CPSC hazardous substances rule part 1500.

What part 1500 is

Section 1500.1 says the part sets out "the regulations of the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued pursuant to and for the implementation of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act as amended." Section 1500.2 places the authority in the Commission under section 30(a) of the Consumer Product Safety Act. In practice it is the base layer for a long list of other parts: the small parts rule (part 1501), fireworks (1507), bicycles (1512) and bunk beds (1513) are each tied back to it through banning paragraphs in 1500.17 and 1500.18.

The statutory definition of "hazardous substance" in 1500.3(b)(4)(i)(A) is "any substance or mixture of substances which is toxic, corrosive, an irritant, a strong sensitizer, flammable or combustible, or generates pressure through decomposition, heat, or other means, if such substance or mixture of substances may cause substantial personal injury or substantial illness during or as a proximate result of any customary or reasonably foreseeable handling or use, including reasonably foreseeable ingestion by children." The term also reaches a toy or article intended for children that the Commission determines presents an electrical, mechanical or thermal hazard (1500.3(b)(4)(i)(D)). It does not apply to pesticides under FIFRA, or to foods, drugs and cosmetics under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (1500.3(b)(4)(ii)).

The flashpoint classes in the current text

Paragraph 1500.3(c)(6) defines the three flammability terms by flashpoint. "Extremely flammable" is any substance with a flashpoint "at or below 20 F (-6.7 C)". "Flammable" is a flashpoint "above 20 F (-6.7 C) and below 100 F (37.8 C)". "Combustible" is "at or above 100 F (37.8 C) to and including 150 F (65.6 C)". All three are measured by the closed-cup method in 1500.43a. The checker above applies exactly those cut-offs.

Each class has written exceptions. A mixture with a component of higher flashpoint that makes up at least 99 percent of the total volume is not treated as extremely flammable, flammable or combustible on that ground, using the thresholds for each class. A mixture containing 24 percent or less of water miscible alcohols by volume, in aqueous solution, is not considered flammable or combustible "if the mixture does not present a significant flammability hazard when used by consumers." The tool does not apply these exceptions, because they depend on composition, not on one number.

The text also keeps an older set of definitions. The older paragraph (b)(10) used the Tagliabue open cup and set flammable at above 20 F up to and including 80 F, and combustible at above 80 F up to and including 150 F. Paragraph 1500.3(c)(6)(iv) lets a manufacturer or labeler of a product that already complied before the closed-cup method took effect keep using the earlier approach, if no change has been made to the formulation or labeling. Check which definition a label was built on before assuming the numbers above.

What a label must say

A "misbranded hazardous substance" is one intended or packaged for household use, or for children, whose label does not state conspicuously the items in 1500.3(b)(14)(i). They are: the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, distributor or seller; the common or chemical name of the substance or of each component that contributes substantially to its hazard; the signal word "DANGER" on substances that are extremely flammable, corrosive or highly toxic; the signal word "WARNING" or "CAUTION" on all other hazardous substances; an affirmative statement of the principal hazard, such as "Flammable," "Combustible," "Vapor Harmful," "Causes Burns" or "Absorbed Through Skin"; precautionary measures; first-aid instructions when necessary or appropriate; the word "Poison" for any highly toxic substance; handling and storage instructions where needed; and "Keep out of the reach of children" or its practical equivalent.

Section 1500.121 governs placement. The signal word, the statement of principal hazard and, if appropriate, an instruction to read the other cautionary material "shall be blocked together within a square or rectangular area, with or without a border, on the principal display panel". If a lid or cap that can be discarded forms the principal display panel, the container is deemed to have a second one elsewhere that must carry the same minimum. Section 1500.14 adds specific wording for named substances: for example, products with 10 percent or more by weight of ethylene glycol take "warning" and "Harmful or fatal if swallowed," and methanol at 4 percent or more takes "danger," the word "poison," the skull and crossbones, and "Cannot be made nonpoisonous."

What is banned

Section 1500.17(a) declares certain articles banned hazardous substances "because they possess such a degree or nature of hazard that adequate cautionary labeling cannot be written." Among them: carbon tetrachloride and mixtures containing it; liquid drain cleaners with 10 percent or more by weight of sodium or potassium hydroxide, unless packaged under a Poison Prevention Packaging Act standard; products containing soluble cyanide salts, apart from unavoidable manufacturing residues that will not exceed 25 parts per million; self-pressurized household products containing vinyl chloride monomer; fireworks devices intended to produce audible effects with a charge of more than 2 grains of pyrotechnic composition; firecrackers with more than 50 milligrams (0.772 grains); and fireworks devices, other than firecrackers, that do not comply with part 1507. The household lead paint paragraphs were revoked for products covered by part 1303 and made after February 27, 1978.

Section 1500.18(a) lists banned toys and children's articles with mechanical hazards, including lawn darts; baby-bouncers and walker-jumpers with exposed scissoring, pinching or coil-spring hazards; clacker balls; pacifiers that do not meet part 1511; any toy for children under 3 that presents a small parts hazard under part 1501 (1500.18(a)(9)); bicycles that do not meet part 1512 ((a)(12)); rattles that do not meet part 1510; infant cushions; balls for children under three that pass through a 1.75 inch (44.4 mm) hole; bunk beds that do not comply with part 1513 ((a)(18)); and dive sticks ((a)(19)). Paragraph (b)(1) bans electrically operated children's articles that do not comply with part 1505, and (c)(1) bans kites 10 inches or larger in any dimension made of aluminized polyester film.

Warning statements and the test methods

Section 1500.19(b) makes certain toys and games misbranded unless they carry cautionary statements. The covered cases include latex balloons, small balls intended for children three or older, and marbles. Under 1500.19(d)(3), "CHOKING HAZARD" is regarded as the statement of the principal hazard and "WARNING" or "SAFETY WARNING" as the signal word. The exact statements are printed as images in the eCFR, and this page does not reproduce them as text.

The part also holds the test methods other parts rely on: toxicity and irritation tests (1500.40 to 1500.42), the flashpoint methods (1500.43 and 1500.43a), sharp points and sharp edges (1500.48 and 1500.49), and the use and abuse simulations for toys by age group (1500.50 to 1500.53).

Worked example

A paint thinner has a measured closed-cup flashpoint of 85 F. That is above 20 F and below 100 F, so it falls in the "flammable" class under 1500.3(c)(6)(ii). If it is neither corrosive nor highly toxic, the signal word is "WARNING" or "CAUTION", the principal hazard statement is something like "Flammable," and the signal word and hazard statement go together in a blocked area on the principal display panel. If the same product also contained methanol at 4 percent or more by weight, 1500.14 would add "danger," "poison," the skull and crossbones and the other methanol statements. A second product with a flashpoint of 120 F is "combustible", and one at 160 F is outside all three classes.

Limits of this page

Part 1500 is more than 60,000 words and runs from definitions to import procedures. This page summarizes the sections that most often matter to a seller and quotes them with section cites. It does not reproduce the labeling figures, the chronic hazard guidelines in 1500.135, the art material provisions or the exemptions in 1500.83 and 1500.86. Some products fall under different statutes altogether, such as pesticides and cosmetics. The checker classifies one flashpoint; it cannot test a product or decide the exceptions.

Sources

Sources opened and read November 2, 2026.

• eCFR: 16 CFR part 1500, hazardous substances and articles (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)