Business Guidance FAQ

Reese’s Law applies to “button cell or coin batteries” and defines that term as any single cell battery with a diameter greater than the height of the battery. This means Reese’s Law applies to all batteries that fit those dimensional requirements irrespective of technology used (lithium-ion, zinc and manganese dioxide, etc.) Reese’s Law also states that CPSC can make the determination that Reese’s Law applies to other batteries which pose an ingestion hazard but falls outside the above definition. No such determinations have been made at this time.

For more information, visit our Button Cell and Coin Battery Business Guidance Page.

Button cell or coin batteries manufactured or imported after February 12, 2023, must meet the packaging requirements under Section 3 of Reese’s Law. Section 3 of the law requires button cell or coin batteries to be distributed in child-resistant packaging. 

Section 2 of Reese’s Law requires CPSC to issue a rule regarding battery compartments on consumer products that contain button cell or coin batteries and labeling of consumer products and button cell or coin battery packaging. Congress instructed CPSC to promulgate the final consumer product safety rule under section 2 of Reese’s Law by August 16, 2023.

Section 2 includes: 

• Performance requirements for consumer products that contain or are designed to use button cell or coin batteries, including children’s products that are not toys.
• Labeling requirements for consumer product packaging, accompanying literature, on-product (where practicable), and on button cell or coin battery packaging.

Section 3 includes:

• Special packaging (child-resistant packaging) for button cell or coin batteries, whether sold separately or included with a consumer product.

Yes. Toy products designed, manufactured, or marketed as playthings for children under 14 years of age that are compliant with the battery accessibility and labeling requirements of 16 CFR part 1250, also known as the Toy Standard, are exempt from section 2.

Yes. Batteries packaged in accordance with the marking and packaging provisions of the ANSI Safety Standard for Portable Lithium Primary Cells and Batteries (ANSI C18.3M) are exempt from section 3 packaging requirements. You can access a read-only copy of the ANSI C18.3M standard here: NEMA IBR Standards Available (ansi.org).

In addition, on March 8, 2023, the Commission voted to instruct the Office of Compliance and Field Operations to exercise enforcement discretion for the packaging requirements of section 3 for zinc-air button cell or coin batteries—a technology used to power hearing aids and other hearing assistive technologies. As a result of the Commission statement of policy, the Office of Compliance and Field Operations will not be enforcing the special packaging requirements under section 3 of Reese’s Law for zinc-air button cell or coin batteries for a period of one year. For more information on the enforcement discretion, see the Commission’s Statement of Policy. Pursuant to the exercise of enforcement discretion, at this time special packaging for zinc-air button cell or coin batteries will not be enforced until March 8, 2024.

Please note that when CPSC finalizes section 2 labeling requirements for button cell or coin battery packaging, all button cell or coin battery packaging must meet these labeling requirements, unless expressly exempted by CPSC.

Yes, via meeting the marking and packaging provisions of the ANSI Safety Standard for Portable Lithium Primary Cells and Batteries (ANSI C18.3M). You can access a read-only copy of the ANSI C18.3M standard here: NEMA IBR Standards Available (ansi.org).

Any button cell or coin battery packaged in accordance with the standards provided in section 16 CFR § 1700.15, as determined through testing in accordance with the method described in 16 CFR § 1700.20 (i.e., the Poison Prevention Packaging Act or PPPA standards), will meet the requirements of Section 3. You can learn about the PPPA here: Poison Prevention Packaging Act Business Guidance.

Additionally, consumer products in compliance with the marking and packaging provisions of the ANSI C18.3M Safety Standard for Portable Lithium Primary Cells and Batteries are exempt from the requirements of section 3 of Reese’s Law.

Yes. Products that are subject to section 3 of Reese’s Law and that refer to the packaging requirements of 16 CFR § 1700.15 must undergo both the child test and adult test. See 16 CFR § 1700.15(b).

No. The ANSI Safety Standard for Portable Lithium Primary Cells and Batteries still requires the packaging to meet the requirements in 16 CFR §§ 1700.15(b)(1) and 1700.20(a)(2) under the PPPA. This means that the packaging must meet the required level of child-resistant effectiveness and that firms must subject their packaging to testing by children in the manner delineated by 16 CFR § 1700.20(a)(2).

Yes. Manufacturers or importers of products subject to Reese’s Law must issue a Children’s Product Certificate (CPC) for children’s products or a General Certificate of Compliance (GCC) for general-use products. For more information on certificates, please visit our CPC business guidance page or GCC business guidance page.

Testing to the special packaging requirements of the PPPA is not required to be conducted by a third-party, CPSC-accepted laboratory. As a result, button cell or coin batteries that are packaged separately but included with a children’s product do not need to be tested by a third-party, CPSC-accepted laboratory. Such products will be required to have a CPC for the overall children’s product and a separate GCC for the battery package.

Further, products that are exempt from the requirements of section 3 of Reese’s Law due to the fact that they meet the requirements of the ANSI C18.3M standard are also not subject to the certification requirements.

Yes. However, the labeling requirements in section 2 of Reese’s Law have not yet been implemented by a CPSC rule and therefore they are not effective at this time. As specified in Reese’s Law, the final consumer product safety rule for battery compartments on consumer products is targeted for no later than August 16, 2023. 

If seeking an exemption from Section 3 of Reese’s Law due to compliance with ANSI C18.3M, it is important to remember that the ANSI standard does require specific cautionary advice on packaging. Packaged button cell or coin batteries that meet the ANSI standard are exempt from the special packaging requirements in section 3(a) of Reese’s Law, but not from the forthcoming labeling requirements in section 2(a) of Reese’s Law.