Article 4(1) of the General Product Safety Regulation (EU 2023/988) introduces a requirement that trips up online sellers more than almost any other provision: every consumer product placed on the EU market must have a responsible person established in the European Union. Not a label. Not a checkbox. An entity established in the EU, with legal obligations, reachable by authorities.
This article explains what the responsible person role actually requires, who can fill it, what options you have if your business is not based in the EU, and what documentation you need to have in place to meet the obligation.
This is operational guidance, not legal advice. For product-category-specific questions and liability implications, consult a qualified compliance professional.
What the regulation actually says
Under GPSR, the responsible person is the entity that takes legal responsibility for ensuring a product complies with the regulation before it reaches consumers. The responsible person must be established in the EU and must be identifiable on the product or its packaging.
The regulation defines four categories of economic operator who may serve as the responsible person, depending on the supply chain structure:
When: You manufacture the product and your business is in the EU.
Note: You are automatically the responsible person. No appointment needed.
When: You purchase products from a non-EU manufacturer and bring them into the EU market.
Note: You are the responsible person. You bear the full set of obligations including verifying conformity assessment.
When: A non-EU manufacturer appoints an EU-based entity to act on their behalf.
Note: The authorised representative assumes responsible person obligations by written mandate.
When: If no manufacturer, importer, or authorised representative is established in the EU.
Note: The fulfilment service provider (e.g., Amazon FBA warehouse operator) becomes the responsible person. This is new under GPSR.
The key change from the old directive: if no manufacturer, importer, or authorised representative is present in the EU, the fulfilment service provider becomes the responsible person. This means warehousing operations like Amazon FBA now have direct product safety obligations, which is why marketplaces are aggressively requiring sellers to demonstrate compliance before accepting inventory.
What the responsible person must do
The responsible person is not a formality. The regulation assigns them a specific set of obligations that require ongoing operational work:
- Verify technical documentation exists. Before a product is placed on the market, the responsible person must confirm that the manufacturer has prepared the required technical documentation, including the EU Declaration of Conformity, test reports, risk assessments, and safety instructions.
- Ensure the product carries required information.This includes the product identifier, the manufacturer's details, and the responsible person's own name and contact information. If the product is too small for labeling, packaging or accompanying documentation must carry the information.
- Make documentation available to authorities. On request from a market surveillance authority, the responsible person must be able to produce the technical documentation in the language requested, typically within 10 working days. This includes the full evidence chain: certificates, test reports, risk assessments, and corrective action records.
- Cooperate with corrective measures. If a product is found to be non-compliant or presents a risk, the responsible person must take corrective action, which can include withdrawing the product from the market, recalling it from consumers, and notifying relevant authorities through the Safety Gate system.
- Maintain traceability records. The responsible person must keep records that allow identification of every economic operator in the supply chain, who supplied the product, and to whom it was supplied, for a period of 10 years.
Telden Product Service Desk
Need a system to manage responsible person documentation?
Build auditable compliance dossiers, per SKU, with evidence linked to source.
Options for non-EU sellers
If your business is not established in the EU, you cannot serve as the responsible person yourself. You have three practical options:
Option 1: Appoint an authorised representative
You can appoint an EU-based entity, a company, a service provider, or a law firm, to act as your authorised representative. This requires a written mandate specifying the products covered and the obligations assumed. The representative's name and contact details must appear on the product.
Several services specialise in this: EAS Project, GPSR Compliance Tool, and others offer EU representative packages. Prices typically range from €199 to €2,000 per year depending on catalog size and complexity.
Option 2: Work through an EU-based importer
If you sell to an EU-based distributor or retailer who imports the products, that importer becomes the responsible person. This is common in wholesale and white-label arrangements. The importer bears the obligations, but they will increasingly demand that you provide complete technical documentation before accepting your products.
Option 3: Establish an EU entity
For sellers with significant EU revenue, establishing a subsidiary or branch in an EU member state provides full control over the responsible person role. This is the most operationally demanding option but gives you direct ownership of the compliance process.
The documentation stack
Regardless of which entity serves as the responsible person, the same documentation must be available. Here is what you need per SKU:
Signed by manufacturer, listing applied standards and directives
From accredited laboratories, covering applicable safety standards
Identifying foreseeable misuse and associated safety measures
SKU, GTIN/EAN, model number, batch/lot code
Name, registered address, contact information
Name, address, contact, must appear on product/packaging
In the language(s) of the destination market(s)
Supplier and customer identification for 10-year retention
The challenge is not knowing what documents you need, the regulation is clear about that. The challenge is actually collecting them from suppliers, verifying they are current, linking them to specific SKUs, and producing them on demand when an authority asks. That is an operational problem, not a legal one.
Common mistakes
Based on how GPSR enforcement is playing out across EU marketplaces, these are the most frequent responsible person errors:
Using a generic address instead of a real contact
The responsible person must be contactable. A PO box or generic 'EU office' without a real entity behind it will not satisfy an authority inquiry.
Assuming your marketplace handles it
Amazon, eBay, and others may require responsible person information, but they do not act as your responsible person. The obligation remains with the seller or the seller's appointed entity.
Having documentation for the wrong product variant
A test report for model A does not cover model B, even if they look similar. Documentation must be specific to the SKU being sold, including the correct model number and specifications.
Not updating after supplier changes
When you switch suppliers, the responsible person's documentation must be updated. Old test reports and declarations from a previous manufacturer are no longer valid for new production runs.
Treating the appointment as one-time
An authorised representative appointment is ongoing. If your representative terminates the mandate, you lose your responsible person and your products cannot legally be on the EU market until a replacement is appointed.
How Telden helps
Telden does not act as your responsible person, it is software, not a legal entity. What it does is manage the operational layer that makes the responsible person's job possible:
- Per-SKU dossiers that link each product to its Declaration of Conformity, test reports, risk assessments, and safety instructions, with revision history and source tracking
- Entity tracking that records manufacturer, importer, and responsible person details for each product, so you always know who is listed and whether the information is current
- Gap detection that flags products missing required documentation before they reach the market
- Export on demand so when an authority requests documentation, you can produce the complete dossier in minutes, not days
- Audit trail that records every change, approval, and document update, giving your responsible person the evidence chain they need to demonstrate due diligence
The responsible person obligation is a legal requirement. The record-keeping that supports it is an operational challenge. Telden addresses the operational part.
Further reading
The GPSR compliance iceberg , what most sellers miss about the regulation's operational requirements
How to build a GPSR-ready product record , step-by-step guide to assembling per-SKU documentation
Marketplace enforcement is coming , how platforms are verifying responsible person information