EU regulatory guide

CPSR, PIF and notification: the difference.

Three documents, constantly confused, never interchangeable. One is a signed safety assessment, one is a dossier, one is a filing. This page puts them side by side so you order the right thing in the right order.

The CPSR, PIF and notification documents laid out side by side on a regulatory desk

Reviewed by Cassandra Maddocks, chemist & biochemist · last reviewed 26 July 2026

What is the difference between the CPSR, the PIF and the notification?

The CPSR is the safety assessment, signed by a qualified assessor. The PIF is the complete technical dossier that contains the CPSR. The notification (CPNP in the EU, SCPN in Great Britain) is the filing your Responsible Person makes before sale. Assessment → dossier → filing, in that order.
The three documents compared
CPSR PIF Notification
What it isA safety assessment in two parts, Part A data and Part B conclusionThe complete technical dossier for the productAn online filing recording the product for authorities
Legal basisArticle 10 and Annex I, Reg. 1223/2009Article 11, Reg. 1223/2009Article 13 (CPNP); UK regime for SCPN
Who produces itA qualified safety assessor, who signs itAssembled for the Responsible PersonSubmitted by the Responsible Person only
Who sees itAuthorities, via the PIF, on requestAuthorities, on request at the RP's addressAuthorities and poison centres, via the portal
When it happensAfter testing, before the PIF is completeBefore notification; kept 10 years after last batchBefore the product is placed on the market
Typical CIG price$450 to $600 per productFixed price, see pricing$150 per product

Legal bases above sit in Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009; the EU filing runs through CPNP and the GB filing through the SCPN.

Article 10 of Regulation 1223/2009 on EUR-Lex with the safety assessment requirement highlighted
Article 10(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, the safety assessment duty, as published on EUR-Lex, consolidation of 1 May 2026 (02009R1223, EN, 040.001). Captured 26 July 2026. View the official text.

Why does the order matter?

Because each depends on the one before. The notification requires a complete PIF; the PIF requires a signed CPSR; the CPSR requires finished testing. Starting at the wrong end, trying to notify before the dossier exists, is the most common sequencing error brands make.

The practical sequence for a first EU product: testing, then the CPSR from its inputs, then PIF assembly, then notification, with the Responsible Person appointed early because everything downstream runs through that role.

Which one do I actually need to buy?

All three, per product, for the EU: they are stages of one obligation, not alternatives. Beware of offers that sell a "notification" without an assessment behind it: a filing without a compliant dossier creates a paper trail to a non-compliant product.

Bundling is the honest efficiency: our launch pack covers the CPSR, PIF and notification for one product at a fixed $1,500, detailed on the pricing page. For your specific range, request a quote.

Put this into practice

Order the right things, in order.

Want all three handled in order?

Our launch pack covers the CPSR, the PIF and the notification for one product at a fixed $1,500, sequenced correctly and signed by a qualified assessor.