PFAS product compliance problem?
We can help.
A retailer wants a PFAS declaration. A state agency sent a notice. A lab found fluorine. A supplier admitted a coating contains fluorinated chemistry. A filing deadline is already here. Your product needs PFAS for a function you cannot remove. Or you want to advertise that your product is now “PFAS-free”.
We are product safety lawyers who help manufacturers, importers, private-label brands, and marketplace sellers determine which PFAS rules apply, build the evidence to support a compliance position, and respond when a product is already at risk.
Which PFAS Compliance Problem Do You Have?
Their requirements may go beyond the law. We help determine what actually applies and what you should do.
State laws on PFAS are expanding at a rapid pace. States are sending enforcement notices. We can help you craft the right response.
A total-fluorine screen is a reason to investigate but it is not definitive proof of the presence of PFAS. PFAS testing is complex and nuanced.
You now have to determine what you are required to do. We can help you support your advertising and marketing claims around the presence or absence of PFAS compounds.
What must be filed and what you can say when the data is incomplete.
Some states allow a currently unavoidable use petition. The process starts before the ban date.
PFAS requirements vary by state, product, and situation. Whether you’re responding to a retailer, reviewing test results, dealing with a supplier disclosure, or facing a filing deadline, Neal Cohen Law can help determine what applies and build a defensible compliance position.
How do I determine if my product complies with PFAS requirements?
Product compliance around the presence of PFAS requires determining whether a product, component, coating, treatment, or packaging element falls within an applicable PFAS restriction, reporting requirement, labeling rule, or exemption, and then building the evidence to support the company’s compliance position. There are a number of different state-level requirements. And there is no single federal rule that answers that question nationwide. Obligations arise at the same time from state laws, EPA’s Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) authority, and private retailer policies, each with its own definitions, thresholds, and deadlines.
What to Do in the First 72 Hours After a PFAS Compliance Demand
Do not answer substantively yet.
Do not concede PFAS content, sign a certification, or volunteer test data before you know what was alleged and which specific PFAS definition is in play.
Preserve every document.
The demand, specifications, bills of materials, supplier declarations, safety data sheets, and test reports.
Identify what the claim actually rests on.
The defensible sequence is law, product, evidence gap, then test.
Map the obligation to the right authority.
State ban, state reporting rule, retailer policy, TSCA reporting, or marketing-claim exposure. Each has a different deadline and remedy.
Get consumer product safety counsel engaged.
An internal PFAS review is best conducted under attorney-client privilege.
Respond on the record, once, correctly.
The first substantive response becomes part of the file.
How We Help with PFAS Product Compliance
Which requirements apply, in every jurisdiction where the product is sold.
Turn “PFAS-free” declarations into a defensible record.
What to test, which method, and how to read the result under the governing rule.
Reporter status, reportable PFAS in articles, and disclosures to EPA.
Review before you sign, and before you advertise a PFAS removal.
Build the evidence a determination requires.
When testing reveals a potential violation or a regulator opens an investigation, we advise on your rights, reporting obligations, and how to engage constructively with regulators and their staff.
Who We Help with PFAS Compliance
What Makes PFAS Compliance Different from Other Product Rules
Apparel and textiles, outdoor gear, cookware, juvenile products, cosmetics, menstrual products, cleaning products, upholstered furniture, ski wax, and food packaging recur across state programs, and new categories are added on rolling schedules.
Most state laws regulate PFAS deliberately added for a functional or technical effect and treat incidental contamination differently. Some states also set concentration thresholds for contaminants. Counsel is necessary to determine how each product fits within each state’s framework.
EPA, OECD, and most state statutes define PFAS differently. A product can be PFAS-free under one definition and contain PFAS under another. A total-fluorine screen cannot tell you which.
