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Q. | How can I get CPSC publications? |
| A. | All our publications are on this web site, where you can find them by topic, title, and category. Most of them are available in hard copy. You can order them online (see "Order hard copies of publications by email" on the publications web page).
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Q. | Is there a charge for CPSC's publications? |
| A. | No. CPSC publications are free.
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Q. | May I reproduce them or use material from them without permission? |
| A. | Yes. All CPSC's publications are in the public domain. We only ask that you not change the materials, and give proper attribution.
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Q. | Does CPSC have any publications in languages other than English? |
| A. | Yes, we have quite a few in Spanish, which are on our web site in El Mundo Hispano de la CPSC. We also have two in other languages: "Who We Are, What We Do for You!" and "Smoke Detectors Can Save Your Life." |
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Q. | Why is a consumer product recalled? |
| A. | CPSC announces recalls of products that present a significant risk to consumers either because the product may be defective or violates a mandatory standard issued by CPSC.
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Q. | If a product I have is recalled, does that mean I should stop using it? |
| A. | Usually yes, but you should follow the specific guidance in CPSC's recall
announcement on that product.
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Q. | Suppose I have a product that's been recalled but I don't hear about the recall until a week, a month, or a year or more later. How long is a recall in effect? |
| A. | There is usually no end date to a product recall. Even if you don't learn of the recall for a year or more, you should follow the guidance in the recall notice the CPSC issues. Call the company at the toll-free number given in CPSC's news release announcing the recall to secure the remedy. If you are unsuccessful with the company, contact CPSC's toll-free hotline (800/638-2772) or send an e-mail to info@cpsc.gov.
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Q. | If a product (such as a toy) made by a particular company is recalled, does that mean the company's other toys and other products are unsafe? |
| A. | Each recall CPSC announces applies only to the specific brand and model identified in the recall announcement. In many cases, the recall applies only to products manufactured and date coded for specific time periods (e.g. brand "X", model "Y" manufactured between September 1 and October 17, 2000). Details of each recall are described in CPSC's recall announcements.
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Q. | If a product I have is recalled, will I get my money back? |
| A. | Not necessarily. There is no one-size-fits-all remedy for recalled products. The remedy for consumers is described in each recall announcement.
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Q. | How can I find out which products have been recalled? |
| A. | Here are three easy ways. Check CPSC's web site frequently, especially the home page, where we post new recalls as soon as they are issued, and the Recalls section, where you can search by product type or description, company, and date of recall. You also can use "Search" to search by product type (e.g., toys) or product name. Another way is to join our recalls e-mail subscription list to get CPSC's recall notices automatically the same day we issue them. |
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Q. | If I or someone in my family was harmed by a consumer product, or if I believe a product is unsafe, can I report it to CPSC? |
| A. | Yes, we would welcome your report about an unsafe product. You can do that: online, by e-mail (hazard@cpsc.gov), phone (800/638-2772, x650), fax (800/809-0924) or letter (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Injury Report, Washington, DC 20207).
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Q. | What does CPSC do with my complaint and what feedback will I get from you? |
| A. | First, you'll get a letter from CPSC's National Injury Information Clearinghouse shortly after we receive your complaint. It will describe how CPSC will use the information you sent and will request you to review the report and confirm its accuracy. At that point, you can make corrections or supply additional information.
Second, if you've identified a manufacturer in your complaint, we send it to the manufacturer. If you've told us that we may include your name and contact information in what we send to the manufacturer, you may receive a direct response from the company.
Third, we may or may not investigate your product complaint. We receive about 10,000 reports of product-related injuries and deaths a year from consumers and others. Due to our small staff size, we can investigate only a few of them. But if we decide to investigate the product you've reported to us, a CPSC investigator will contact you by phone or mail. (It may not be for some time after you send have us your complaint.) If, based on the investigation, we decide some recall or other action is required, we would not make that public until we issue a news release.
