My factory in China sent a lab report. How do I check the lab is CPSC-accepted?

Where to look

CPSC keeps an up-to-date list of the labs whose accreditation it has accepted, with the scope of each acceptance and any firewalled or governmental status 16 CFR 1112.19. The list can be searched by testing scope, country, province and city. Labs with an adverse action are listed separately, in inactive status CPSC lab list.

For children’s products under these rules, the certification must rest on test results from one of the listed labs CPSC lab list. The lab must be accepted for the specific test cited 16 CFR 1107.2.

Four checks on the report

• Scope: each rule or test method on the report appears in the lab’s scope. Scope means the particular CPSC rules or test methods a lab is accredited for 16 CFR 1112.3; CPSC lists toy-standard sections separately for ASTM F963-16/F963-17 and for F963-23 CPSC lab list.
• Status: the lab is not among the labs in inactive status after an adverse action CPSC lab list.
• Ownership: a lab owned, managed or controlled by the maker — for example a stake of 10 percent or more, direct or indirect, or a common parent — must apply as firewalled to test that maker’s children’s products for a CPC 16 CFR 1112.11(b).
• Subcontracting: an accepted lab may only subcontract to labs accepted for the scope of that work 16 CFR 1112.23.

Accreditation is not acceptance

Accreditation is an accreditation body’s recognition of a lab’s competence; accepting it is CPSC’s positive decision on the lab’s application for a particular children’s product safety rule 16 CFR 1112.3. A lab recognized for another program does not qualify by that alone. Your certificate then names each lab relied on, with its contact details 16 CFR 1110.11(a)(6), and in the Product Registry only CPSC-accepted labs can be selected for a CPC Registry guide v3.