GPSR vs GPSD: what changed in 2024
GPSR replaced the old GPSD directive on 13 December 2024. The underlying safety bar is similar; what changed is who is on the hook and what a listing has to show.
Last reviewed 8 September 2026. Written by the Ariadne team from the regulation text and marketplace documentation. Not legal advice.
The repeal, word for word
Directives 87/357/EEC and 2001/95/EC are repealed with effect from 13 December 2024.
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. It shall apply from 13 December 2024. This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
GPSR is the direct successor to the General Product Safety Directive, 2001/95/EC, and to Directive 87/357/EEC on products dangerous because of their imitative form.
Regulation, not Directive
A Directive required each Member State to transpose it into national law, which produced real variation country to country. A Regulation is "binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States," per Article 52 above, with no national transposition step. This is a structural change in how the rule takes effect, separate from any change in the substance of the rule itself.
What is genuinely new for a seller
| Concept | Under the old GPSD | Under GPSR |
|---|---|---|
| Responsible Person | No equivalent for non-harmonised products | Article 16, borrowed from the Market Surveillance Regulation's Article 4 |
| Distance-sales listing disclosures | Not addressed | Article 19, four required items on every online offer |
| Online marketplace obligations | Not addressed | Article 22: takedown orders, notice processing, and the interface duty to collect the Article 19 items |
| Accident notification channel | Not formalised | Article 20, via the Safety Business Gateway |
| Recall notice content and consumer remedies | Not spelled out in comparable statutory detail | Articles 36-37, prescribed notice content and a choice of at least two remedies |
What stock already in the EU market keeps
Member States shall not impede the making available on the market of products covered by Directive 2001/95/EC which are in conformity with that Directive and which were placed on the market before 13 December 2024.
Article 51 is a narrow, one-sentence transitional rule for units that had already had their first supply into the EU market before the cutover date. It is not a blanket exemption for a product design that predates December 2024. See GPSR and stock from before December 2024 for the detail on how that applies to a new shipment of the same product.
Frequently asked
Is GPSR just a renamed version of GPSD?
No. It replaces GPSD and covers similar ground, but it adds several duties that had no equivalent before, the Responsible Person, the Article 19 distance-sales disclosure, and the Article 22 marketplace obligations chapter.
Did the general safety requirement itself change?
This guide focuses on what changed for sellers specifically. We have not sourced a detailed comparison of the general safety requirement's substance between the two texts and do not claim one here.
When exactly did GPSR take effect?
13 December 2024, per Article 52. The regulation entered into force earlier, twenty days after its Official Journal publication, but did not apply until that date.
Does GPSD still apply to anything?
Article 50(1) repeals it with effect from 13 December 2024. Article 51 preserves the making-available of specific units already placed on the market under it before that date.
Sources
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