The Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), as amended by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), mandates that certain consumer products must comply with applicable CPSC requirements. On December 15, 2010, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) voted unanimously to approve new mandatory standards for full-size baby cribs (16 C.F.R. part 1219) and non-full-size baby cribs (16 C.F.R. part 1220). The new mandatory crib standards impose significant requirements on full-size and non-full-size cribs. The rule provides two compliance dates.
- Effective June 28, 2011, cribs offered for sale, contracted to sell or resell, manufactured, offered, provided for use, or otherwise placed in the stream of U.S. commerce must comply with the new federal crib standards.
- Effective December 28, 2012, the cribs that child care facilities, family child care homes, and places of public accommodation affecting commerce, provide for use must comply with current CPSC crib standards.
Manufacturers and importers of cribs must certify in a Children's Product Certificate that the cribs comply with the standard and the additional requirements after the cribs have been tested for compliance at a CPSC-accepted, third party laboratory. These requirements are reviewed in greater detail at www.cpsc.gov/cpsia.
A full-size crib is a bed that: (1) is designed to provide sleeping accommodations for an infant; (2) is intended for use in the home, in a child care facility, in a family child care home, or in places of public accommodation affecting commerce; and (3) that has interior dimensions of 28 ± 5/8 inches (71 ± 1.6 centimeters) in width x 52 3/8 ± 5/8 inches (133 ± 1.6 centimeters) in length.
For information about non-full-size baby cribs, click here.
The standard seeks to prevent the risk of deaths and injuries from falls or entrapment due to parts failure, dislodgment, or poor maintenance or assembly of the crib.
The standard is published in the Code of Federal Regulations at 16 CFR Part 1219. The standard incorporates by reference ASTM F1169-19. The specific requirements and descriptions of the tests for full-size cribs are in ASTM F1169-19 with no modifications, which can be purchased from ASTM.
To prevent head entrapment and suffocation between the mattress and crib sides, a mattress used in a full-size crib must be at least 27 1/4 inches x 51 1/4 inches, with a thickness not exceeding 6 inches. The assembly instructions, the retail carton for the crib, and the crib itself must contain a specific warning statement that notes these dimensions.
Crib mattresses are not covered by the full-size crib standard. However, crib mattresses are subject to the mattress flammability testing requirements of 16 CFR Part 1632 and 16 CFR Part 1633. In addition, there is a voluntary standard for crib mattresses, ASTM F2933. For more information on these requirements please see the Mattress Flammability Information Guidance page.
Additionally, crib mattresses are categorized as child care articles that facilitate sleeping for children under age 3; therefore, they are subject to limits on certain phthalates and require testing and certification to those limits on plasticized component parts of the crib mattress pursuant to 15 USC §2057c. For more information on the phthalates requirements, please see our Phthalates Guidance page. In addition, crib mattresses are also subject to the lead content and lead surface coating limits of 100 ppm and 90 ppm, respectively. For more information on these requirements, please see our Total Lead Content Guidance and Lead in Paint Guidance pages.
Crib mattresses, including those sold separately from a full-size crib, are children’s products that would additionally need permanent tracking information on the mattress and its packaging, including the (1) name of the manufacturer or private label, (2) the location and date of manufacture, (3) detailed information on the manufacturing process, such as a batch or run number, and (4) any other information to facilitate ascertaining the specific source of the product.
The standard prohibits traditional drop sides and has stringent requirements for various parts of the crib, such as mattress supports, slats, and hardware. More specifically, the principal requirements for full-size cribs include:
- Dynamic impact testing of the mattress support system - intended to address incidents involving collapse or failure of mattress support systems;
- Impact testing of side rails and slat strength/integrity testing - intended to prevent slats and spindles from breaking and/or detaching during use;
- Mattress support system testing - intended to ensure that the mattress support does not become detached from the frame, potentially resulting in a fall;
- Latching mechanism tests - intended to ensure that latching and locking mechanisms work as intended, preventing unintended folding while in use;
- Crib side configurations - intended, in part, to limit movable (drop) sides; addresses the numerous incidents related to drop-side failures;
- Label requirements - cover numerous hazards, such as falls from the crib, suffocation on soft bedding, and strangulation on strings and cords;
- Openings requirement for mattress support systems - addresses gaps in the mattress support system to reduce the possibility of entrapment;
- Requirements for wood screws and other fasteners - eliminates the use of wood screws that serve as the primary method of attachment on key structural elements; also includes other fastener requirements to address incidents related to loose hardware and poor structural integrity;
- Cyclic testing - addresses incidents involving hardware loosening and poor structural integrity;
- Improper assembly issues - addresses the need to make it impossible to improperly assemble key elements or that those elements have markings that make it obvious when they have been assembled improperly;
- Test requirement for accessories - intended to address any cribs that now, or may in the future, include accessories, such as bassinets or changing tables;
- Component spacing - intended to prevent child entrapment between uniformly and non-uniformly spaced components, such as slats.
