Product safety and labelling obligations
Entrepreneurs offering products must ensure compliance with the safety, labelling and information obligations applicable to each product.
In particular, Regulation (EU) 2023/988 on general product safety, the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR), has applied since 13 December 2024. Among other things, it contains special requirements for products offered online or otherwise through distance sales.
Further European or national rules may also apply to individual product types.
1. Offer only safe products
Economic operators may generally place only safe products on the market or make them available on the market.
When assessing safety, particular account must be taken of the product's characteristics, composition, packaging, assembly, installation, use and maintenance, as well as reasonably foreseeable uses.
Under German product safety law, products may also generally be made available only if the relevant safety requirements are met. The German Product Safety Act was last amended in February 2026.
2. Which products does the GPSR cover?
The GPSR generally applies to consumer products insofar as more specific EU safety rules do not apply to the product concerned.
It covers more than new products. The Regulation generally also applies to
used products,
repaired products, and
reconditioned products,
when they are made available on the market again in the course of a commercial activity.
An important exception applies to products that must be repaired or reconditioned before use, provided they are clearly offered and labelled as such. Antiques are also excluded from the scope of the GPSR.
A commercial sale of used goods therefore does not automatically mean that no product safety rules apply.
3. Product safety information must already appear in the online offer
Article 19 GPSR contains special requirements for distance sales offers.
Where an economic operator makes a product available online or otherwise through distance sales, the offer must contain at least certain information clearly and visibly.
This includes in particular:
the manufacturer's name, registered trade name or registered trademark,
the manufacturer's postal address,
the manufacturer's email address,
for a manufacturer outside the European Union, additional details of the responsible person in the EU,
information clearly identifying the product,
an image of the product,
the product type and other necessary product identifiers, and
required warnings and safety information.
This information generally belongs in the relevant product offer and should not merely be placed somewhere in general terms in the business profile or legal notice.
4. Manufacturers within the European Union
If the manufacturer is established in the European Union, the online offer must generally state their
name, trade name or trademark,
postal address, and
email address.
The manufacturer's details must be distinguished from those of the commercial seller.
For example, if a German distributor sells a product made by another manufacturer, the distributor's legal notice alone is generally insufficient. The manufacturer information required under Article 19 GPSR must be stated in the relevant product offer.
5. Manufacturers outside the European Union
If the manufacturer is not established in the European Union, there must additionally be a responsible person in the European Union where the statutory conditions require this.
In addition to the manufacturer information, the online offer must then state this responsible person's
name,
postal address, and
email address.
Before publishing a product from a third country, commercial providers should therefore check whether a proper responsible person exists in the EU.
If the necessary details are missing, the product should not simply be published with incomplete information.
6. Clearly identifying the product
An online offer must contain information enabling the product to be clearly identified.
Article 19 GPSR mentions in particular
an image of the product,
the product type, and
other product identifiers.
Depending on the product, these may include, for example:
model designation,
type number,
item number,
serial number,
batch number, or
other identifying features used by the manufacturer.
The specific information required depends on the product and the relevant statutory provisions.
7. Warnings and safety information
If warnings or safety information are prescribed for a product, they must also be included in the distance sales offer.
Under Article 19(d) GPSR, this concerns the warnings or safety information required on the product, packaging or accompanying documents under the GPSR or other applicable EU legislation.
For products made available in Germany, § 6 ProdSG generally requires the safety information, instructions and warnings specified there to be in German.
A commercial provider should therefore not reproduce safety information solely in a foreign language where a German version is required for the product concerned.
8. CE marking
Not every product requires CE marking.
CE marking may be used only if a European or national provision applicable to the product provides for it.
Conversely, a product for which CE marking is legally required generally must not be made available on the market without that marking. § 7 ProdSG contains the general German requirements in this respect.
CE marking is therefore not a general quality seal and must not be used arbitrarily on products or in offers.
For certain product groups, such as certain electrical equipment, conformity assessment procedures, technical documentation and an EU declaration of conformity may also be required.
9. Manufacturer, importer or distributor: the role is decisive
A business's obligations depend on its role in the supply chain.
The GPSR distinguishes in particular between:
manufacturer,
authorised representative,
importer,
distributor, and
other economic operators.
A manufacturer is, in particular, anyone who manufactures a product themselves or has it manufactured and markets it under their own name or trademark.
Anyone placing a product from a third country on the EU market for the first time may be an importer.
A business reselling a product within the supply chain without being the manufacturer or importer may be a distributor.
The legal obligations differ according to the role.
10. Selling under your own name or trademark
Anyone placing a product on the market under their own name or trademark may themselves be considered the manufacturer under Article 13 GPSR.
