U.S. – CPSC Issued Final Rule for Magnet Safety Standard – 16 CFR 1262

Vol. 1323 | 26 Sep 2022

The Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) has published the final rule for the magnet safety standard – 16 CFR 1262, to address the unreasonable risk of injury and death associated with children and teens ingesting high-powered magnets.

The final rule will apply to consumer products that are designed, marketed, or intended to be used for: entertainment, jewelry (including children’s jewelry), mental stimulation, stress relief, or a combination of these purposes, containing one or more loose or separable magnets. It excludes products sold or distributed solely to commercial or industrial users exclusively for educational, research, and/or professional purposes. Toys are exempt from this rule, as toys containing magnets must meet such requirements as part of the Federal toy safety standard, 16 CFR 1250 (ASTM F963-17).

Loose or separate magnets in the products described above must comply with either of the following requirements:

1. Each magnet must be too large to fit entirely within the small parts cylinder as described in 16 CFR 1501.4,
2. Each magnet must have a flux index that is less than 50 kG²mm² when tested in accordance with method described in ASTM F963.

The final rule will become effective on Oct 21, 2022. Products manufactured from the effective date must meet the safety requirements of this rule.

In addition, the CPSC also issued the Notice of Requirements for the third-party acceptance of labs under 16 CFR 1112. The children’s products within the scope of this rule manufactured on and after Dec 20, 2022, will require testing at a CPSC accepted third-party lab for this rule for Certification per 16 CFR 1110 rule.

The final rule can be reviewed at: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2022-09-21/pdf/2022-20200.pdf

For questions, please contact Harini Ramaswamy (harini.ramaswamy@intertek.com, +1 847-871-1047) or Pratik Ichhaporia (pratik.ichhaporia@intertek.com , +1 847 212 8273).