Overview

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) requires sellers of toys and games intended for children aged 12 and under to display specific choking hazard warnings on product packaging and in online advertisements. For Amazon sellers, this means every applicable product detail page must include the correct cautionary statement. Failing to comply can put your listings at risk and expose you to regulatory liability.

Key Points / What Sellers Need to Know

• Legal requirement, not optional — CPSIA mandates that choking hazard warnings appear on internet advertisements, which includes your Amazon product detail pages. This applies regardless of which category your product is listed in.
• Seller responsibility to determine applicability — Amazon will not determine whether your product needs a warning. You must check with your manufacturer or review your product packaging to identify the correct choking hazard classification.
• Six specific warning types exist — There are exactly six standardized cautionary statements defined under CPSIA, each addressing a different choking hazard scenario such as small parts, small balls, marbles, and balloons.
• Up to four warnings per product — You can apply a maximum of four cautionary statements to a single listing. In practice, most products will need only one or two, since overlapping warnings (like "is a small ball" and "contains a small ball") would not apply to the same item simultaneously.
• Warnings display prominently — Once applied, the cautionary statement appears in a yellow warning box above the product description section on your detail page, making it highly visible to shoppers.

The Six CPSIA Choking Hazard Warnings

Amazon recognizes six standardized cautionary statements that may apply to children's toys and games. The first warns about small parts and states the product is not suitable for children under three years. The second and third relate to small balls — one for products that are a small ball, another for products that contain a small ball, both flagged as inappropriate for children under three. The fourth warning addresses balloons specifically, noting that children under eight years can choke or suffocate on uninflated or broken balloons, and it requires adult supervision along with instructions to keep uninflated balloons away from children and discard broken ones immediately. The fifth and sixth warnings cover marbles, distinguishing between products that are a marble and those that contain a marble, again cautioning they are not for children under three years.