandate, often through a specialist compliance provider. eBay and Etsy both point sellers towards third-party providers of this service. Read the contract carefully, including what the provider will do if an authority contacts it about your product.

What must appear on products and listings

Manufacturers must make each product identifiable with a type, batch or serial number or another identifier, and must show their name, registered trade name or trade mark, and a postal and an electronic address. If the product is too small, this can go on the packaging or in an accompanying document. Instructions and safety information must be clear and in a language consumers can easily understand.

Selling online adds a further duty. Under Article 19 of the GPSR, any offer made online or through other distance sales must clearly and visibly show at least:

• the manufacturer's name, registered trade name or trade mark, and the postal and electronic address where it can be contacted
• where the manufacturer is not established in the EU, the name and postal and electronic address of the responsible person
• information that identifies the product, including a picture of it, its type and any other product identifier
• any warning or safety information that must go on the product or its packaging, in a language consumers can easily understand

A simple test: everything printed on the pack about who made the product, who is responsible for it in the EU and how to use it safely should also be visible to the buyer before they place an order.

How the main marketplaces handle GPSR

The GPSR also places duties on online marketplaces, such as contact points for authorities and consumers and cooperation on recalls. The main platforms have responded by adding GPSR fields to listings and restricting listings that lack them.

• Amazon: for non-food products in its EU stores, Amazon asked sellers to provide an EU responsible person, manufacturer contact details, and warning and safety images or documents, or to confirm that none are needed. This information sits in a separate Safety and Product Resources section of the product detail page. Account Health shows the brands and offers that need attention, and Amazon has said it will deactivate offers it finds non-compliant.
• eBay: eBay UK says the GPSR does not apply to sales to UK buyers, with the exception of Northern Ireland. Business sellers add the product manufacturer and, where needed, an EU responsible person under Item disclosures, plus product details and safety information such as labels, pictograms or manuals. Listings without this may not be visible or purchasable to EU and Northern Ireland buyers.
• Etsy: sellers who sell to buyers in the EEA and Northern Ireland add economic operators to their account, then complete the Manufacturers and Product safety info fields in each listing. Etsy also lets you choose not to sell physical or digital items into GPSR countries.

Other marketplaces handle this in their own way, so check each one's seller help pages. If you run your own Shopify or WooCommerce store and sell to EU or Northern Ireland consumers, your product pages need the same Article 19 information. The legal duty sits with you as the trader, whichever platform you use.

The position in Great Britain

In England, Scotland and Wales, the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 remain the general framework. GOV.UK guidance says they require all products to be safe in normal or reasonably foreseeable use, and that manufacturers and importers must show compliance through risk minimisation, technical documentation, labelling and safety instructions. Sector-specific regulations continue to apply alongside them.

Reform is under way but not yet in force. The Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025, which received Royal Assent on 21 July 2025, gives the government powers to update product safety law through secondary legislation, including obligations for online marketplaces. On 31 March 2026 the Office for Product Safety and Standards launched two consultations, one on a new core product safety framework and one on market surveillance and enforcement. Both closed on 23 June 2026. The proposals include due-care duties for marketplaces to prevent, identify and remove dangerous products, checks on seller contact details, new information requirements for online offers, a UK-based responsible person for certain higher-risk products, and digital labelling for some information.

At the time of writing (November 2026), the government's response had not been published on GOV.UK. Treat these points as proposals, keep complying with the current GB rules, and watch for final regulations and guidance.

A practical GPSR checklist

• Map where you sell: list every marketplace and store that delivers to EU countries or Northern Ireland.
• Identify the manufacturer of each product and whether an EU or Northern Ireland established economic operator already exists.
• If not, appoint an authorised representative or other responsible operator and keep the written mandate on file.
• Check labels and packaging carry the product identifier, manufacturer details and responsible person details.
• Gather risk assessments, technical documents, instructions and warnings, translated where needed.
• Complete the GPSR fields on every marketplace listing and add the same details to your own website.
• Set up a process for complaints, incidents and recalls, including who contacts the authorities.
• If a product is not ready, stop delivery to EU and Northern Ireland buyers rather than keep non-compliant listings live.

How Farioxa can help

Farioxa's listings and operations teams can audit your marketplace catalogue for missing GPSR fields, organise the product and safety information you already hold, and update listings across Amazon, eBay, Etsy and your other channels. Our support is operational rather than legal, so we work alongside the compliance advisers and responsible persons you appoint.