Product Regulation and Metrology Act receives Royal Assent

On 21 July 2025, The Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025 (the “PRMA 2025”) received Royal Assent, granting the Government wide powers to overhaul the UK’s product safety regime to address factors including modern safety issues (such as those stemming from online marketplaces and upcycling), the move towards net zero, the use of artificial intelligence and other technological developments.

Pursuant to Sections 1 and 2 PRMA 2015, the Secretary of State may introduce regulations to:

• Reduce or mitigate risks presented by products; and,
• Ensure that products operate efficiently or effectively; and,
• Ensure that products designed for weighing or measuring operate accurately.

The regulations can impose requirements in relation to various aspects of product safety, including; production, components (whether tangible or intangible), composition, installation, use, marking and marketing, as well as the provision of information to product users and regulatory authorities, the investigation of complaints, and the enforcement of product regulations.

The precise implications of the PRMA will depend heavily on the content of the Secretary of State’s regulations and the impact will only become apparent once that secondary legislation has been drafted and implemented.

In the meantime, the PRMA’s accompanying Code of Conduct provides some indication as to the likely approach, clarifying that:

• Regulation should be seen as a last resort where non-legislative options are either not appropriate or have not worked.
• Essential safety requirements can be amended to take into account risk stemming from potential and actual modifications to products e.g. modification kits, which allow consumers to convert pedal bikes into e-bikes.
• Where products are upcycled or refurbished to reduce waste, it is important to identify risk to end users and decide whether additional labelling and regulation is required.
• It is important that products at the end of their lifecycle can be disposed of in a safe and sustainable way. Policy makers should, however, be aware of the potential safety risks associated with the recycling and disposal of some products (e.g. new battery technologies) and regulate accordingly.
• When imposing regulations in relation to the recycling and disposal of products, policy makers must consider any safety risk associated with such processes.
• Where new criminal offences are created, the maximum term of imprisonment will be two years where the offender is convicted on indictment. Most proceedings will, however, be summary proceedings and subject to a maximum custodial sentence of 3 months. Any new criminal offences will be subject to the affirmative procedure, meaning that they must be actively approved by Parliament.

The PRMA and the accompanying Code of Conduct are available here:

1. Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025
2. Product safety: checks and balances on developing policy and legislation - GOV.UK

Potentially affected businesses should continue to monitor developments but in the meantime, existing laws like the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 will continue to apply. Please contact Peter Barnes or Charlotte Kelly if you would like to discuss this further.