Which products from China need FCC, FDA or CPSC paperwork?

Electronics that emit radio waves need an FCC authorization before they are sold or imported to sell; food, anything that touches food, cosmetics and medical devices answer to the FDA; children’s products need a Children’s Product Certificate based on lab tests. Rabbit buys on 1688 and checks your goods by photo, which is not a lab test: the paperwork stays yours.

By Hussayn Delli, founder of Rabbit · Updated November 9, 2026.

The steps to resell in the US, and what you pay at customs: how to resell products from China in the US. This page is about the other paperwork: the one a product needs because of what it is.

Which products need FCC authorization?

Radio frequency devices: anything that emits radio waves, on purpose or as a side effect of its electronics. Under FCC rules, no one may market such a device unless it has a valid FCC equipment authorization. “Marketing” includes selling, advertising, and importing to sell. It also includes listing the device on an online marketplace combined with warehousing, order processing, packaging or fulfillment.

There are two procedures, and the device’s type decides which one applies:

• Certification: the FCC, or a body it authorizes, grants it on test data. The device then carries its FCC ID, also shown in online listings.
• Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity: a responsible party has the device tested and declares it compliant. That party must be in the US, and for an imported device it is the importer, unless a retailer or brand takes it over by agreement.

A device can be imported in other cases too, for testing, trade shows or re-export, but not to sell without authorization. Before you order a batch of anything wireless or electronic, ask the seller for the FCC ID or the test report, and check it.

Which products answer to the FDA?

The FDA lists what it regulates at import: food for people, dietary supplements included; drugs; medical devices; radiation-emitting electronic products; cosmetics; animal food; tobacco. An imported product must meet the same requirements as one made in the US, and the FDA screens imports electronically before they enter.

What does food, or anything that touches food, need?

• Food: you can import it without prior FDA approval, as long as the facilities that make, store or handle it are registered with the FDA, and the FDA gets prior notice of each shipment.
• Anything that touches food (packaging, containers, kitchen and food-processing items): a substance that comes into contact with food and is a food additive must be authorized, by a food contact notification, a food additive regulation, or a threshold of regulation exemption. Ask the seller which authorization covers the material your product is made of.

What do cosmetics need?

Since the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022, the facilities that make or process cosmetics must register with the FDA and renew every two years. A “responsible person”, the manufacturer, packer or distributor whose name is on the label, must list each cosmetic product with the FDA and report serious adverse events. If your name goes on the label, that person is you.

What do medical devices and radiation-emitting products need?

• Medical devices (bandages and contact lenses are among the FDA’s own examples): the foreign maker registers and lists the device with the FDA and names a US agent, and the device needs a premarket notification or approval unless it is exempt. The initial importer has its own obligations, registration included.
• Radiation-emitting electronic products subject to a performance standard: the importer sends the FDA a written declaration with the entry.

What do children’s products need from the CPSC?

A children’s product is a consumer product designed or intended mainly for children 12 or younger. When a children’s product safety rule applies to it, its importer must issue a Children’s Product Certificate, based on tests by a third-party laboratory accepted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The importer of a general-use product covered by a CPSC rule issues a General Certificate of Conformity instead. Since July 8, 2026, importers of most regulated consumer products must also file their certificates electronically with US Customs and Border Protection. Ask for the lab report before you order the batch, not after.

What does Rabbit check, and what doesn’t it?

• A visual check, not a lab test. Every order is opened at Rabbit’s warehouse in China and photographed before it ships. That check verifies what you can see: the product, the quantity, the variant, the visible condition. Rabbit’s terms say it is not a certification, a lab test or a check against a technical standard.
• No FCC, FDA or CPSC check. Rabbit doesn’t verify an FCC ID, an FDA registration or a children’s product certificate. You remain responsible for the products you put on the US market.
• The US list leaves some families out. The 436 products of Rabbit’s US list, checked on October 31, 2026, exclude food, health products and cosmetics. They still include 37 tech products, 88 toys and products for babies and kids, and 28 kitchen products: the rules above can apply to them. What that list is: what sells in the US from 1688.
• Some products Rabbit won’t show your assistant or put in your store, such as weapons, alcohol, medicines, vapes or counterfeits. That filter reads product names: it is a barrier, not a compliance check.

For your exact situation: your accountant or a customs broker.