Anyone substantially modifying a product and thereby affecting its safety may also assume manufacturer obligations.
Commercial providers should therefore not assume they are merely “distributors” if they sell products under their own brand or make substantial technical modifications.
11. Special manufacturer obligations
Manufacturers must, among other things, ensure that their products meet the general safety requirements.
Before placing them on the market, they must generally carry out an internal risk analysis and prepare technical documentation. Under Article 9 GPSR, this documentation must generally be kept available to market surveillance authorities for ten years.
Further product-specific documentation and conformity obligations may also apply depending on the product.
12. Distributor obligations
Distributors likewise must not limit themselves to passing on manufacturer information without checking it.
Before making a product available, distributors must, under Article 12 GPSR, check among other things whether certain requirements prescribed for manufacturers and, where applicable, importers have been met.
If a distributor learns that a product may be dangerous or non-compliant, obligations to inform, correct, withdraw or recall may arise.
13. Dangerous or non-compliant products
A product must not continue to be offered if the provider knows, or must recognise from the information available to them, that it does not meet the applicable safety requirements.
Depending on the case, the following may be necessary in particular:
stopping sales,
correcting missing information,
withdrawing the product from the market,
recalling products already sold,
informing customers,
informing other economic operators, and
notifying the competent market surveillance authorities.
EU law provides in particular for the Safety Business Gateway for product safety notifications.
14. Product recalls
If a safety recall becomes necessary, affected consumers must be informed in accordance with statutory requirements.
For recalls, the GPSR provides, among other things, for remedies such as
repair,
replacement with a safe product, or
an adequate refund.
A corresponding remedy must be offered to the consumer under the statutory conditions.
A recall because of a safety risk must be distinguished from ordinary handling of statutory defect claims or withdrawals.
15. Used products
Commercial providers should also carefully check whether used products are safe and which labelling and information obligations apply.
The GPSR expressly generally also applies to used, repaired and reconditioned products offered in the course of a commercial activity.
Merely using wording such as
“Used privately”,
“Without guarantee”, or
“Sold as seen”
does not eliminate product safety obligations for a provider who is actually operating commercially.
16. Defective goods and goods for repair
If a product is expressly intended to be offered only as requiring repair, this must be clearly indicated.
The GPSR excludes products that must be repaired or reconditioned before use from its scope only if they are made available on the market as such and clearly labelled accordingly.
A mere hidden note at the end of a long product description should therefore be avoided.
The condition should be immediately and clearly recognisable, for example:
“Defective – repair required before use.”
However, this does not mean that all other statutory obligations automatically cease to apply.
17. Additional product-specific rules
Numerous special legal provisions may apply alongside the GPSR.
These concern, for example:
electrical appliances,
machinery,
toys,
personal protective equipment,
medical devices,
batteries,
radio equipment,
cosmetics,
chemicals,
food,
textiles, or
other specially regulated product groups.
For such products, entrepreneurs must check which special safety, labelling, registration or information obligations apply additionally or take precedence.
18. Information in advertisements on Suchen.Expert
Commercial providers must take the information required for their product into account when designing their advertisement.
In particular, the following should be checked before publication:
Is the manufacturer identified?
Are the manufacturer's postal and email addresses provided?
For a manufacturer outside the EU, is the responsible person identified?
Can the specific product be clearly identified?
Is a suitable product image provided?
Are required warnings and safety information included?
Are mandatory markings present?
Is CE marking required and, if so, is it properly present?
Can the product lawfully and safely be made available on the market at all?
19. Suchen.Expert as a platform facilitating contact
Suchen.Expert provides the technical means to publish advertisements and establish contact between providers and interested parties.
The fact that a contract is not concluded through an ordering or checkout function of Suchen.Expert does not exempt the commercial provider from statutory information obligations that already apply to the online offer.
Article 4 GPSR expressly provides that a product is already considered to be made available on the market if it is offered for sale online or otherwise through distance sales and the offer targets consumers in the European Union.
The information required under Article 19 GPSR must therefore, where applicable, already appear in the relevant advertisement on Suchen.Expert.
Responsibility of the commercial provider
The commercial provider concerned is responsible for the safety, lawful marketability, labelling and proper description of the product offered.
Suchen.Expert does not conduct an individual technical conformity assessment of the product offered, and publication of an advertisement confirms neither its product safety nor compliance with all labelling obligations.
Suchen.Expert's statutory obligations as a platform operator remain unaffected.
This guidance provides general orientation and does not replace a product-specific legal or technical conformity assessment.
