Toys, small appliances, chargers, apparel and shoes, furniture, cosmetics: what certification do you need for the US, EU, UK, Mexico, Brazil and Saudi Arabia?
Answer
There are two kinds of requirement. You need a certificate or registration before customs clearance or listing in Brazil (INMETRO, ANATEL, ANVISA), Saudi Arabia (SABER platform, SFDA registration), and for US children's products (third-party testing + CPC). No third-party certificate, but you must comply for most rules in the US, EU and UK: self-declaration plus mandatory standards or labelling (such as the EU CE mark or UK UKCA). The six tables below list, by product category, each country's requirement, authority and official source.
- Applies to
- Exporters and factories in China selling these six consumer-product categories into these six markets, and the buyers who import from them.
1. Children's toys
| Country | Requirement | Certificate needed? | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | ASTM F963 (mandatory via 16 CFR 1250; F963-23 for goods made after 2024-04-20); age 12 and under need third-party testing, and the US importer issues the CPC | Yes (testing + CPC) | CPSC toy safety |
| EU | Toy Safety Directive 2009/48/EC + CE; new Regulation (EU) 2025/2509 applies from 2030-08-01, old directive until then | Self-declaration | European Commission |
| UK | Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011, UKCA or CE | Self-declaration | GOV.UK |
| Mexico | NOM-015-SCFI-2007 toy commercial labelling | No certificate; labelling mandatory | Ministry of Economy |
| Brazil | Portaria Inmetro 302/2021 mandatory toy certification + INMETRO registration | Yes | INMETRO |
| Saudi Arabia | Saudi toy technical regulation (GCC-based), conformity via the SABER platform | Yes | SASO |
2. Small plug-in appliances
| Country | Requirement | Certificate needed? | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | FCC Part 15 if it has digital circuits; DOE efficiency for some types; UL safety certification is mostly a retailer requirement (to be confirmed) | FCC mandatory; UL to be confirmed | FCC equipment authorization |
| EU | Low Voltage 2014/35/EU + EMC 2014/30/EU + RoHS 2011/65/EU, CE | Self-declaration | European Commission LVD |
| UK | Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regs 2016 + EMC Regs 2016, UKCA/CE | Self-declaration | GOV.UK |
| Mexico | NOM-003-SCFI-2014 electrical product safety | Mandatory | DOF |
| Brazil | Portaria Inmetro 148/2022 household appliance conformity | Yes (products in scope) | INMETRO |
| Saudi Arabia | Low-voltage equipment technical regulation + appliance conformity list | Yes | SASO |
3. Phone accessories and chargers
| Country | Requirement | Certificate needed? | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | FCC Part 15 (most chargers use SDoC self-declaration) + DOE external power supply efficiency | Self-declaration + efficiency mandatory | DOE external power supplies |
| EU | Charger itself: LVD + EMC (CE); with radio: RED 2014/53/EU. The USB-C common charger rule covers the devices being charged, not the charger itself | Self-declaration | European Commission RED |
| UK | Electrical safety + EMC; with radio: Radio Equipment Regulations 2017 | Self-declaration | GOV.UK |
| Mexico | To be confirmed (candidates NOM-001-SCFI-2018, NOM-029-ENER-2017; IFT for radio) | To be confirmed | — |
| Brazil | Phone chargers need ANATEL certification (Homologação); new technical rules mandatory from 2024-10-14 | Yes | ANATEL |
| Saudi Arabia | ICT devices technical regulation (incl. charger requirements) + CST equipment licence | Yes | SASO regulation (Arabic PDF) |
4. Apparel and footwear
| Country | Requirement | Certificate needed? | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | Fibre labelling 16 CFR 303 (FTC) + clothing flammability 16 CFR 1610 (CPSC); children's clothing also needs lead limits and a CPC | Labelling/standards mandatory; CPC for children's | eCFR 16 CFR 303 |
| EU | Textile labelling (EU) 1007/2011; footwear labelling 94/11/EC; GPSR (EU) 2023/988; REACH | Labelling/safety mandatory, no CE | EUR-Lex |
| UK | Textile labelling 2012; footwear composition labelling 1995; general product safety 2005 | Labelling mandatory | Footwear labelling guidance |
| Mexico | NOM-004-SE-2021 textile and apparel labelling (in force 2023-01-14); footwear NOM-020 to be confirmed | Labelling mandatory | DOF |
| Brazil | Textiles: Portaria Inmetro 118/2021 permanent Portuguese label, no registration; footwear not found | Labelling mandatory | INMETRO |
| Saudi Arabia | Textile technical regulation v2 (mandatory 2024-07-12); footwear and accessories regulation (mandatory 2021-05-25) | Yes (SABER) | SASO footwear |
5. Furniture
| Country | Requirement | Certificate needed? | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | Clothing storage tip-over 16 CFR 1261 (STURDY Act); upholstered furniture flammability 16 CFR 1640; composite wood formaldehyde TSCA Title VI (EPA) | Mandatory by product type | EPA formaldehyde standards |
| EU | No furniture-specific law (to be confirmed); GPSR + REACH apply | General safety, no CE | EUR-Lex GPSR |
| UK | Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 | Mandatory | GOV.UK |
| Mexico | Not found | Not found | — |
| Brazil | Only certain items need INMETRO certification: school desks and chairs, cribs, one-piece plastic chairs, children's high chairs, spring and foam mattresses | Yes (those items only) | INMETRO registry |
| Saudi Arabia | Furniture that is 80%+ textile falls under the textile regulation; other furniture not found | Yes (textile items only) | SASO textile regulation |
6. Cosmetics
| Country | Requirement | Certificate needed? | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | MoCRA: facility registration + product listing + safety substantiation | Registration mandatory, not pre-approval | FDA MoCRA |
| EU | Cosmetics Regulation (EC) 1223/2009: EU responsible person + CPNP notification + safety report | Notification mandatory | European Commission |
| UK | GB responsible person + SCPN notification | Notification mandatory | GOV.UK |
| Mexico | NOM-141-SSA1/SCFI-2012 pre-packaged cosmetics labelling | Labelling mandatory | DOF |
| Brazil | RDC 752/2022 electronic registration (mostly prior notification; sunscreens, dyes, repellents need registration); company needs AFE | Yes | DOU |
| Saudi Arabia | Must be registered in the SFDA system before import and sale; registration is not safety approval | Yes (registration) | SFDA guidance |
What you can do yourself
- Find your category and target country above and read the "Certificate needed?" column.
- If it says Yes: get quotes from an authorised testing and certification body, and obtain the certificate or registration before shipping.
- If it says self-declaration: still test to the standard, keep the technical file, and have the seller or importer sign the declaration of conformity.
- If it says labelling mandatory: make the label in the local language and format before shipping.
When to use a licensed professional
- If you are unsure which category or regulation applies, ask a testing and certification body recognised in the target country.
- If goods are detained, recalled or penalised, use a product-compliance lawyer in that country.
Checks before you pay, and red flags
- Ask the certification body to state the exact regulation, test items, sample quantity, fee and certificate validity; check its scope on the authority's website.
- "One certificate works worldwide", "guaranteed pass without testing", or "the mark means it is compliant" are red flags.
Unknowns
- Mexico: chargers, toy heavy metals (NOM-252) and footwear (NOM-020) to be confirmed; furniture not found.
- Brazil: footwear not found; split between ANATEL and INMETRO 148/2022 for chargers to be confirmed.
- Saudi Arabia: non-textile furniture not found.
- "No federal mandatory safety certification for US small appliances" is not yet confirmed by an official source.
- EUR-Lex and eCFR page dates could not be read this time.
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