Importing CPSC Samples and Prototypes: Which eFiling Path Applies?

CPSC and customs authorities test facts, not labels. CPSC’s sample-only guidance describes units that are not intended for U.S. interstate distribution and will not be used by U.S. consumers. It also requires the importer to be able to demonstrate those facts.

The customs provisions add separate eligibility tests. HTS 9811.00.60, TIB 9813.00.20 and HTS 9817.85.01 cover different purposes and impose different conditions. A zero price, a purchase request, or a removable “Not for resale” label may support the file, but none establishes eligibility by itself.

Before choosing a route, record the unit or segregated lot, its sole or exclusive purpose, recipient, permitted users, quantity, location, proposed HTS basis and planned disposition. If those facts do not describe the same units throughout the shipment lifecycle, the supported result is STOP.

Consumer access is the first gate. CPSC’s sample-only guidance assumes no U.S. consumer distribution or use. CPSC also states that a noncompliant sample may not be sold or distributed to U.S. consumers.

A planned sale, giveaway, household trial, consumer test, sale on approval, transfer into a sales channel or other consumer use ends this sample-only analysis for the affected units. Separate mixed-purpose units before applying any special path.

Leaving the sample-only path does not make eFiling automatic. The next question is product-specific: Is the unit a regulated finished product, must it be certified, and does the eFiling requirement apply to the entry?

Route-screening check

Apply these questions to one identifiable unit or segregated lot:

1. Will a U.S. consumer buy, receive or use it? If yes, result: ROUTE-0 — ordinary product-scope analysis.
2. If no, is the sole purpose to solicit orders and is a branch of 9811.00.60 supportable? If yes, result: ROUTE-1 candidate.
3. If no, is the sole purpose to take orders under TIB, with no sale or sale on approval and with workable bond and timing controls? If yes, result: ROUTE-2 candidate.
4. If no, is the unit a qualifying prototype used exclusively for development, testing, product evaluation or quality control, with every applicable 9817.85.01 condition satisfied? If yes, result: ROUTE-3 candidate.
5. If purpose is mixed, consumer access is unresolved, or an eligibility fact is missing, result: ROUTE-STOP.

The result identifies the next analysis. It does not classify the shipment.

CPSC directs importers of products used to solicit orders to Option I or Option II. Those options are not interchangeable.

• ROUTE-1 examines HTS 9811.00.60. The unit must be used in the United States solely to solicit orders for foreign goods and must satisfy either the value branch—no more than $1 per unit—or the treatment branch, under which it is made unsuitable for sale or for any use other than use as a sample.
• ROUTE-2 examines TIB 9813.00.20. The sample must be used solely to take orders, not imported for sale or sale on approval, and the importer must be able to satisfy the bond, timing and closeout requirements.

The comparison below identifies what must be verified; it is not a classification ruling.

A testing purpose alone does not establish prototype treatment. CPSC points testing imports to Option IV and 9817.85.01, but the tariff definition and exclusions still control.

Verify each applicable condition:

• The unit is an original or model used exclusively for development, testing, product evaluation or quality control.
• The quantity is limited and noncommercial according to industry practice. The provision does not supply a universal numeric threshold.
• A production or postproduction prototype is associated with a design change from current production.
• The product is not excluded because it is subject to a quantitative restriction, antidumping-duty order or countervailing-duty order.
• Licensing requirements and laws administered by other agencies are satisfied.
• After import, the prototype or its parts will not be sold or incorporated into merchandise for sale, subject only to the Treasury exception preserved in the HTS.

“Product evaluation” does not expand CPSC’s published sample-only boundary to household trials or consumer testing. The supported reading is narrower: controlled internal evaluation by authorized personnel may fit the stated purpose; U.S. consumer use does not.

CPSC requires an importer relying on sample-only treatment to be able to demonstrate the absence of consumer distribution and use. It strongly suggests disposition documents and/or marking that makes the units unsuitable for sale or distribution. The agency does not publish a closed, universal list of sample-only forms.

Build the file around relationships:

unit identity → exclusive purpose → route eligibility → custodian and location → access restriction → route-specific deadline or restriction → final disposition

Every record should point to the same unit or segregated lot. A document title is not enough if its facts contradict the planned use or recipient.

Controls differ by route.

For TIB 9813.00.20, track the bond period from entry and preserve the evidence needed for closeout. Section 10.39 addresses timely export, destruction under the applicable procedure and the consequences of failing to export or destroy within the permitted period. If export occurs through a different port, paragraph (b) allows bond cancellation on evidence of timely export and permits CBP to require additional proof. An internal destruction record does not automatically close the bond.

For prototypes under 9817.85.01, the HTS prohibits post-entry sale or incorporation into merchandise for sale, subject to its stated Treasury exception. HTS Note 7 does not establish a universal requirement to export or destroy every prototype. Restricted custody is an internal risk control while lawful disposition is confirmed; it is not itself a CBP closeout method.

For every sample-only candidate, prevent U.S. consumer distribution or use. Reassess before access or release if purpose, recipient, quantity, location or disposition changes.

Stop when any controlling fact is missing, mixed or contradictory, including:

• a planned sale, giveaway, sale on approval, consumer trial or consumer use;
• mixed purposes in an undifferentiated shipment;
• a display purpose not shown to be solely for soliciting or taking orders;
• a 9811.00.60 unit above $1 without support for the treatment branch;
• a TIB plan without a supportable bond, deadline or closeout path;
• a prototype quantity not supportable as limited and noncommercial;
• a production or postproduction prototype without the required design change;
• unresolved quantitative restrictions, antidumping or countervailing duty coverage, licensing, or another agency’s requirement;
• an unknown recipient, custodian, access rule or final disposition.

ROUTE-0 means return to ordinary analysis, not automatic eFiling. Under 16 CFR part 1110, the certificate and eFiling question depends on whether the unit is a regulated finished product that requires certification. For an imported finished product that requires a certificate, the eFile data are filed at entry, or when entry and entry summary are filed together. The Federal Register correction sets July 8, 2026 as the general applicability date outside foreign-trade zones and January 8, 2027 for covered releases from a foreign-trade zone.

Use the product-scope guide for that next decision. Do not force an unresolved shipment into a sample route.

Treat “sample” and “prototype” as claims to prove, not labels that create a route. Exclude U.S. consumer distribution and use first. Then test the unit’s sole or exclusive purpose against every route-specific condition and keep identity, custody and disposition evidence connected. If a controlling fact remains unresolved, stop before shipment and return to product-scope analysis or fact-specific broker review.