- Enforced by
- CMA, OPSS, Trading Standards
- Status
- Amended (in force with amendments)
- Penalty ceiling
- Imprisonment 5 of 18 obligations carry an unlimited fine. 5 carry different penalties and 8 have no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.
Does it bind you?
Business-side roles with duties under this instrument.
Plus 7 duties on the regulator, Crown ministers and public bodies — folded into the section list below.
Other Acts binding the same actors
If a role above is yours, these are the other instruments that most often bind it.
Any Person — also bound by 2684 other Acts
Manufacturer — also bound by 551 other Acts
Director or Officer — also bound by 482 other Acts
What it requires
Sections creating concrete business duties or carrying penalties, grouped as the instrument is structured. Titles link to the source text — blue means you’re leaving for legislation.gov.uk.
Product Liability
2 of 9 sections shown- Accept legal liability for damage caused by defective productsManufacturer
- Do not exclude or limit liability for defective productsAny Person
7 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
Consumer Safety
7 of 10 sections shown- Breach of product safety regulationsAny Person
- Breach of a prohibition notice or notice to warnAny Person
- Breach of a goods suspension noticeAny Person
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Courts must set aside a suspension notice if no safety breach occurredTribunal / Court
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Courts may order the forfeiture and destruction of unsafe goodsTribunal / Court
Unlimited fine
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Sheriff may order forfeiture of unsafe goods in ScotlandTribunal / Court
- Fail to provide information or provide false info to safety regulatorsAny Person
Unlimited fine
3 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
Misleading Price Indications
0 of 7 sections shown7 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
Enforcement of Parts II and III
4 of 9 sections shownOther duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Weights and measures authorities must enforce consumer safety provisionsLocal authority
- Unlawfully pretending to be an enforcement officerAny Person
Unlimited fine
- Obstructing or misleading an enforcement officerAny Person
Unlimited fine
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Enforcement authorities must compensate for wrongly seized goodsLocal authority
5 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
Miscellaneous and Supplemental
2 of 15 sections shown- Liability for causing others to break consumer lawDirector or Officer
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Secretary of State must report to Parliament on consumer safety enforcementCrown / Minister / Government department
13 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
Schedules
3 of 47 shownOther duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Secretary of State must allow traders to challenge unsafe goods noticesCrown / Minister / Government department
- Ensure safety and provide health information for work equipment and substancesAny Person
- Sell gunpowder to children or set off fireworks in publicAny Person
Unlimited fine
44 other schedules
Help complying
Guvnor’s practical routes through this instrument.
Product compliance for manufacturers
Learn how to ensure your products meet UK safety and marking requirements before placing them on the market
Start selling products on the UK market
A comprehensive introduction to UK product safety compliance for businesses placing products on the GB market. Covers the legal framework (CPA 1987, …
Product safety quick compliance check
Rapid product safety self-assessment: verify safety obligations, marking, documentation, traceability, and recall readiness for products on the UK market.
Respond to a product safety incident
Emergency guidance when you discover an unsafe product. Stop supply immediately, notify Trading Standards and OPSS, manage the recall, and understand your …
Understanding EU retained law for your business
Learn how EU law became UK law after Brexit and what this means for product compliance. Covers assimilated law, UKCA and CE …
Product compliance checklist for GB market
Quick checklist to verify your products meet GB market requirements for conformity marking, safety assessment, documentation, and traceability before placing goods on …
Assess whether your product meets the general safety requirement
Before you sell a consumer product in Great Britain, assess its foreseeable hazards and record your findings in a signed, dated risk …
How product liability law applies to AI
Products containing AI are already covered by UK product safety law. Under the Consumer Protection Act 1987, producers are strictly liable for …
Manage a product recall
If you know a consumer product you supplied is unsafe, tell your local Trading Standards in writing straight away, stop supplying it …
Product liability and insurance
How strict liability under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 works in practice, what statutory defences are available, and why products liability insurance …
Understand UK product safety law
Three sets of rules can apply to the same product failure: a duty to supply only safe consumer products, strict liability for …
19 more guides that reference this instrument
Connected legislation
Instruments made under this Act. They carry the detail the Act delegates.
Duty extraction and severity labels are Guvnor’s analysis of the instrument, not the instrument itself. Always verify against the linked source text.