The CPSC strongly encourages resellers to search the online Recall List to ensure cribs for resale were not part of an earlier recall.
For cribs manufactured before June 28, 2011, when new retroactive safety regulations were issued for full-size cribs, unless the seller has written proof that the crib meets the standard above, retailers should destroy any full-size crib (with or without drop sides) and should not resell it. For cribs manufactured after June 28, 2011, assemble and make sure that the cribs have all component parts, including all screws and hardware.
You can find out more information on this and other resale topics by visiting our Resellers Guide.
Full-size cribs manufactured, sold, resold, leased or otherwise placed in the stream of commerce must meet all requirements of the full-size crib standard. Additionally, full-size cribs provided for use at child care centers, family child care homes, and places of public accommodation (such as hotels and motels) must meet the full-size crib standard requirements. Enforcement guidance was issued in 2011 describing obligations of child care providers to meet the 2010 updates to the standard. Cribs that are medical devices, as determined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, are not subject to the CPSC's full-size crib standard.
Full-size cribs are subject to surface coating requirements, lead and phthalate content limits, third party testing and certification, registration cards, and tracking label requirements. These requirements are discussed below:
- Surface Coating Limit: Full-size cribs may not be painted with paint that contains more than 0.009 percent lead.
- Lead Content Limit: Full-size cribs cannot contain greater than 100 ppm (0.01 percent) of total lead content in any accessible component part.
- Phthalate Content Limits: Plasticized components of full-size cribs must not contain more than 0.1 percent of the following eight specified phthalates: di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), diisononyl phthalate (DINP), diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP), di-n-pentyl phthalate (DPENP), di-n-hexyl phthalate (DHEXP), and dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP).
- Testing and Certification: Full-size cribs, like all products that are designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger, must be tested by an accredited third party laboratory accepted by the CPSC for compliance with the full-size crib standard and all other applicable children's product safety rules, including the lead paint, lead content, and phthalate content limits. Based on that testing, a domestic manufacturer (or importer) of full-size cribs must issue a Children's Product Certificate specifying each applicable rule and indicating that the product complies with those rules.
- Product and Outer Package Labeling Requirements: Durable infant or toddler products, such as full-size cribs, must be permanently marked with specific labeling information, including tracking labels, on the product and on the packaging.
- Product Registration Card Requirement: In addition, durable infant or toddler products are required to have additional product markings and a product registration card attached to the product. This chart summarizes the specific labeling and registration requirements that durable infant and toddler products must meet.
To the extent that the information required to be marked on the product (by the tracking label requirement and the registration card rule) is duplicative, you may combine the markings on the product to satisfy both requirements. Note that the tracking label requirement must also be included on the product's packaging.
- Determine the manufacture date based on the tracking label on the crib or the registration form supplied. For purposes of enforcing in child care facilities and family child care homes, we will presume that cribs manufactured on or after June 28, 2011 comply.
- If the tracking label or registration form on the crib indicates that the crib was manufactured after June 28, 2011, no additional documentation is necessary to determine compliance with 16 C.F.R. part 1219 or 16 C.F.R. part 1220.
- If the crib was manufactured prior to June 28, 2011, a Children’s Product Certificate (CPC) or test report from a CPSC-accepted third party lab is the preferred way to demonstrate compliance with 16 C.F.R. part 1219 or 16 C.F.R. part 1220. While manufacturers, importers, and retailers are not required to supply CPCs or test reports to consumers, many will provide these documents to consumers upon request, or they post them on their websites.
