U.S. – National Flammability Standard for Indoor Upholstered Furniture Established

Vol. 1210 | 08 Jan 2021

On December 27, 2020, President Trump signed the HR 133 Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, which includes DIVISION FF—OTHER MATTER Title XXI COVID-19 Regulatory Relief and Work from Home Safety Act. The Title XXI mandates nationwide compliance with California’s flammability standard for indoor upholstered furniture.

Effective June 25, 2021, all upholstered seating furniture imported or sold in the United States must comply with the flammability test specified by California Technical Bulletin 117-2013 (TB 117-2013.) The law incorporates the provisions proposed in the Safer Occupancy Furniture Flammability Act, a bill that was largely supported by the furniture industry.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has been reviewing furniture flammability for decades but was unable to reach a consensus on the addressable hazard. Industry and regulators have disagreed over whether furniture should be required to withstand an “open flame” or instead be “smolder resistant.” Concern over the prevalence of chemical exposure in American households to flame retardants led California to move to a smolder standard. Now, this standard will be the law nationwide.

The law requires that all upholstered furniture bear a permanent label with the statement, “Complies with U.S. CPSC requirements for upholstered furniture flammability,” which will operate as the certification that a product is compliant with TB 117-2013. Indoor upholstered seating furniture is exempt from the Certification requirement under 15 U.S.C. 2063(a).

For more information, please see https://rules.house.gov/sites/democrats.rules.house.gov/files/BILLS-116HR133SA-RCP-116-68.pdf

For questions, please contact Stephanie Bilotti (Stephanie.Bilotti@intertek.com, +1 862-316-5877) or Dr. Pratik Ichhaporia (pratik.ichhaporia@intertek.com, +1-847-212-8273)