PFAS Compliance Lawyers
Neal Cohen
- CPSC enforcement attorney
- Chief Counsel to the Director of the Office of Compliance
- The agency’s first Small Business Ombudsman, 2010 to 2016
- Created the CPSC Regulatory Robot, launched January 2016
Boaz Green
- Senior Counsel then Chief Counsel to a CPSC Commissioner, 2014 to 2018
- Commission-level review of enforcement and policy
- Previously practiced at Keller and Heckman
- Writes and speaks regularly on CPSC enforcement
PFAS Product Compliance: Frequently Asked Questions
What is PFAS?
PFAS stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a class of thousands of synthetic chemicals built on carbon-fluorine bonds. Those bonds make PFAS resistant to heat, water, oil, and stains, which is why they appear in nonstick cookware, water-repellent textiles, food packaging, cosmetics, and many coatings. The same bonds make them persistent in the environment and in the human body, which is why regulators have moved against them. For compliance purposes, the important point is that there is no single legal definition. EPA, the OECD, and each state statute draw the line differently, so a chemical can be “PFAS” under one program and not another. Which definition governs your product depends on where it is sold and which rule applies.
We removed PFAS from our products and we want to advertise it. What is the risk?
Removing PFAS and marketing the change can create its own, separate exposure if the claim you would like to make is greater than what you can prove. The FTC’s Green Guides address “free-of” and “non-toxic” environmental claims. Under Section 5 of the FTC Act, a “free-of” claim can be deceptive if the product contains a substitute substance that poses the same or similar risk, or if the substance was never in the product to begin with. Beyond the FTC, “PFAS-free” and “non-toxic” claims have driven large-scale consumer class actions when testing or a product’s own chemistry contradicted the label.
Before you advertise and market around the purported absence of PFAS in your product, you should definitely consult with a qualified attorney to make sure the claim matches your testing, your definition, and your actual formulation.
Does a PFAS test result trigger a CPSC report under Section 15(b)?
Usually not by itself because there is no current PFAS requirement for consumer products at the CPSC. There may be circumstances under which the presence of PFAS could trigger a safety concern but that would be a fact-specific legal question that should be analyzed under attorney-client privilege. See responding to a CPSC 15(b) letter.
Which state PFAS laws apply to us if we sell nationally?
Each state that has a law on PFAS may be applicable to your company if your company sells, distributes, or offers products for sale in those states. It depends on the product and the definition in each state.
There is currently no federal preemption of state PFAS consumer product laws. A company selling a product in all 50 states must comply with each applicable state PFAS restriction and reporting requirement, even where those requirements conflict with or exceed the requirements of other states. The practical approach is to identify the most restrictive applicable requirements and design the product, formulation, and compliance program to meet that standard. Where complete elimination of PFAS is not feasible, some state programs provide a currently unavoidable use (CUU) petition process that we can assist your company with.
Do state PFAS laws reach us if we only sell online, or if we import?
Yes to both. State PFAS rules generally turn on whether a product is manufactured, sold, offered for sale, or distributed in the state, and several programs expressly reach products sold into the state by online and direct-to-consumer sellers. Having no store, warehouse, or employee in a state does not take your product outside its rules. Importers face a second issue: under the pattern used in state statutes, when the foreign manufacturer or brand owner has no U.S. presence, the definition of “manufacturer” can reach the importer or first domestic distributor. If your company is the importer of record, you must ensure that PFAS compliance is specified at the product design stage and you must continually audit to ensure ongoing compliance.
What is the difference between a PFAS ban and a PFAS reporting requirement?
A ban prohibits the sale or distribution of products containing intentionally added PFAS above a specified threshold. A reporting requirement does not prohibit the product; it requires the manufacturer to notify the relevant state agency about the presence of PFAS, typically including chemical identity, concentration, and product information. Some states impose both obligations: for example, Minnesota requires both annual reporting and a ban that is phased in over time, ultimately culminating in a comprehensive prohibition effective January 1, 2032.
A retailer says our product violates its chemicals policy, or wants us to sign a PFAS certification. What now?