- If the crib does not have a tracking label or registration form affixed to it:
- If the crib was purchased prior to June 28, 2011, and does not have a tracking label or registration form, it is unlikely that it has been certified as being compliant with current CPSC crib standards. However, consumers may contact the manufacturer or retailer to determine which, if any, standard to which the crib has been certified.
- If the crib was purchased after June 28, 2011, and it does not have a tracking label or registration form, contact the CPSC’s Office of Compliance and Field Operations at jjirgl@cpsc.gov. Compliance staff will use this information when following up with the manufacturer or importer.
- Receipts alone are not an indicator of compliance and should only be used to support the documents identified above when determining compliance.
Registration form means a postage-paid consumer registration form provided by the manufacturer with each product. Registration forms must identify the manufacturer’s name and contact information, model name, model number, and the date of manufacture.
The Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), as amended by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), mandates that certain consumer products must comply with applicable CPSC requirements. On December 15, 2010, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) voted unanimously to approve new mandatory standards for full-size baby cribs (16 C.F.R. part 1219) and non-full-size baby cribs (16 C.F.R. part 1220). The new mandatory crib standards impose significant requirements on full-size and non-full-size cribs. The rule provides two compliance dates.
- Effective June 28, 2011, cribs offered for sale, contracted to sell or resell, manufactured, offered, provided for use, or otherwise placed in the stream of U.S. commerce must comply with the new federal crib standards.
- Effective December 28, 2012, the cribs that child care facilities, family child care homes, and places of public accommodation affecting commerce, provide for use must comply with current CPSC crib standards.
The CPSC has received questions asking how to determine whether a particular crib is compliant with the applicable CPSC standard, as well as what documentation would be acceptable to CPSC to demonstrate compliance. Below are the guidelines to follow in order to determine whether a crib complies with current CPSC crib standards:
- Determine the manufacture date based on the tracking label on the crib or the registration form supplied. For purposes of enforcing in child care facilities and family child care homes, we will presume that cribs manufactured on or after June 28, 2011 comply.
- If the tracking label or registration form on the crib indicates that the crib was manufactured after June 28, 2011, no additional documentation is necessary to determine compliance with 16 C.F.R. part 1219 or 16 C.F.R. part 1220.
- If the crib was manufactured prior to June 28, 2011, a Children’s Product Certificate (CPC) or test report from a CPSC-accepted third party lab is the preferred way to demonstrate compliance with 16 C.F.R. part 1219 or 16 C.F.R. part 1220. While manufacturers, importers, and retailers are not required to supply CPCs or test reports to consumers, many will provide these documents to consumers upon request, or they post them on their websites.
- If the crib does not have a tracking label or registration form affixed to it:
- If the crib was purchased prior to June 28, 2011, and does not have a tracking label or registration form, it is unlikely that it has been certified as being compliant with current CPSC crib standards. However, consumers may contact the manufacturer or retailer to determine which, if any, standard to which the crib has been certified.
- If the crib was purchased after June 28, 2011, and it does not have a tracking label or registration form, contact the CPSC’s Office of Compliance and Field Operations at jjirgl@cpsc.gov. Compliance staff will use this information when following up with the manufacturer or importer.
- Receipts alone are not an indicator of compliance and should only be used to support the documents identified above when determining compliance.
Definitions
Registration form means a postage-paid consumer registration form provided by the manufacturer with each product. Registration forms must identify the manufacturer’s name and contact information, model name, model number, and the date of manufacture.
Tracking label means a permanent, distinguishing mark on the product and its packaging, to the extent practicable, which must contain certain basic information, including the source of the product, the date of manufacture, and cohort information, such as batch or run number.
Children’s Product Certificate (CPC) means a certificate provided by the manufacturer or importer to the retailer or distributor of a children’s product. The certificate must accompany the product through commerce and be provided to the retailer or distributor. The CPC certifies that such children’s product complies with applicable children’s product safety rule(s) based on the testing by a third party conformity assessment body accredited and accepted by the Commission to conduct such tests and identifies: the product covered by the certificate; the safety regulation to which the product is being certified; the importer or domestic manufacturer; contact information for the individual maintaining records of test results; date and place where the product was manufactured; date and place where the product was tested; and identification of the third party laboratory on whose testing the certificate depends.