Chapter 8 · Mandatory from 13 Dec 2024

Product safety in your online shop: what every listing needs

Since 13 December 2024 the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) has applied across the EU. For your shop it mainly means: every product listing needs information on the manufacturer, the product and its safety warnings. In Germany, the amended Product Safety Act has added rules on language and fines since 19 February 2026. Here is exactly what goes in the listing, who the responsible person in the EU is and how to do it in your shop system.

Last checked: 25 Sep 2026 · A reference, not legal advice.

The essentials

Since: 13 December 2024 across the EU. In Germany, the amended Product Safety Act adds to it since 19 February 2026.
Who: Everyone offering consumer products online to customers in the EU. New, used or refurbished.
What: In every listing: manufacturer with postal and electronic address, the responsible person in the EU if the manufacturer is outside the EU, product picture, type and identifier, warnings and safety information.
Where: In the listing itself, clearly and visibly.
Language: Warnings and safety information in a language set by each EU country; in Germany, German.
Fines: Set by each country. In Germany up to €10,000 if the information is missing from the listing.

Who it applies to

The GPSR covers consumer products offered in the EU. An online offer counts as soon as it targets customers in an EU country, for example through shipping there, the language or the currency. Used, repaired and refurbished goods are expressly included when you sell them as a business.

Products with a CE mark are covered too. They have their own safety rules, but the information required in an online listing still comes from the GPSR.

If you sell something under your own name or brand, the GPSR treats you as the manufacturer. Then the manufacturer’s obligations apply to you as well, not just the seller’s.

Not covered: medicines, food, feed, live plants and animals, plant protection products and antiques.
Not covered: goods that have to be repaired before use, if you clearly label them as such.

The four required details per listing

Article 19 of the GPSR says: anyone selling online must show at least this information clearly and visibly in the offer.

Manufacturer
Name, registered trade name or registered trademark, plus postal address and electronic address. Electronic means an email address or a contact section on the website through which the manufacturer can be reached directly. According to the Commission, a website alone is not enough if it does not allow direct contact.
Responsible person in the EU
Only if the manufacturer is not based in the EU: name, postal address and electronic address of the responsible person. In addition to the manufacturer, not instead of it.
Identify the product
A picture of the product, its type and any other identifier, such as model, batch or serial number. Your customer should see exactly which product they are buying.
Warnings and safety information
Everything that has to appear on the product, the packaging or the leaflet as warnings and safety information also goes into the listing. In a language set by the country you sell to; in Germany, German.

Open or disputed

Whether the information has to be visible right away or a collapsible tab on the product page is enough is not expressly stated. The plug-ins in the table below use a separate “Product safety” tab.
Whether the listing rules also cover stock placed on the market before 13 December 2024 is not clearly settled by the GPSR. It only protects the further sale of such old stock under the old rules. You are on the safe side if you show the information on every listing.

Who the responsible person in the EU is

A product may only be placed on the EU market if a business based in the EU is responsible for it. If the manufacturer is based in the EU, that is the manufacturer. Otherwise it is one of the following:

the importer, meaning whoever brings the goods from outside the EU onto the market here,
an authorised representative the manufacturer has appointed in writing,
or a fulfilment service provider in the EU for the goods it stores and ships, if none of the others exists.

Open or disputed

If you buy directly from a manufacturer outside the EU and import the goods yourself, you are usually the importer and therefore the responsible person yourself. With dropshipping from outside the EU, ask who is responsible in the EU. If there is nobody, the product must not be placed on the EU market.

Your duties as a seller beyond the listing

As a seller you check before selling that the manufacturer has done its job. This is not a lab test, just a look at the product.

Does the product carry a type, batch or serial number or another identifier?
Are the manufacturer’s name and address on the product, the packaging or the leaflet, and for imported goods the importer’s too?
Are instructions and safety information included in the local language, where the product needs them?
If you have reason to believe a product is dangerous, you do not sell it. If it has already been sold, you inform the manufacturer or importer immediately and make sure the authorities are told through the EU Safety Business Gateway.
If you learn of an accident involving a product, you tell the manufacturer without delay.

If you sell on a marketplace

Amazon, eBay, Etsy and other marketplaces have to build their pages so that you as a seller can enter the four required details per product and customers see them in the listing. You have to enter them yourself. The platform only provides the fields.

Marketplaces have to handle notices about dangerous products within three working days and remove listings within two working days when an authority orders it. Sellers who keep offering unsafe goods have to be suspended for a reasonable time after a warning.

What Germany adds

As an EU regulation, the GPSR applies directly in every member state. Each country sets language rules and penalties itself. In Germany, the Product Safety Act in the version in force since 19 February 2026 adds two things that affect every shop:

Language: warnings and safety information in the online listing, on marketplaces as well as in your own shop, have to be in German.
Fines: offering a product without the four required details is an administrative offence. It can cost up to €10,000. Some more serious breaches can cost up to €100,000, for example when a manufacturer or importer fails to take the necessary corrective action on a dangerous product.
Enforcement lies with the market surveillance authorities of the federal states. The Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) assesses risks and supports them.

Setting it up in your shop system

System	Status	Source
Shopify	Warnings through the built-in “Disclosures” metafield. Manufacturer and identifier in the product description or a custom metafield. Shopify does not provide an EU responsible person and points to apps instead.	Shopify Help Center
WooCommerce with Germanized	From version 3.18.0: store manufacturers with contact details and product safety documents. Shown by default in a “Product safety” tab, or via blocks or shortcodes.	vendidero (German)
WooCommerce with German Market	From version 3.41: fields for manufacturer, responsible person and warnings per product. Shown in a “Product safety” tab, in the product overview or via shortcode.	MarketPress (German)
Shopware 6	Without an extension via “Essential characteristics” (Settings > Shop) and custom fields that can be placed in layouts. Alternatively an extension from the Shopware Store.	Shopware
Marketplaces	The platform has to provide fields for all four required details. You fill them in yourself, per product.	GPSR Art. 22(9)

Sources

Questions about this chapter

I sell my own handmade goods. Am I the manufacturer?

Yes. Whoever places a product on the market under their own name or brand is the manufacturer. Then your name, address and email address go into the listing and on the product. If that is not possible, on the packaging or an accompanying document.

Is my website enough as an electronic address?

Only if people can reach you directly through it, for example with a contact form. According to the Commission, a website on its own is not enough. An email address is the safest choice.

Do I need a responsible person for manufacturers based in the EU?

Not an additional one. If the manufacturer is in the EU, it is responsible itself. You only need the second entry for manufacturers outside the EU.

Does this apply to second-hand goods?

Yes, if you sell them as a business. The GPSR covers new, used, repaired and refurbished products. Exceptions are goods that must be repaired first and are clearly labelled as such, and antiques.

Where do I get the information?

From the manufacturer or your supplier. The manufacturer has to put its name, address and an identifier on the product, the packaging or the leaflet anyway. If they are missing there, that alone is a reason not to sell the product.

Which language do the warnings need?

The one set by each country you sell to. In Germany that is German. If you ship to several EU countries, check each country’s rule.

Is this legal advice?

No. It is the current state with sources and dates. For your specific case, ask a lawyer or your trade association.

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