CPSC infant sleep products standard part 1236.

The scope sentence

Section 1236.1 is a single sentence with a list. The standard "applies to all products marketed or intended to provide a sleeping accommodation for an infant up to 5 months of age, and that are not already subject to" five other standards: 16 CFR part 1218 (bassinets and cradles), 1219 (full-size baby cribs), 1220 (non-full-size baby cribs), 1221 (play yards) and 1222 (bedside sleepers). It says the products include "inclined and flat sleep surfaces." So part 1236 is a residual standard. It does not compete with the crib parts; it picks up what those parts leave behind.

What "infant sleep product" means in the modified ASTM text

The CFR rewrites ASTM F3118-17a, which began as a standard for inclined sleep products. Section 1236.2(b)(10) replaces definition 3.1.7 with: "infant sleep product, n: a product marketed or intended to provide a sleeping accommodation for an infant up to 5 months of age, and that is not subject to" parts 1218, 1219, 1220, 1221 or 1222. Throughout, the term "infant inclined sleep products" is replaced with "infant sleep products." Two additional rules sit in section 1.3 of the revised ASTM text. If a product can be converted into one for which a CPSC regulation exists, it "shall meet the applicable requirements of the CPSC regulation, when in that use mode." If it converts to a product with no CPSC regulation but another ASTM consumer safety specification, it must meet that specification in that mode. And "crib mattresses that meet the requirements of ASTM F2933 are not covered by the specifications of this standard."

The 10 degree angle limit

The CFR’s statement of purpose in the modified introduction says the standard addresses fall hazards, asphyxiation and suffocation, and obstruction of nose and mouth by bedding, and that its purpose is to address products not covered by traditional sleep product standards and "to reduce deaths associated with known infant sleep hazards, including, but not limited to, a seat back or sleep surface angle that is greater than 10 degrees from the horizontal." The operative rule is in revised section 6.9: "The angle of the seat back/sleep surface intended for sleep along the occupant’s head to toe axis relative to the horizontal shall not exceed 10 degrees when tested in accordance with 7.11.2." The test places the product, if applicable, "in the manufacturer’s recommended highest seat back/sleep surface angle position intended for sleep," places a hinged weight gage-infant in the product with the hinge centered over the seat bight line, and reads a digital protractor placed lengthwise on the upper torso and head area.

Bassinet requirements apply

Revised section 6.9.3 adds: "Infant Sleep Products shall meet, 16 CFR part 1218, Safety Standard for Bassinets and Cradles, including conforming to the definition of a bassinet/cradle." Read with the 10-degree rule, this means a product that falls under part 1236 is held to the bassinet standard’s requirements as well as the angle limit. The CFR does not list the bassinet requirements in part 1236; they are in part 1218 and its incorporated ASTM standard, neither of which this page reproduces.

What was removed from the ASTM text

The CFR is mostly a list of deletions and replacements. It says not to comply with F3118-17a sections 2.3 and 2.4 (and Figures 1 and 2), 3.1.1 through 3.1.6, 3.1.7.1 through 3.1.13, 3.1.15 through 3.1.16, section 5, 6.1 through 6.8, 6.10 through 7.10, 7.11.1.3, and 7.11.3 through 9 and the Appendix. It replaces sections 2.1 and 2.2 with lists of related ASTM standards (F406, F1169, F2194, F2906, F2933) and CFR parts (1218 to 1222), and it adds section 10.2 for the term "infant sleep product." The original F3118 content on inclined sleepers other than the retained sections is therefore not part of the federal requirement.

Worked example

A company sells a padded sleep nest with a 14 degree incline in the box, marketed for newborns up to 4 months. It is not a bassinet, crib, play yard or bedside sleeper, so on the facts it falls in the residual group in 1236.1: marketed for an infant up to 5 months. The incline is over the 10 degree maximum in revised section 6.9.1, so the surface angle does not meet the written value. The same product flattened to 8 degrees at its highest recommended sleep position would meet the angle limit, but would also have to satisfy the bassinet requirements via section 6.9.3. A rocking bassinet sold as a bassinet is not in part 1236 at all; part 1218 applies.

Limits of this page

The checker answers "which part?" from the five listed exclusions and compares one angle to 10 degrees. It cannot decide whether a given product is "marketed or intended to provide a sleeping accommodation," or how a regulator would treat a convertible product, and it does not apply any ASTM test. The CFR is current through October 29, 2026 per the eCFR and cites ASTM F3118-17a, approved September 1, 2017. Check the eCFR for later changes before relying on this page.

Sources

Sources opened and read November 2, 2026.

• eCFR: 16 CFR part 1236, safety standard for infant sleep products (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)