U.S. – CPSC Adopts ASTM F2613-19 for Children’s Folding Chairs and Stools in Direct Final Rule

Vol. 1145 | 09 Apr 2020

As part of the rulemaking process required by Section 104(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has approved, by direct final rule, the revised ASTM F2613-19 to be incorporated in the federal regulation, 16 CFR 1232 Safety Standard for Children’s Folding Chairs and Stools.

A children’s chair, as defined in the standard, is seating furniture with a rigid frame that is intended to be used as a support for the body, limbs, or feet of a child when sitting or resting in an upright or reclining position and children’s stools are considered a subset of chairs, “children’s chair without back or armrests.” The standard further defines “folding chairs” and “folding stools” as “children’s chair or stool which can be folded for transport or storage.”

ASTM F2613-19 has a few editorial changes to remove redundant language and one substantial revision to bring clarity to the opening’s requirement. The standard, as it applies to folding products without locking and latching mechanisms, clarifies that any spaces between two adjacent moving parts and a moving part and an adjacent stationary part be so constructed as to admit a ½-in diameter rod along all positions of the arc.

The ASTM F2613-19 standard becomes the mandatory Safety Standard for Children’s Folding Chairs and Stools effective July 6, 2020, unless the CPSC receives any adverse comments by May 1, 2020. Children’s Folding Chairs and Stools manufactured on and after July 6, 2020, date shall meet requirements of this rule and additionally will also require certification per 16 CFR 1110 based on testing at a CPSC approved third party accreditation body (third party lab) for 16 CFR 1232 per the revised ASTM F2613-19 standard.

The Final Rule can be viewed at: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-04-01/pdf/2020-06334.pdf

For questions, please contact Laxmi Ravikumar (laxmi.ravikumar@intertek.com, +1-630-209-9265).