Whether or not we conduct an investigation of your product complaint, the information in it -- and in all of the product complaints we receive -- is a valuable resource for CPSC. It becomes part of our database, which we use to identify patterns of injuries and hazards associated with particular products. We then can use a wide range of tools to correct potentially unsafe products: voluntary standards, consumer education, safety guidelines, cooperative product recalls with manufacturers, and, as a last resort, mandatory rulemaking. |
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Q. | Where is CPSC located? |
| A. | Our headquarters offices are in Bethesda, Maryland, close to Washington, D.C. (Our mailing address, though, is Washington, DC 20207.) Our three regional offices are in New York City, Chicago, and Oakland, California. In addition, there are about 100 CPSC investigators, compliance officers, and consumer information specialists throughout the country in communities where you live and work.
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Q. | How can I contact CPSC? |
| A. | There are several ways you can contact us which can be found on our contacts page.
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Q. | How can I contact a particular CPSC employee? |
| A. | Call CPSC's information center (301/504-6816) for the number, or send an e-mail to the employee via info@cpsc.gov and your message will be forwarded to him or her.
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Q. | Does CPSC have jurisdiction over all consumer products? |
| A. | No. We have jurisdiction over more than 15,000 kinds of consumer products used in and around the home, in sports, recreation and schools. But we don't have jurisdiction over some categories of products. They include automobiles and other on-road vehicles, tires, boats, alcohol, tobacco, firearms, food, drugs, cosmetics, pesticides, and medical devices. Our web site has links to the sites of the federal agencies that do.
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Q. | Does CPSC test or certify products for safety before they can be sold to consumers? |
| A. | No. CPSC doesn't have the legal authority to do that. However, responsible companies test their products before putting them on the market.
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Q. | Does CPSC recommend specific brands or models of products that are safest for consumers to buy? |
| A. | No. CPSC doesn't endorse or recommend specific brands of products. Instead, we provide information to consumers on what safety features to look for in products. In cooperation with manufacturers, we also announce recalls of products that we believe pose potential risk for serious injury or death.
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Q. | Does CPSC's jurisdiction include false advertising, fraud, or poor product quality not related to safety? |
| A. | No. Our jurisdiction applies only to consumer product safety. The Federal Trade Commission is responsible for handling complaints of false advertising, fraud, and product quality.
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Q. | Does CPSC cover all manufacturers, retailers, importers and distributors of consumer products regardless of their size, number of employees, or income? |
| A. | Yes. For more information, see the Guide for Small Business to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in the Business section of this site.
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Q. | Where can I get information on CPSC's laws and regulations? |
| A. | You'll find them in the Business section of this site.
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Q. | When was CPSC created? |
| A. | CPSC was created in 1972 by Congress under the Consumer Product Safety Act and began operating in 1973.
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Q. | Why was CPSC created? |
| A. | In the Consumer Product Safety Act, Congress directed CPSC to protect the public "against unreasonable risks of injuries associated with consumer products."
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Q. | What federal Cabinet department does CPSC report to? |
| A. | CPSC is an independent agency. It doesn't report to nor is it part of any other department or agency in the federal government.
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Q. | Who heads CPSC? |
| A. | The agency is headed by three commissioners nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate for staggered seven-year terms. The President designates one of the commissioners as Chairman. The current Chairman is Hal Stratton. For more information on the current commissioners, see their biographical information.
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Q. | How is the agency organized? |
| A. | The three commissioners set policy for CPSC. The Chairman is the chief administrator. Six offices report directly to the Chairman: Congressional Affairs, Equal Employment and Minority Enterprise, General Counsel, Inspector General, Secretary, and Executive Director.
The Executive Director directs and oversees Commission policy and administration, which are implemented by the offices that report to that office: Compliance, Hazard Identification and Reduction, Field Operations, Administration, Budget, Human Resources, Information and Public Affairs, Information Services, and Planning and Evaluation. See the CPSC organizational chart.
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Q. | How big is the Consumer Product Safety Commission? |
| A. | CPSC currently has about 480 employees, who are responsible for monitoring the safety of over 15,000 kinds of consumer products. For budget information, see CPSC's current Budget/Performance Plan request to Congress in the reports section of our site. |
