Start selling products on the UK market

Three pieces of legislation form the backbone of UK product safety law. The Consumer Protection Act 1987 creates strict civil liability for defective products, meaning injured consumers can claim compensation without proving you were negligent. The General Product Safety Regulations 2005 set out the general safety requirement and criminal offences for unsafe products. The Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025 gives ministers powers to change the framework by regulations, including powers to put requirements on online marketplaces and on overseas manufacturers. It creates no new duties until those regulations are made.

Understanding how these interact helps you see why compliance is not just about passing a single test.

Product safety law assigns different duties depending on your role. A manufacturer has different obligations from an importer, and an importer has different obligations from a distributor. If you get your role wrong, or fail to understand the duties that attach to it, you risk enforcement action regardless of where the product was designed or made. Many businesses hold multiple roles simultaneously, for example manufacturing some products while importing others.

Before placing any product on the market, you must be able to demonstrate it meets the general safety requirement. This means carrying out a structured risk assessment that considers foreseeable use, the users (including vulnerable groups such as children and elderly people), and applicable designated standards. Documenting this assessment is essential. It forms the basis of any due diligence defence if enforcement action is taken against you.

Many product categories require conformity marking to demonstrate they meet essential safety requirements. UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) is the marking system for the GB market, though for products under 21 product regulations CE marking is an alternative with no end date. Understanding which route applies to your products, whether self-declaration or third-party assessment is needed, and what documentation you must hold is critical before you start selling.

If you operate an online marketplace, or sell through one, the rules are due to change. The Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025 lets the Secretary of State make regulations that put product requirements on anyone who controls access to or the contents of an online marketplace. Until regulations are made, the Act gives marketplace operators no new legal duties. Existing GPSR distributor obligations apply if you facilitate the supply of products to consumers.

Product safety compliance is ongoing, not a one-off exercise. You must maintain technical documentation, keep records for the period your product regulations set (10 years under many of them), ensure traceability across your supply chain, and be prepared to act if a safety issue emerges after your product reaches consumers. Use the compliance checklist to verify you have covered all the essential requirements before, and periodically after, placing products on the market.