Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025: What It Means for Marketplace Sellers

The Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025 is an enabling law. It gives the government power to write new UK product safety rules by regulation, including rules for online marketplaces, but it does not yet place any new duties on sellers or marketplaces. In Great Britain the live rulebook is still the General Product Safety Regulations 2005, alongside sector-specific rules for products such as toys and electrical and radio equipment. A government consultation that closed on 23/06/2026 proposed due care duties for marketplaces, checks on sellers and fuller safety information on business sellers' listings. Brands that build a complete product file now will be best placed to keep their listings live whichever way the final rules land.

Two things happened on 15/10/2026 that put this back on the agenda. The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) reported in its Halloween costume test purchase that 10 of the 11 children's Halloween costumes it bought from third-party sellers on six marketplaces did not comply with UK product safety requirements (91%). The failures were mainly labelling and product information, the same gap the listing proposals below target. On the same day, in Commons questions, minister Kate Dearden said in an oral answer her intention is that future regulations will set out strong new duties on online marketplaces, backed by appropriate sanctions. That is a stated intention, not a decision.

This is a commercial guide based on published sources, not legal advice.

What does the Product Regulation and Metrology Act actually do?

The Act received Royal Assent on 21/07/2025, and almost all of it came into force that day. Section 1 lets the Secretary of State make regulations about how products are marketed and used in the UK, to reduce risk and keep measuring equipment accurate.

Section 2 is the part marketplace sellers should read. It allows those regulations to cover "the marketing of products through an online marketplace", to place requirements on whoever controls access to or the contents of a marketplace, and to require the appointment of authorised representatives. Section 12 defines an online marketplace broadly: any website, app or other internet platform that facilitates the marketing of products in the UK. Amazon, eBay and TikTok Shop all sit inside it.

None of those marketplace powers has been used yet. Enforcement still runs under the 2005 regulations and the existing sector rules. In its own enforcement cases resolved during 2025-26, OPSS reports that 699 product listings were removed from online sales where action was required (OPSS Delivery Report 2025-2026). That is under the current rules, before any new duty.

What has the government proposed for online marketplaces?

The Office for Product Safety and Standards ran a consultation, "Product regulation: the UK's new product safety framework", from 31/03/2026 to 23/06/2026. It proposes three categories of duty-holder: producers, onward suppliers and online marketplaces. Every point below is a proposal.

• Due care (proposal A7). Marketplaces would have to act with due care to prevent, identify and remove dangerous products, including sales between consumers. Examples include risk-based monitoring, a way for customers to report safety concerns and processes to stop non-compliant products being listed.
• Seller due diligence (A8). A high-level duty to identify and act against bad actors. "Know your business" checks are an example. The only specific requirement proposed is that marketplaces verify and keep up to date the contact details of their sellers.
• Higher-risk products (A9). For "certain high-risk products", marketplaces could be required to take extra steps, including before a listing goes live. That might mean test purchases or document reviews. The consultation does not define which products count as high-risk.
• Single point of contact (A11). Producers and marketplaces would each need one point of contact for the authorities.

We would watch A9 most closely if you sell battery, radio or connected products. If they are classed as high-risk, which is not yet defined, the product file could be needed before the listing goes live.

The consultation document promised a response within 12 weeks of closing, which points to mid-September 2026. As at 16/10/2026 it has not been published, and the minister told the Commons it will come "in due course".

What could sellers have to show on product listings?

Proposal A13 is the one that lands on your catalogue team's desk. Business sellers would have to show on each listing:

• the name and contact details of the seller and, if different, the producer
• information that identifies the product, including its identifier number and images of the product in its current condition
• warnings and safety information that the rules require on the physical product
• compliance markings, including conformity assessment and standards marks

Marketplaces would build the fields. The government will consider whether they should also block incomplete listings or verify what sellers enter.

A separate proposal (A12) would let producer details and safety information be given digitally, for example through a QR code, while the product identifier stays physical on the product or packaging where reasonable.

If you already sell into the EU, this list will look familiar. The brand supplies the data, for every product and variation, and it has to match what is printed on the box. A listing that contradicts its label invites a request for proof of compliance and, for non-compliance, blocked listings.

How does the UK approach differ from EU GPSR?

Great Britain and Northern Ireland are on different rules today. In Great Britain, the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 apply. In Northern Ireland, EU Regulation 2023/988 (EU GPSR) has applied since 13/12/2024. The government expects the new marketplace obligations and enforcement powers to apply across the whole UK, taking account of the Windsor Framework.

