CPSC custom window covering cord standard part 1260.

Scope and the stock-versus-custom line

Section 1260.1(a): "This part establishes a consumer product safety standard for operating cords on custom window coverings. The effective date of this part is May 30, 2023." The part relies on definitions from ANSI/WCMA A100.1-2018. A custom window covering (custom blinds, shades and shadings) is "any window covering that is not classified as a stock window covering." A stock window covering is one "completely or substantially fabricated prior to being distributed in commerce and is a specific stock-keeping unit (SKU)."

The regulation adds three clarifications. Even when the seller, manufacturer or distributor modifies a pre-assembled product by adjusting to size, attaching the top rail or bottom rail, or tying cords to secure the bottom rail, "the product is still considered stock." "Online sales of the product or the size of the order such as multi-family housing do not make the product a non-stock product." And as long as the product is "substantially fabricated" before distribution, later changes do not change its category.

What the cord requirement says

Section 1260.2(a): "Each custom window covering shall comply with section 4.3.1 or 4.3.2.5.2, instead of section 4.3.2, of ANSI/WCMA A100.1-2018." Section 4.3.1 is the ANSI/WCMA provision for stock window coverings; the Commission’s findings say covering by that section "adequately address[es] the strangulation hazard, by not allowing hazardous cords on the product by design, and therefore do not rely on consumer action." The Commission found that all of the operating cord incidents it identified as involving custom window coverings "likely would have been prevented if the requirements in section 4.3.1 of ANSI/WCMA A100.1-2018 were in effect and covered the incident products." The ANSI/WCMA standard is incorporated by reference; the CFR gives a read-only link and a purchase link, and this page does not reproduce its text.

Four defined parts

Part 1260 defines the devices that can be used to comply. An operating cord is "the portion of the cord that the user manipulates directly during operation (including lifting, lowering, tilting, rotating, and traversing)." A cord shroud limits "the accessibility of a cord or formation of a hazardous loop"; a rigid cord shroud is one built of inflexible material that renders the cord inaccessible. A retractable cord "extends when pulled by a user, and fully retracts when the user releases the cord." A loop cord and bead chain restraining device is integrated into the covering and "prevents the creation of hazardous loop from an accessible continuous operating cord." The operating interface is the part the user touches, such as a wand or bottom rail.

Rigid cord shrouds

If a covering complies by using a rigid cord shroud, 1260.2(b) applies two tests. In the center load test, each end of the shroud is supported within 0.25 inches of the ends, rotation along the axis is unrestricted, a 5 pound force is applied at the center for at least 5 seconds and the maximum deflection is measured. "For rigid cord shrouds that are ≤19 inches, the deflection shall not exceed 1 inch. For every additional 19 inches in shroud length, the shroud can deflect an additional inch." While the force is still on, a cord shroud accessibility test probe must not be able to touch any cord. In the axial torque test, one end is mounted and held against rotation, 4.4 in-lb (0.5 N-m) of torque is applied to the other end for 5 seconds, and the probe again must not be able to touch a cord.

The checker reads the deflection allowance as the shroud length divided by 19, rounded up: up to 19 inches allows 1 inch, over 19 up to 38 inches allows 2 inches, and so on. That is this page’s reading of the sentence; Figure 2 in the eCFR is part of the rule, so check the figure for lengths that fall near a boundary.

Cord retraction devices

A covering using a retraction device must meet four conditions in 1260.2(c). Under a 30 gram mass applied to the operating interface, the device "shall maintain full retraction of the retractable cord such that the retractable cord is not accessible." The maximum stroke length is 12 inches measured from the bottom of the headrail. The operating interface "may not be a cord of any length including a short static or access cord"; it may be a ring and pole, a wand "or any other design that cannot bend on itself." And the device must have a service life of at least 5,000 cycles after exposed parts have been subjected to 500 hours of ultraviolet exposure per AATCC Test Method 16-2004, Option 3.

Loop cord and bead chain restraining devices

A restraining device must meet section 6.5 of ANSI/WCMA A100.1-2018 plus an added UV stability and operational cycle test, and must not form a hazardous loop. The center load test (5 pounds, 5 seconds, same 1 inch per 19 inches deflection allowance) checks whether "the hazardous loop head probe (Figure D1 of ANSI/WCMA A100.1-2018) can pass through the opening" between cord and device; the axial torque test applies the same 4.4 in-lb for 5 seconds. A passing probe means a hazardous loop.

Stockpiling before the effective date

Section 1260.3 barred a rush of non-complying product. Manufacturers and importers "shall not manufacture or import custom window coverings that do not comply with the requirements of this part in any 180-day period between November 28, 2022, and May 30, 2023, at a rate that is greater than 120 percent of the rate at which they manufactured or imported custom window coverings during the base period." The base period is any 180 consecutive days the firm chooses in the five years immediately preceding November 28, 2022. The rule is historical now; the checker keeps it to show the arithmetic: a base of 1,000 units allows 1,200.

Why it was written

The findings record why the Commission rejected warnings and cleats. Window covering cords create "an unreasonable risk of strangulation, including death and serious injury, to children 8 years old and younger." They cite 209 reported fatal and nonfatal strangulations on window coverings among children eight years and younger from January 2009 through December 2021, of which 100 were fatal. They explain that strangulation is a "hidden hazard" that can happen "silently in a few minutes in any room, with or without supervision," that cleats and tension devices depend on consumer action, and that most units in the incidents carried the permanent warning label.

Worked example

A shade maker uses a rigid cord shroud 40 inches long. The allowed deflection is 3 inches (40 divided by 19 is 2.1, rounded up to 3). A measured deflection of 2 inches is within it, and a measured 3.5 is not. A retraction device with a 10-inch stroke meets the 12-inch maximum; one with a 14-inch stroke does not, however it performs on the other tests. A maker whose best 180-day base was 1,000 units could have made or imported up to 1,200 non-complying units in a single 180-day window in the pre-effective-date period, and 1,150 would have been inside the cap.

Limits of this page

This page checks three numeric limits. It does not run the accessibility probes, the 30 gram retraction test, the UV and cycle tests, or decide whether a product is stock or custom. The deflection boundary reading above is an interpretation, flagged as such. The CFR is current through October 29, 2026; sections 1260.3 and the dates are historical.

Sources

Sources opened and read November 2, 2026.

• eCFR: 16 CFR part 1260, safety standard for operating cords on custom window coverings (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)