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What is GPSR? The complete guide for Shopify sellers
By Karim El Achaq, founder of EUReady · Last updated: 6 July 2026
- The GPSR (Regulation (EU) 2023/988) is the EU's baseline product safety law, in force since 13 December 2024.
- It applies to every consumer product sold to EU buyers, including by non-EU stores shipping at a distance. No small-business exemption, no minimum volume.
- Every online listing must show, before purchase: manufacturer name, postal address and email, an EU responsible person for non-EU makers, product identification, and safety warnings in the buyer's language.
- The same information must also travel with the physical product, and you must keep traceability and technical documentation.
- Non-compliance means marketplace delisting first, then national fines and possible customs blocks.
What is the GPSR?
The General Product Safety Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2023/988, is the EU's baseline product safety law. It replaced the 2001 General Product Safety Directive and has applied since 13 December 2024. Its most visible change for e-commerce: the GPSR defines exactly what information an online product listing must show to EU consumers before they buy. Miss it and your products can be delisted, blocked at the border or fined.
Who has to comply with the GPSR?
Everyone who sells consumer products to people in the EU must comply with the GPSR. There is no small-business exemption and no minimum volume: one sale to one EU consumer is enough to be in scope, and the regulation covers new, used, repaired and handmade goods alike. In practice that means:
- EU-based stores, from large brands to single-person craft shops.
- Non-EU stores selling at a distance into the EU: a US, UK, Canadian or Australian Shopify store shipping to EU customers is fully in scope. Offering EU shipping and accepting EU orders counts as targeting the EU market.
- Sellers of new, used, repaired and handmade goods alike.
A few categories are excluded because they have their own regimes: medicines, food, feed, living plants and animals, aircraft, and antiques.
What information must every product listing display?
Article 19 of the GPSR requires each online offer to show four things before purchase: the manufacturer's identity, an EU responsible person when the maker is outside the EU, product identification, and warnings. The same information must also accompany the physical product, so your Shopify pages and your labels have to match.
- Manufacturer: name or trade name, postal address, and an electronic address (email).
- EU responsible person (when the manufacturer is outside the EU): name and contact details of the responsible economic operator established in the EU.
- Product identification: a picture, the type of product and any other identifier such as batch or serial number.
- Warnings and safety information: in a language easily understood by the consumers of the member state you sell to.
Categories with their own laws (toys, cosmetics, electronics) keep those obligations on top: the GPSR complements them, it does not replace them.
What traceability and documentation does the GPSR require?
Beyond the listing, the GPSR requires you to trace your supply chain and keep safety records. You must be able to identify who supplied you and who you supplied (business customers), keep technical documentation appropriate to the product's risks, and run an internal risk analysis for the products you place on the market.
If a product turns out to be dangerous, you are expected to notify authorities through the EU Safety Business Gateway and cooperate on recalls, which the GPSR also standardises (recall notices, remedies for consumers).
What happens if you ignore the GPSR?
Three consequences hit non-compliant sellers, fastest first: marketplaces delist offers that lack GPSR fields, national authorities can fine you, and customs can stop non-compliant parcels at the border. The listing gap is the one buyers and compliance bots see immediately.
- Marketplace delisting: Amazon, eBay and Etsy already require GPSR fields for EU listings and remove offers that lack them. This is currently the fastest, most common consequence.
- National fines: each member state sets its own penalties; several go up to 4% of annual turnover or fixed amounts in the tens of thousands of euros for serious cases.
- Border and platform blocks: customs and market surveillance authorities can stop non-compliant parcels; the EU's enforcement of distance sales has been tightening since 2025.
How do you comply with the GPSR on Shopify?
Complying on Shopify comes down to four steps: gather manufacturer information, appoint an EU responsible person if you are outside the EU, write category-specific warnings, and display all of it on every product page. Shopify has no native GPSR fields, so stores usually do this with metafields plus a theme block.
- Collect the manufacturer information for every product (yours, or your suppliers').
- Appoint an EU responsible person if you are outside the EU.
- Write the warnings that fit each product category, and translate them for your EU markets.
- Display all of it on every product page and keep it in sync with your labels.
Doing this manually for dozens or hundreds of products is exactly the kind of repetitive work that never gets finished. EUReady automates it: it scans your catalog, shows what is missing per product, fills the fields in bulk and displays a clean safety block on your product pages in English, French and German.
Check your store for free
EUReady scans every product in your Shopify store, shows you exactly what GPSR and EPR info is missing, and fills it in for you. Join the free beta and be first in line when we launch on the Shopify App Store.
No credit card. Founding members lock in 50% off for life.
Frequently asked questions
When did GPSR start applying?
13 December 2024. It applies to products placed on the EU market from that date, which for a web store effectively means every new sale.
Does GPSR apply to handmade products?
Yes, fully. Handmade, vintage and made-to-order products sold to EU consumers carry the same listing and traceability obligations as factory goods.
Does GPSR apply in the UK?
No, GPSR is EU law (it also applies in Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework, which is why UK sellers shipping there need to comply). Great Britain has its own product safety rules.
Is an email address really mandatory on the listing?
Yes, the regulation asks for a postal address and an electronic address for the manufacturer. A contact form alone is risky; show an email.
Official sources
This guide is general information for online sellers, based on publicly available EU legislation. It is not legal advice. Regulations evolve and national rules differ: for decisions that matter to your business, confirm with a qualified professional or the official sources linked above.