The biggest difference for overseas brands is local presence. Article 16 of EU GPSR requires an economic operator established in the EU (or, for Northern Ireland sales, in the EU or Northern Ireland) to be responsible for each product it covers before it can be placed on the market. The UK consultation says a UK-based responsible person "may be appropriate for some high-risk products" where many non-compliant goods arrive from abroad, and adds that it is not proportionate for all products. Nothing has been decided. Digital labelling is another gap. The UK proposal would allow it, but EU GPSR does not, so products sold into Northern Ireland still need physical labels.

We cover the EU side in our guide to EU compliance for Amazon sellers under GPSR and EPR.

What do marketplaces already ask for today?

Amazon UK's product safety and compliance policy makes the seller responsible for the compliance of the product, its packaging and the offer. Amazon may, in certain cases, request proof of compliance, and non-compliance can lead to penalties or blocked listings. Separately, any product sent to FBA that may be a dangerous good goes through Amazon's hazmat review. Battery-powered products without battery information may be flagged, and if stock is already in a fulfilment centre the seller has 14 working days to provide documents before the inventory is disposed of at the seller's expense. Amazon's UK product safety page does not set out a UK responsible person requirement.

TikTok Shop UK can freeze or withdraw flagged products and expects appeals to include a declaration of conformity. eBay UK requires its GPSR listing information only for sales to buyers in the EU and Northern Ireland, although sellers can add it to any listing.

Non-compliant offers from third-party sellers on your listings are another exposure, and one more reason to stop unauthorised resellers on Amazon UK.

The product file to build now

Every proposal above comes back to one question: can the brand prove what the product is, who made it and that it is safe? Build one file per product, per model revision:

• Declaration of conformity naming the legislation and standards, signed by the manufacturer or its authorised representative, with the correct UK or EU marking. Our guide to UKCA marking vs CE marking explains which applies where.
• Technical documentation and test reports that match the exact model and current revision. A report for last year's circuit board will not answer a question about this year's.
• Labelling and packaging artwork showing the product identifier, manufacturer and importer details, and warnings in English. Packaging EPR is a separate regime, covered in our UK packaging EPR guide for overseas brands.
• Traceability records that name the manufacturer, the importer into Great Britain and which entity appears on the label, the listing and the invoice. These should agree.
• Safety information and instructions in English, matching the listing.
• Battery, radio and connected-product evidence, including the safety data sheets and battery information Amazon's hazmat review asks for and conformity evidence for anything that transmits.
• Listing data covering the A13 fields above.
• A recall contact who monitors a named mailbox and can pull sale records quickly if an authority or marketplace asks.

How Scale With handles compliance alongside the launch

The pattern we see most is a seller account, stock in a fulfilment centre and no complete file behind it. The first document request becomes a scramble, and listings go dark while it is sorted.

We build the file and the labelling before the launch, then run the marketplace on top of it. For A Global Tools and Equipment Brand selling two-way radios, we built Amazon UK from zero and brought the account through a Hazmat re-verification and an identity-verification hold. The work for A Market-Leading US Electronics Brand selling GPS trackers was different. We reviewed the device, packaging and quick-start guide against UK and EU requirements, specified a consolidated compliance label and cleared an Amazon suspension across every marketplace account.

For a UK launch, our UK market entry guide sets out the full sequence.

What happens next

The next step is the government's response to the consultation, which is now overdue. Draft regulations would follow, and the government has said it will consider transitional arrangements. The minister also pointed to proposed civil monetary penalties alongside existing criminal sanctions. No marketplace or listing duty has an in-force date.

We will update this article when the response is published. If you want a view on where your product file stands before then, talk to us.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Product Regulation and Metrology Act in force?

Yes. The Act received Royal Assent on 21/07/2025 and most of it came into force the same day. No regulations placing new duties on online marketplaces or their sellers had been made as at 16/10/2026.

Does it replace the General Product Safety Regulations?

Not yet. The General Product Safety Regulations 2005, alongside sector-specific rules, still apply in Great Britain and are the basis for current enforcement. The consultation sets out a new framework under the Act to succeed it, but no regulations have been made.

Will overseas brands need a UK responsible person?

Not as a general rule on current proposals. The consultation says a UK-based responsible person may be appropriate for some high-risk products where many non-compliant goods come from abroad, and that it is not proportionate for all products. No decision has been made and high-risk products have not been defined.

What will Amazon and other marketplaces have to check?

Nothing new is required by law yet. The government has proposed a due care duty on marketplaces, verification of seller contact details, possible extra checks for certain high-risk products before a listing goes live, and a single point of contact for authorities. Marketplaces already run their own checks.

Does EU GPSR apply in the UK?

Only in Northern Ireland, where EU Regulation 2023/988 has applied since 13/12/2024. Great Britain stays under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005, alongside sector-specific rules.

Last verified: 16/10/2026