Office of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives
15 U.S.C. § 2064 — Substantial product hazards
The reporting, notification and corrective-action provisions in federal law.
Product safety
A safety report, a recall and a legal claim are not the same thing
GuideWeSpeakLaw EditorialUpdated August 27, 2026Sources reviewed
Start with the exact product and the official record. Then separate what a company reported, what the CPSC decided and what remains unproven.
Verification ledger
Primary sources
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Duty to Report to CPSC
CPSC's explanation of business reporting and agency evaluation.
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Recalls & Product Safety Warnings
The current official recall and warning collection.
Identify the product before searching
Keep the product, packaging and instructions if it is safe to do so. Record the brand, model, serial or lot number, purchase information and the words on any warning label. Preserve photographs of the product and the setting where the event occurred without altering the item to make a point.
Exact identifiers matter because a recall can cover particular models, date ranges or units rather than every product sold under a familiar name.
What companies must report
Section 15 of the Consumer Product Safety Act requires covered manufacturers, distributors and retailers to inform the CPSC when specified information reasonably supports certain noncompliance, defect or serious-risk conclusions. The statute also defines the federal term “substantial product hazard.”
A company report begins an agency process; it is not automatically a recall. CPSC says many reports do not lead to corrective action after staff evaluation.
Read the recall notice itself
The CPSC's recall collection lets readers search official notices and warnings. A notice can identify the affected product, described hazard, units, remedy and company contact. Because remedy availability can change, use the current notice rather than an old screenshot or summary.
Match the model and date information carefully. A similar name or appearance is not enough to place an item inside a recall.
Keep the legal questions separate
An official report or recall can be important evidence of a federal safety action. It does not, by itself, prove that a product was defective under state law, caused a particular injury or makes a company liable for damages.
The product, its identifiers, the incident record, the official notice and the law that applies all have distinct roles. Keeping those roles separate makes the account more accurate and useful.
Corrections
Updated August 27, 2026. No corrections are recorded.