Read the policy against your actual product and your supplier documentation before you respond. Major retailers and marketplaces maintain published chemical policies that restrict intentionally added PFAS in some or all of their product lines, and those policies are enforced through delisting, not through government action. Reinstatement usually requires you to demonstrate compliance with the retailer’s specific standard, which may use a broader PFAS definition or a lower threshold than any law that applies to you. We help sellers respond to these demands, assemble the documentation the retailer needs, and get listings restored. See our Amazon and Marketplace Sellers page.
Can our products be detained at port over PFAS?
Not at this time. Because there is no federal PFAS rule for the CPSC or Customs to enforce at the border, the CPSC cannot ask Customs to detain a shipment that appears to contain PFAS. The EPA, however, does have some authority under TSCA for certain long-chain PFAS that reach some imported articles with surface coatings.
For most companies, the real PFAS risk is commercial and state-driven: a state sale ban that makes the goods unsalable in that market, or a retailer that will not accept them. If your shipment is being held for a different CPSC reason, see Products Detained at Port.
Can supplier certifications alone protect us?
No. A supplier’s declaration that a component is PFAS-free is useful evidence, but under the pattern of state PFAS statutes the legal responsibility to know what is in the product sits with the manufacturer or importer. You cannot delegate this responsibility away by contract. Suppliers may test to a different definition, test the wrong component, or simply be wrong. As the importer or manufacturer, you must include PFAS-free in your specification documents during the design stage. However, specifications are not enough. You must conduct due diligence. Certifications are one layer of a program that also includes a restricted substance list, supplier attestations tied to the correct PFAS definition, auditing suppliers, targeted testing where the risk warrants it, and documented due diligence. If a state enforces or a retailer delists a product, responding that “our supplier told us it didn’t have PFAS in it” is a weak argument and is unlikely to change the outcome.
What is a currently unavoidable use (CUU) exemption?
A currently unavoidable use (CUU) exemption is a state process that lets a product keep a specific PFAS use even after a ban takes effect, if the manufacturer can show the use is genuinely necessary for the product to function, that the use is critical for health, safety, or the functioning of society, and that there is no safer alternative reasonably available. CUU determinations are evaluated and granted on a per state basis by the relevant state agency, are typically time-limited, and require renewal, and a product covered by one may carry its own notification obligations. A CUU exemption is difficult to obtain, but for essential products with no viable substitute it can be the difference between staying on the market and exiting it.
How can we avoid the use of PFAS in our products?
Start upstream. PFAS enter most consumer products through coatings, treatments, and components supplied by someone else, so the work is in specifications and supplier controls rather than in your own factory. Write “no intentionally added PFAS” into product specifications and purchase agreements using the definition of the strictest state where you sell, require supplier declarations tied to that same definition, and obtain safety data sheets and material disclosures for every coating, treatment, and finish. For higher-risk components, confirm with targeted testing rather than a total-fluorine screen alone. Where a function cannot be achieved without PFAS, evaluate whether a currently unavoidable use determination is available in the states that offer one. Document each step, because if a regulator or retailer challenges the product later, the record of what you specified and verified is the defense.
Do we have to file under the TSCA PFAS reporting rule, and when?
Not yet. As of late 2026, TSCA PFAS reporting is not required. The submission window has not opened. EPA has delayed the start of the one-time submission period multiple times; the current start is set to 60 days after the effective date of a forthcoming EPA rule revising the reporting requirements, or a backstop date of January 31, 2027, whichever comes first. EPA has also proposed to narrow the scope, including a possible exemption for PFAS imported as part of an article and a low-concentration exemption, but those changes are proposed, not final.
Who will be responsible for reporting? The manufacturer for product manufactured domestically and the importer for product manufactured overseas.
What is the covered period? Presently, the rule is set to cover products manufactured or imported from 2011 through 2022.
Speak with product safety counsel first.