Counterfeit safety marks on chargers and appliances: what the CPSC is doing, and how to check a mark

The head of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) used a speech on October 28, 2026 to single out counterfeit safety certification marks. Speaking in Bangkok at an intellectual property crime conference organized by INTERPOL and UL Standards & Engagement, Acting Chairman Peter A. Feldman said counterfeiting is a public safety problem as well as a matter of intellectual property, and that it is increasingly tied to trade fraud and falsified compliance documents.

The counterfeit mark does not make the product safe. It makes the product appear safe.

Why the marks matter for electronics and appliances

In his remarks, Feldman used an electrical charger, a lithium-ion battery and a household appliance as examples. A shopper has little way to judge a product's electrical design, the quality of its parts or its risk of overheating, he said, so consumers and businesses lean on recognizable certification marks instead. A real mark copied onto an untested or noncompliant product, he said, leaves that reassurance worthless.

What the law says

Under section 19(a)(12) of the Consumer Product Safety Act, no one may sell, offer for sale, distribute or import a consumer product that carries a registered safety certification mark of an accredited conformity assessment body if they know, or should have known, that the mark is used without its owner's authorization.

In May 2026, the CPSC asked the public for information on counterfeit certification marks (docket CPSC-2026-0100; comments closed on July 6, 2026). Its questions included which products most often carry counterfeit marks and which marks are counterfeited most often, whether counterfeit marks are more common on e-commerce platforms than in retail stores, and whether some symbols are invented outright rather than copied from a real certification body. It asked certification bodies such as UL, ETL and CSA for real examples. The agency said it would use the answers to decide whether further action is appropriate.

In the speech, Feldman said each group involved brings something different: certification bodies hold technical information that can help tell real marks from fakes, customs authorities can spot suspicious shipments, and law enforcement can investigate those who make and distribute counterfeit goods. He said the CPSC is also examining how counterfeit marks connect with falsified testing records and deceptive import paperwork.

The October 28 announcement also pointed to the CPSC's electronic filing requirement for product compliance certificates, in place since July 2026, which gives investigators certificate data for regulated imports before they enter the US.

Which laboratories OSHA recognizes

In the US, OSHA recognizes private organizations as Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories (NRTLs) under a program built around its electrical standards for construction and general industry. Each NRTL has its own registered certification marks, and OSHA says a mark applied under the program means the laboratory tested and certified the product and that it meets one or more applicable product safety test standards.

A familiar mark is not the only legitimate one. Intertek, which certifies products under its ETL Listed Mark, says those products are tested to the same safety standards, such as UL, ANSI and CSA standards, as products carrying other NRTL marks; the difference is the laboratory, not the standard.

How to check a mark before you buy

• Look the product up. Intertek says its online Directory of Listed Products can be searched by manufacturer name, model name or number, or standard; the link is on Intertek's ETL Listed Mark page. CSA Group says all products carrying a CSA mark appear in its CSA Group Product Listing, which can be searched by product type, manufacturer or listing file number.
• Check the label itself. CSA Group's red flags include misspellings, errors or misprints on labels, tags, plates or packaging; prices that look too good to be true; obvious quality problems with the product or its packaging; and unknown sellers, online auctions, no-name stores or copycat e-commerce sites.
• Weigh the signs together. CSA Group says no single red flag proves a product is counterfeit, but several of them together warrant suspicion.
• Report it. CSA Group takes reports of suspected counterfeit CSA marks, and the CPSC takes reports of unsafe products at SaferProducts.gov.

Our guide to checking CPSC recalls before you buy a kitchen appliance shows how to look up a model's recall history.

What this guide cannot tell you

We could not open UL's own online certification tools for this guide, so it does not explain how to look up a UL mark. None of the sources we read gives a figure for how common counterfeit marks are; that is one of the questions the CPSC's May 2026 request put to the public.