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Children's Folding Chairs and Children's Folding Stools Business Guidance

Section 104(b)(1) of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 requires the CPSC to promulgate rulemaking for durable infant or toddler products. Implementing that Congressional instruction, CPSC published in the Federal Register (82 FR 59505) a final rule codifies the regulation for children's folding chairs and children's folding stools at 16 C.F.R. part 1232 and incorporates by reference ASTM F2613, with any modifications by CPSC. 16 C.F.R. § 1232.2 identifies the latest Commission-accepted version of ASTM F2613 that is mandatory as well as any modifications. See the “Previous Versions of the Standard” section below for effective dates.

A children’s folding chair is seating furniture, which can be folded for transport or storage, with a rigid frame that is intended to be used as a support for the body, limbs, or feet or a child when sitting or resting in an upright or reclining position.

A children’s folding stool is a children’s chair without a back or armrests, which can be folded for transport or storage.

The requirements for children's folding chairs and children's folding stools are as follows:

  • General requirements
  • Performance requirements
    • Locking mechanism test
    • Permanency of labels and warnings
    • Removal of protective components
    • Static load and fatigue testing
    • Stability test method
    • Latching and locking mechanism

Read-only copies of ASTM standards that are incorporated by reference can be viewed at ASTM’s electronic Reading Room.

Labeling

Per 16 C.F.R. § 1130.4, the following information must be permanently affixed to durable infant or toddler products in English:

  • Name of manufacturer or importer
  • Contact information (must include US address and phone number, toll-free if available)
  • Model name/number
    • Product identification number may be used as an identifying feature instead
  • Date of manufacture
    • Date must be at least month and year, and it can be stated in code form

This labeling requirement is in addition to the tracking label requirement for children’s products. This page summarizes the labeling requirements for durable infant or toddler products.

Registration Form

Product registration forms are required for all durable infant and toddler products to enable the manufacturer or retailer of the product to contact consumers with recall or other safety information. For more information, visit our registration forms business guidance page.

Previous Version of the Standard

15 U.S.C. § 2056a(b)(4)(B) requires the CPSC to evaluate any updates to an incorporated ASTM standard for durable infant or toddler products to determine whether the revised standard improves the safety of the product. Firms must ensure that the product is tested to the Commission-accepted version of ASTM F2613 depending on its date of manufacture:

Manufactured after...Must meet...
August 21, 2021ASTM F2613-21
June 15, 2018ASTM F2613-17a

Certification

Section 14(a) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) requires manufacturers and importers of children’s products subject to a regulation, standard, or ban enforced by the CPSC to certify that those products meet the requirements of the standard by issuing a Children’s Product Certificate (CPC). For children's folding chairs and children's folding stools, the citation to use in section 2 of the CPC is “16 CFR part 1232 — Children's folding chairs and children's folding stools”.

For more information on certification, visit our CPC business guidance page.

Additional Information

Contact

For more information, please contact the Small Business Ombudsman (SBO) team:

Report an unsafe product