Navigating EPA’s New Direction on PFAS Reporting: Key Updates for Consumer Product Manufacturers

On November 13, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed significant amendments to the October 2023 final rule for PFAS reporting under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8(a)(7). If codified, these modifications would substantially reduce the regulatory burden for covered entities, particularly for manufacturers and importers of consumer products, small entities, and companies that manufacture or import products and formulations that might contain only trace levels of PFAS.

The proposed changes will considerably ease the reporting burden for consumer product manufacturers, for whom the feasibility of comprehensive reporting on imported articles presents a significant challenge. Consumer product makers are already facing a host of other evolving state-based bans and restrictions on intentionally-added PFAS when present in expansive categories of covered products. EPA appears poised to provide relief from many of the reporting requirements included in the current (2023 edition) of the TSCA reporting rule. Notable proposed exemptions that will benefit consumer product manufacturers, but were absent in the original rule, include:

• Exemption for Imported Articles: Crucially, EPA is proposing to completely exempt reporting on PFAS that is imported as part of an article. This eliminates the massive challenge consumer product makers would face in tracing minimal PFAS content within complex finished consumer products imported between 2011 and 2022.
• De Minimis Concentration Exemption: A concentration threshold of 0.1% or lower for PFAS in mixtures or products also would be exempt from reporting.
• Other Exemptions: The proposal also includes exemptions for PFAS that are impurities, certain byproducts, R&D chemicals manufactured in small quantities, and non-isolated intermediates.

The proposed amendments will align the PFAS rule more closely with other standard TSCA reporting requirements to which consumer product manufacturers generally are not subject, such as the Chemical Data Reporting rule.

In addition, the original reporting window, which had already been delayed, is now proposed to be shifted again. The new submission period will open 60 days after the effective date of the final rule, for a period of three months.

Read our November 2025 Advisory for a broader analysis of the proposed rule.

What Remains Unchanged?

The fundamental aspects of the original rule, besides the newly proposed exemptions, largely remain intact. The requirement to report on PFAS manufactured or imported at any time between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2022, remains in place. In addition, covered companies must continue to exercise due diligence to locate and report existing test data and studies concerning PFAS that is known or reasonably ascertainable within their organization and through reasonable inquiry to suppliers or customers.

Next Steps for Manufacturers

Regardless of these new exemptions from EPA, consumer product manufacturers should continue to focus on preparing for meeting PFAS-in-products reporting obligations in various states (and in some states, complete product prohibitions).

Products that may already be covered by state PFAS-in-product laws, despite these proposed federal revisions, can include:

The proposed changes that EPA may make to its PFAS reporting rule are not yet finalized and are subject to a public comment period that remains open until December 29, 2025. This comment period presents an opportunity for advocacy with EPA and for states to further harmonize their PFAS-related obligations. Consumer product manufacturers should review their potential reporting obligations based on these proposed exemptions and consider submitting comments to EPA, with the support and guidance of counsel, through the official rulemaking docket at Regulations.gov (Docket ID: EPA-HQ-OPPT-2020-0549).

© Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP 2025 All Rights Reserved. This Blog post is intended to be a general summary of the law and does not constitute legal advice. You should consult with counsel to determine applicable legal requirements in a specific fact situation.