CPSC Fast Track Recall Program |
Businesses wishing to remove potentially unsafe consumer products quickly from the marketplace, are encouraged to participate in CPSC’s award-winning Fast-Track recall program. The Fast-Track recall program helps consumers by removing potentially hazardous products from the marketplace as quickly and efficiently as possible and rewards businesses that act quickly. To participate in this program, a business must be prepared to implement a corrective action plan – including a consumer-level recall (refund, repair, or replacement) – within 20 working days of submitting an initial report to CPSC. In addition, the firm must immediately stop sale and distribution of the product.
Businesses that successfully complete the Fast-Track program benefit in the following ways:
- CPSC staff will not make a preliminary determination (PD) that the product contains a defect that creates a substantial product hazard. (Some businesses are concerned about the effect of a CPSC staff PD on their firm due to concerns about product liability and other private lawsuits.)
- By removing the product from commerce quickly, the potential for incidents and injuries to consumers/customers from potentially harmful products may be reduced, and may therefore reduce the occurrence of product liability claims or other lawsuits.
- Voluntary corrective action by the recalling business is completed much faster.
- Businesses are assigned a point of contact at CPSC who will guide them through the recall process. Office of Compliance staff will provide a significant amount of assistance to first-time participants in the Fast-Track program as they go through the recall process.
Businesses that report potential product defects under Section 15(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Act can choose to initiate a Fast-Track recall during the initial filing process. Businesses should report products to CPSC using the online submission form (click here for instructions on filing online). Businesses can also email their report to Section15@cpsc.gov.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What should my business expect when we report a product and check off the “Fast-Track” participation box?
As with all mandatory reporting, the Fast-Track program requires a full report from the firm, as described in 16 C.F.R. § 1115.13(d), including an acceptable Corrective Action Plan (CAP) that is ready to be implemented within 20 working days and includes:
- a CPSC-approved remedy (either a full refund or fully tested replacement or repair supported by technical documentation);
- joint news release with CPSC;
- point-of-purchase poster;
- a CPSC-approved reverse logistics plan;
- website notification on Firm’s homepage;
- letters to the distribution chain; and
- social media announcements modeled after the news release.
If you do not have all of this information ready at the time of your report, include as much information as you do have, and begin to gather the remaining information to provide to CPSC’s Office of Compliance when you are contacted. You should be contacted within 1 day, seeking the missing information and other information that CPSC staff deems relevant, which may include additional technical information. If you are not contacted within 2 days, e-mail Section15@cpsc.gov to confirm that we received your report.
Resources to assist you are available at: www.cpsc.gov/recallguidance.
How do I document that I have submitted my report to CPSC?
When you have finished submitting your report at: www.SaferProducts.gov, you should receive an acknowledgment page with a date and time stamp. Please print the acknowledgment for your records. You may also wish to print the pages preceding the acknowledgment as you submit your information. If you do not receive this confirmation, please e-mail Section15@cpsc.gov, and we can provide you with a copy of your report.
How will I know whether I have been accepted into the Fast-Track Program?
You will receive a letter from your point of contact in CPSC’s Office of Compliance who will confirm your participation. Participants who clearly identify a potential defect/hazard and can work quickly to recall a product have the best chance of being accepted in the Fast-Track Program.
Once I am accepted into the Fast-Track Program, what should I expect?
Your point of contact will guide you through the recall process and will request all necessary information. The first step will be for your Compliance contact to reach out to you with guidance on what is needed to complete the process. Next, you will need to provide product samples (if feasible), a Full Report, testing data for repair or replacement remedies, information on the number of incidents and injuries associated with the product, and a proposed Corrective Action Plan. Your Compliance point of contact will then notify you if your CAP has been accepted or if changes are necessary. Lastly, you will schedule posting of a press release or recall alert.
Your point of contact in Compliance will expect your company to move quickly to provide full and accurate information that is responsive to CPSC’s requests.
If I am not accepted into the Fast-Track Program, what should I expect?
If you are not accepted into the program, you will be contacted by the Team Lead for Fast-Track with information about how to proceed. When staff rejects applicants, most often it is because the requesting firm did not initially report under the Fast-Track Program, but requested inclusion months later during the investigation process. We do not accept Fast-Track Program participants once staff has begun a defect investigation. In addition, products that may violate mandatory standards administered by the CPSC are not handled through the Fast Track Program.
Can a business be removed from the Fast-Track Program?
On occasion, businesses do leave the Fast-Track program. Some businesses request to be removed from the program because they can no longer initiate a timely recall. In other cases, the business is removed from the Fast-Track Program at the discretion of staff, because the firm has failed to meet other program requirements of the program. Staff warns businesses before removal from the Fast-Track Program and gives businesses every reasonable opportunity to participate in the program.
Why doesn’t every company participate in the Fast-Track Program?
That’s a great question. We think that the program greatly benefits both consumers and businesses by removing potentially hazardous products from the marketplace quickly and efficiently and minimizing uncertainty and risk for participating businesses.
However, some companies choose not to participate in the Fast-Track Program because their products may present complex technical issues that require more time to resolve; they may not have made the decision to cooperate voluntarily with the CPSC on a potential corrective action; or they may not be able to move quickly enough to meet CPSC deadlines for participants.
CPSC is committed to accommodating all participants seeking to participate in good faith in the Fast-Track Program.