EU Responsible Person for UK sellers
Since 13 December 2024, UK businesses selling consumer products to customers in the EU or Northern Ireland need an economic operator established there. Here is what that means in practice and how to set it up without overpaying.
By Margus Roosipuu, Founder · Published 14 October 2026
Why a UK address is no longer enough
The EU's General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) says a covered product cannot be placed on the EU market unless an economic operator established in the Union is responsible for it (Article 16(1)). Great Britain is outside the EU, so a manufacturer or seller based only in GB cannot fill that role for EU customers.
Northern Ireland is included. Under the Windsor Framework, Northern Ireland applies the GPSR, and the UK government's guidance says that for products sold on the Northern Ireland market there must be a responsible economic operator established in Northern Ireland or the EU. Many GB sellers who paused EU orders in December 2024 paused Northern Ireland orders for the same reason.
For most UK sellers who ship directly to consumers, that operator is an EU Responsible Person: an authorised representative appointed by a written mandate.
What changes on your products and listings
- Responsible person's details: name and contact details, including a postal and an email address, on the product or its packaging, the parcel or an accompanying document (Article 16(3)). A label on the parcel or a printed insert can be enough.
- Your own details as manufacturer: name and postal and electronic address on the product or, where that is not possible, on the packaging or an accompanying document (Article 9(6)).
- A product identifier: a type, batch or serial number or another element that identifies the product (Article 9(5)).
- Online listings: manufacturer details, the responsible person's details, product identification with a picture, and warnings or safety information (Article 19). See our marketplace listing checklist.
- A short risk analysis and technical documentation, kept for 10 years (Article 9(2)–(3)). For a simple, low-risk product this can be a few pages.
Amazon, Etsy, eBay and your own shop
The marketplaces collect these details in their own product safety fields, and listings without them can be blocked for EU and Northern Ireland buyers. On your own shop, the same information belongs on the product page. Selling on Etsy? Read our GPSR guide for Etsy sellers.
Keeping the cost proportionate
Ask how a responsible person service is priced: per product type, per product family or for your whole catalogue. Group similar products into families, restart with your best-selling lines and check what the price includes. Our guide Paused EU sales because of the GPSR? How to restart walks through it.
Why it is worth sorting out now
New EU rules Product Liability Directive: products placed on the EU market after 9 December 2026
Under the new Product Liability Directive, the authorised representative of a manufacturer outside the EU can be held liable for damage caused by a defective product. Representatives are looking more carefully at what they take on, so good documentation makes onboarding smoother. What the directive means for non-EU sellers.
How Legatia helps UK sellers
We check which rules apply to your products, review your documents and labels, prepare the details your listings need, and arrange your EU Responsible Person through a vetted EU partner. You deal with one contact, by email, and the scope and fee are agreed in writing first.
Official sources
- Regulation (EU) 2023/988 on general product safety (GPSR), Articles 9, 16 and 19.
- UK government: GPSR factsheet for Northern Ireland (updated 4 November 2025).