A certificate of conformance is a signed statement that a product meets a set of requirements. It comes in two kinds a small maker meets. For consumer products regulated by CPSC, it's a legal document: a Children's Product Certificate for anything made mainly for children 12 and under, based on third-party lab tests, or a General Certificate of Conformity for other products covered by a CPSC rule, and CPSC's rule sets what it must say. For business customers, it's often simpler: a statement that a shipment meets the customer's specification or purchase order. In the example below, a baby clothes maker fills in a Children's Product Certificate for its romper and keeps a register that shows one product's lab test is overdue. Below is what a CPSC certificate must carry, the two CPSC kinds, a customer's certificate, keeping them current, and a free template.
The short version
- A CPSC certificate covers one product and accompanies each shipment of it.
- Seven parts: the product and its identifier, each rule, the certifier, the record keeper, where and when made, where and when tested, and the attestation.
- Children's products: a Children's Product Certificate, based on tests by a CPSC-accepted third-party lab.
- Other products under a CPSC rule: a General Certificate of Conformity, based on a test or a reasonable testing program.
- A business customer's certificate of conformance says the shipment meets their spec or PO.
- Keep a register: which products, which tests, which lots, and when to retest.
- TaroStack keeps the lots and batch records a certificate points to. More below.
What a CPSC certificate must carry
CPSC's rule lists what a finished product certificate must contain (16 CFR 1110.11):
| Part | What it says |
|---|---|
| 1. The product | A unique identifier, such as a SKU, model number or UPC, and enough description to match it; lots may be added |
| 2. The rules | Each CPSC rule, ban, standard or regulation the product is certified to, listed separately |
| 3. The certifier | Name, street address, city, state, country, email and phone |
| 4. The record keeper | Who keeps the test records, with contact details; a position title is allowed |
| 5. Where and when made | Month and year at least, and the place of manufacture with contact details |
| 6. Where and when tested | The latest test date and place, with each lab's name and contact details |
| 7. The attestation | The certifier's signed statement, in the rule's wording |
Each certificate describes only one product, and it must accompany each product or shipment it covers (16 CFR 1110.13). The attestation's wording is set by the rule: the certifier certifies that the products comply with the rules stated, that the information is true and accurate, and acknowledges that a knowingly false statement is a federal crime. The template uses that wording.
Children's Product Certificate or General Certificate of Conformity
Products designed or intended mainly for children 12 and under are children's products: they must be tested by a third-party lab and covered by a Children's Product Certificate (CPSC). Other consumer products covered by a CPSC rule, a mattress or a bicycle helmet among them, must be tested or covered by a reasonable testing program and have a General Certificate of Conformity (CPSC). Which rules apply depends on the product, so start from CPSC's guidance for your product type or ask an accepted lab; the certificate then lists exactly those rules.
A worked example
Federal Hill Baby, a made-up children's clothing maker in Providence, Rhode Island, I use in these examples, fills in a Children's Product Certificate for its romper: the product with its SKU and lots, the rules it was tested to, the business as certifier and record keeper, October 2026 in Providence as the date and place of manufacture, the lab and its report number from September's tests, and the attestation. Its register shows the swaddle's test from May 2025 is past its 12-month retest:
| Product | Certificate | Test report | Tested | Retest by | Lots | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baby romper | Children's Product Certificate | R-0912 | 2026-09-12 | 2027-09-12 | 2610-01 to 2610-04 | |
| Bib set of three | Children's Product Certificate | R-0913 | 2026-09-12 | 2027-09-12 | 2610-02 | |
| Muslin swaddle | Children's Product Certificate | R-0511 | 2025-05-11 | 2026-05-11 | 2605-01 to 2609-03 | Overdue |
The lots column ties each certificate to the batches it covers, which is the same lot number the product's tracking label carries. How a batch record holds that trail is in what is a batch record.
A customer's certificate of conformance
A business customer, a distributor or a manufacturer you supply, may ask for a certificate of conformance with each shipment: a signed statement that the goods meet their specification or purchase order, with the PO number, the product, the lot and the quantity, sometimes with test results attached. It isn't a CPSC certificate, and the customer's own requirements decide what it says. A product specification sheet usually sits behind it; what goes on one is in product specification sheet, and supplier test certificates are covered in certificate of analysis tracking. This is general information, not legal advice.
Get the template
Download the certificate of conformance template. Two sheets: a certificate with the seven parts CPSC's rule asks for and the rule's attestation wording, filled in for one product, ready to adapt and sign; and a register of every product's certificate, the rules cited, the test report and date, the retest interval, the lots covered, and which are overdue or due within 60 days. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
Twelve products, each with a certificate, a lab report and a retest date, lots changing every week, and retailers asking which certificate covers the lot they received. A register shows the paperwork; it can't say which lots a fabric from a failed test went into, or which stores got them.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps the lots and batch records a certificate points to. Plainly: it doesn't write certificates or decide which rules apply; the template and a lab do that.
Batches with their lots. Recording a batch takes its materials off stock from the lots used and notes the lots automatically, and the finished goods go into a lot, the number a certificate and a tracking label carry.
Batch record forms. Your own fields, such as the test report that covers each material, with sign-off, are filled in as the batch is made.
And the trail. One report walks a material's lot to every batch and every customer, so a failed test or a recall is a list, not a search.
| The job | Spreadsheet | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Lots a certificate covers | Typed in | The batches' lots |
| Test report for each material | A folder | Batch record fields, signed off |
| Which stores got a lot? | Read the invoices | One report, lot to customer |
| The certificate itself | This template | This template |
Lots, recalls, recipes, batches and batch record forms are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.