Understand UK product safety law

When a consumer product goes wrong, different rules can apply to the same facts at the same time. A regulator can act against an unsafe product, an injured person can sue without proving fault, and a prosecutor can bring criminal charges. Each rule has its own test and its own consequences.

The duty to supply safe products

The General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (GPSR) say that only safe products may be placed on the market in Great Britain. They cover products intended for consumers, or likely to be used by them, supplied in the course of a commercial activity, whether new, used or reconditioned.

The GPSR fill gaps. Where a specific rule, such as those for toys or electrical equipment, covers the same risk, that rule applies to it and the GPSR cover only what is left. The duties fall on two groups. Producers include manufacturers established in the UK, anyone who puts their own name or trade mark on a product, reconditioners, and, for imports, the manufacturer's UK representative or the UK importer. Distributors are everyone else in the supply chain whose activities do not affect a product's safety properties, such as retailers and wholesalers.

Producers must also tell an enforcement authority in writing, straight away, if they know a product they have supplied poses a risk that is incompatible with the safety requirement. Distributors have the same duty when they know of such a risk, and must not supply a product they know or should have presumed to be dangerous.

Liability for defective products

Part I of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 makes certain businesses liable for damage caused by a defect in a product, whether or not they were careless. The injured person must show the product was defective, that they suffered damage and that the defect caused it. A defence is available if, for example, the defect resulted from complying with a legal requirement, or the state of scientific and technical knowledge when you supplied the product meant you could not have discovered it.

Criminal offences

Breaching the GPSR is a criminal offence. That covers placing a dangerous product on the market, a distributor supplying one it knew or should have presumed dangerous, failing to notify a known risk, and ignoring a safety notice. Directors and managers can be prosecuted personally if the company's offence happened with their consent or connivance, or because of their neglect.

The GPSR give the same due diligence defence as the 1987 Act. If you say someone else was at fault, or that you relied on information they gave you, you need the court's leave unless you serve notice identifying that person at least 7 clear days before the hearing (the trial diet in Scotland).

Who enforces

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), part of the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, is the national regulator. Local authority Trading Standards services enforce the rules day to day, including by test purchases, inspections and prosecutions. Enforcement must be proportionate to the seriousness of the risk, and authorities should encourage voluntary action first unless a product poses a serious risk.

A recall notice is a last resort, and the authority must give at least 10 days' notice of its intention.

What the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025 changes

Regulations can create civil sanctions, including fines, as an alternative to prosecution. Any criminal offence they create is limited to 3 months' imprisonment on summary conviction and 2 years on indictment.

On 31 March 2026 the government opened consultations on the new product safety framework and on the enforcement framework, including civil monetary penalties. They closed on 23 June 2026.