This is not the kind of petition that is a long list of signatures. A petition is a written request asking the Commission to issue, amend, or repeal a regulation. Issuing, amending, or repealing regulations is called “rulemaking.” [Our Rulemaking page describes basic laws governing these procedures.] The law allows anyone to formally request that a federal agency issue, amend, or repeal a regulation.
You write a letter or email to CPSC. Your message must describe a risk of injury or illness associated with a consumer product, follow specific formatting, and include the details listed below.
Petitions must be written in English and include the following:
- Name and address of the petitioner.
- Indication of the product or products at issue that are regulated under a law the Commission administers.
- The facts that establish the necessity for a rule, such as personal experience, medical, engineering, or injury data or research.
- An explicit request to the Commission to initiate rulemaking.
- A specific description of the substance of the proposed rule (sweeping requests for action will not be sufficient).
These requirements are found in: eCFR :: 16 CFR 1051.5 -- Requirements and recommendations for petitions.
Additionally, some information that may be helpful to CPSC staff in reviewing your petition, but is NOT REQUIRED includes:
- The specific risk of injury, the severity of the likely injuries, and the possible reasons for them, such as product defects, design flaws, or unintentional or intentional misuses.
- Arguments as to why an industry consensus standard is not enough.
- Any other related information, including economic and environmental impact, engineering or technical studies, legal analyses, and reports of injuries.
- The word "petition" in a title, heading, and/or email subject field.
- A specific reference to which section of the statute administered by the Commission authorizes the requested rulemaking.
- Telephone number of the petitioner.
The CPSC staff may evaluate the options and make recommendations for the Commission to decide how to proceed under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) or other laws administered by CPSC.
Recent petitions that were docketed (although, not necessarily successful petitions) can be read here: Petitions | CPSC.gov.
You may email petitions to the Office of the Secretary at cpsc-os@cpsc.gov OR mail them to: Office of the Secretary, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814. [Note: Do not use the Washington, DC address listed in 16 CFR 1051.3.]
The Office of the Secretary will acknowledge receipt and then the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) will determine whether a request meets the legal requirements to be docketed as a petition. If a request is docketed as a petition, then CPSC staff will review your petition. The Commission may also seek public comments on any petition. Depending on how much time is needed to evaluate the matter, it will generally take at least six months before the staff evaluates the petition and any public comments that CPSC receives and makes a recommendation to the Commission.
The Commission may deny, defer, or grant petitions. Denials and deferrals do not mean that the Commission is ignoring the hazard. The Commission may deny a petition because it already has a response strategy in progress or for other reasons. The Commission weighs a variety of factors in deciding what action to take on a petition. These factors are described here – https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/section-1051.9.
IF the Commission grants a petition, it begins proceedings to issue, amend or repeal a rule. Beginning a proceeding means taking the first step in the rulemaking process, but it does not necessarily mean that the Commission will follow your recommendations. The Commission must make a final decision based on all available relevant information developed during the proceedings, including public comments. The Commission may terminate the proceeding later. Your petition and comments do not predispose the outcome or direct the Commission’s exploration of the topic.
In some cases, CPSC will be required by law to defer to industry voluntary consensus standards. You do not need to anticipate all the options open to the Commission, though. The staff will provide options for the Commission to consider.
Commission rulemaking proceedings are tracked on www.regulations.gov and posted in the Federal Register. You can follow CPSC activities by subscribing to free notifications from the Federal Register here: Using FederalRegister.Gov. See current rulemaking activities with this link: Regulations.gov - CPSC.
If you wish to provide CPSC with more information beyond what was contained in your submission, please inquire with the Office of the Secretary at cpsc-os@cpsc.gov or Office of the Secretary, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814.
Even working very quickly, a new regulation generally will take more than a year to complete. Some complex rulemaking topics may take multiple years. Rulemaking schedules also depend on the priorities of the Commission and the resources available to do the required work. CPSC is a small agency with a large mission, so the Commission and staff plan workloads carefully to maximize safety impact of efforts. This may result in timelines being extended.
The agency is required by law to take certain steps and generally must allow public comment on the required analyses. See this page for the many steps required in rulemaking: Rulemaking | CPSC.gov.
Contact CPSC’s Consumer Ombudsman with questions: consumerombudsman@cpsc.gov.