| Guvnor

Enforced by: OPSS, Trading Standards, MHRA
Status: In Force
Penalty ceiling: Imprisonment 4 of 15 obligations carry imprisonment (12 months). 1 carries different penalties and 10 have no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.

Does it bind you?

Business-side roles with duties under this instrument.

Any Person4 Manufacturer3 Trader2 Distributor1

Plus 5 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

Human Medicines Regulations 2012 184 duties

Merchant Shipping Act 1995 144 duties

Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 104 duties

Communications Act 2003 92 duties

Road Traffic Act 1988 92 duties

Manufacturer — also bound by 551 other Acts

Pressure Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 93 duties

Measuring Instruments Regulations 2016 85 duties

Non-Automatic Weighing Instruments Regulations 2016 78 duties

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/654 of 19 December 2016 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1628 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to technical and general requirements relating to emission limits and type-approval for internal combustion engines for non-road mobile machinery 76 duties

Human Medicines Regulations 2012 75 duties

Trader — also bound by 864 other Acts

Value Added Tax Regulations 1995 416 duties

Companies Act 2006 244 duties

The Large and Medium-sized Companies and Groups (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 133 duties

Companies Act 1985 85 duties

Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 62 duties

Distributor — also bound by 201 other Acts

UK REACH Regulation (retained EU law) 44 duties

The Marketing of Fruit Plant and Propagating Material (England) Regulations 2017 28 duties

The Marketing of Fruit Plant and Propagating Material (Wales) Regulations 2017 26 duties

The Marketing of Fruit Plant and Propagating Material Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017 25 duties

Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002 21 duties

What it requires

Regulations 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.

Part 1

GENERAL

0 of 4 sections shown

4 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional

s.001 Citation, commencement and revocation

s.002 Interpretation

s.003 Application

s.004 These Regulations do not apply to a second-hand product supplied...

Part 2

OBLIGATIONS OF PRODUCERS AND DISTRIBUTORS

4 of 5 sections shown

s.005 General safety requirement Imprisonment

Ensure all products placed on the market are safeManufacturer

s.007 Other obligations of producers Regulated

Label products, monitor safety, and take action on risksManufacturer

s.008 Obligations of distributors Imprisonment

Do not supply or stock products you know to be dangerousDistributor

s.009 Obligations of producers and distributors Regulated

Notify enforcement authority immediately about unsafe products and cooperate on recallsManufacturer

1 other section in this Part — procedural and definitional

s.006 Presumption of conformity

Part 3

ENFORCEMENT

6 of 22 sections shown

s.010 Enforcement Regulated

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator

Local authorities and regulators must enforce product safety lawsLocal authority

s.015 Recall notices Regulated

Organise product recall when served with a recall noticeTrader

s.017 Appeals against safety notices Regulated

Appeal against a product safety noticeAny Person

s.020 Offences Imprisonment

Breach of product safety regulations 5 or 8(1)(a)Any Person

s.028 Power of Secretary of State to obtain information Prosecution

Fail to comply with a safety notice request for information or samplesAny Person

Unlimited fine

s.031 Liability of person other than principal offender Imprisonment

Be held liable for another's product‑safety offenceAny Person

16 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional

s.011 Suspension notices

s.012 Requirements to mark

s.013 Requirements to warn

s.014 Withdrawal notices

s.016 Supplementary provisions relating to safety notices

s.018 Forfeiture: England and Wales and Northern Ireland

s.019 Forfeiture: Scotland

s.021 Test purchases

s.022 Powers of entry and search etc.

s.023 Provisions supplemental to regulation 22 and search warrants etc.

s.024 Obstruction of officers

s.025 Appeals against detention of products and records

s.026 Compensation for seizure and detention

s.027 Recovery of expenses of enforcement

s.029 Defence of due diligence

s.030 Defence in relation to antiques

Part 4

MISCELLANEOUS

5 of 16 sections shown

s.032 Reports Regulated

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator

Secretary of State must report to Parliament on product safety enforcementCrown / Minister / Government department

s.034 Provisions supplemental to regulation 33 Regulated

Provide specific details when notifying authorities of product risksTrader

s.036 Market surveillance Regulated

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator

Authorities must carry out market surveillance of productsStatutory regulator

s.037 Complaints procedures Regulated

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator

Enforcement authorities must provide a product safety complaint procedureLocal authority

s.038 Co-operation between enforcement authorities Regulated

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator

Enforcement authorities must cooperate and share expertiseStatutory regulator

11 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional

s.033 Duty to notify Secretary of State ...

s.035 Implementation of Commission decisions

s.039 Information

s.040 Service of documents

s.041 Extension of time for bringing summary proceedings

s.042 Civil proceedings

s.043 Privileged information

s.044 Evidence in proceedings for offence relating to regulation 9(1)

s.045 Transitional provisions

s.046 Amendments to the Consumer Protection Act 1987

s.047 Consequential amendments to other legislation

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 …

Ensure product safety compliance for retailers

As a retailer, you must sell only safe products, even if you did not make them. Vet suppliers and get their test …

Find your product safety duties in the supply chain

Under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 your duties depend on whether you are a producer or a distributor, decided by what …

General product safety requirements

Every consumer product you place on the market in Great Britain must be safe. Producers must mark products with their name and …

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 …

Meet your duties as an importer of products for Great Britain

If you bring a product from outside the UK onto the Great Britain market, you are the importer. Before you sell it, …

Online marketplace product safety duties

If your online marketplace lets third-party sellers offer products to UK consumers, you may already be a distributor with duties under the …

27 more guides that reference this instrument

Product standards and CE marking for the Northern Ireland market Start a product-based business Understand UK product safety law CLP labelling for candles and wax melts Hallmarking rules for jewellery Label and place textiles, clothing and footwear on the GB market Meet the furniture fire-safety and product-safety rules Meet your tobacco product, duty and track-and-trace obligations Place basic metal products on the GB market Place electronic and electrical products on the GB market Place fabricated metal products on the market Place machinery and equipment on the market Place non-metallic mineral products on the market Place paper products on the market Place rubber and plastic products on the market Place wood and wood products on the market Sell safe products with the right conformity marking Sell vehicle parts and accessories Type-approve and place motor vehicles, trailers and components on the GB market Which conformity regime applies to electrical products Wholesale distributor product-safety duties Avoid selling counterfeit goods Check if CE marking is accepted in Great Britain Choose the right conformity assessment route Get the specialist licences your shop needs Prevent underage sales in your shop Product liability and insurance

Duty extraction and severity labels are Guvnor’s analysis of the instrument, not the instrument itself. Always verify against the linked source text.