CPSC small parts rule part 1501.

Purpose and scope

Section 1501.1 explains where this part sits. "Section 1500.18(a)(9) of this chapter classifies as a banned hazardous substance any toy or other article intended for use by children under 3 years of age that presents a choking, aspiration, or ingestion hazard because of small parts." Part 1501 "describes certain articles that are subject to" that ban, "lists certain articles that are specifically exempted; and provides a test method for determining whether an article is hazardous to children under 3 because it, or one of its components that can be detached or broken off during normal or reasonable foreseeable use, is too small."

The scope paragraph, 1501.2(a), applies the rule to "all toys and other articles intended for use by children under 3 years (36 months) of age that are introduced into interstate commerce after the effective date." It then gives a non-exclusive list: squeeze toys; teethers; crib exercisers, gyms and mobiles; other toys or articles meant to be affixed to a crib, stroller, playpen or baby carriage; pull and push toys; pounding toys; blocks and stacking sets; bathtub, wading pool and sand toys; rocking, spring and stick horses; chime and musical balls and carousels; jacks-in-the-box; stuffed, plush and flocked animals; preschool toys, games and puzzles intended for children under 3; riding toys for children under 3; infant and juvenile furniture such as cribs, playpens, baby bouncers and walkers, strollers and carriages; dolls such as baby dolls, rag dolls and bean bag dolls; and toy cars, trucks and other vehicles. It adds "any other toys or articles which are intended, marketed or labeled to be entrusted to or used by children under 3 years of age."

How the age question is decided

Section 1501.2(b) names three factors for deciding whether an article is intended for children under 3: "the manufacturer's stated intent (such as on a label) if it is a reasonable one; the advertising, promotion, and marketing of the article; and whether the article is commonly recognized as being intended for children under 3." The label alone does not settle it, because the stated intent counts only "if it is a reasonable one."

Paragraph (c) draws two limits. The regulation "does not apply to toys or articles which are solely intended for use by children 3 years of age or older," and "it does not apply to all articles to which children under 3 years of age might have access simply because of presence in a household." Those are the two outs that the checker above handles: enter an age of 36 months or more and the tool treats the article as outside the part unless you tick the box that it is also intended for under-3s.

The ten exemptions

Section 1501.3 exempts these articles from 1500.18(a)(9) and 1501.4: (a) balloons; (b) books and other articles made of paper; (c) writing materials such as crayons, chalk, pencils and pens; (d) children's clothing and accessories, such as shoe lace holders and buttons; (e) grooming, feeding and hygiene products, such as diaper pins and clips, barrettes, toothbrushes, drinking glasses, dishes and eating utensils; (f) phonograph records; (g) modeling clay and similar products; (h) fingerpaints, watercolors and other paint sets; (i) rattles as defined at 16 CFR 1510.2; and (j) pacifiers as defined at 16 CFR 1511.2(a).

Exempt from this part does not mean exempt from everything. Balloons carry their own warning requirements in 1500.19, rattles and pacifiers have their own parts, and other rules such as lead content limits apply to children's products regardless of this exemption.

The test in two steps

Step one is the cylinder. Section 1501.4(a) says no toy or other children's article "shall be small enough to fit entirely within a cylinder with the dimensions shown in Figure 1." For compliance purposes, "the English dimensions shall be used. The metric approximations are included only for convenience." And "the dimensions of the Commission's test cylinder will be no greater than those shown in Figure 1." The dimensions themselves are in that figure, which is an image in the eCFR. This page does not state them as numbers because the source text does not give them in words.

Paragraph (b)(1) is the procedure: "Place the article, without compressing it, into the cylinder. If the article fits entirely within the cylinder, in any orientation, it fails to comply with the test procedure. (Test any detached components of the article the same way.)" Step two, (b)(2), applies if the article does not fit: "subject it to the appropriate 'use and abuse' tests of 16 CFR 1500.51 and 1500.52 (excluding the bite tests of 1500.51(c) and 1500.52(c))." Pieces that come off, excluding paper, fabric, yarn, fuzz, elastic and string, go into the cylinder one at a time. If any fits, in any orientation and without being compressed, "the article fails to comply with the test procedure."

Enforcement procedure

Section 1501.5 says the Commission will enforce the regulation, unless it determines that an emergency exists, only through its letter of advice and notice of noncompliance procedure. Firms must be informed by letter that they or their products may be subject to enforcement action and given ten days to submit evidence and arguments that the products are not violative or not covered, before enforcement begins.

Worked example

A wooden stacking set is labeled for ages 18 months and up and includes a loose peg. The checker records an age of 18 months, no exemption, and then depends on two physical answers. If the peg fits entirely in the cylinder, the set fails at the first step regardless of anything else. If the peg and every block are too large to fit, the set goes to use and abuse testing. After that testing, suppose a painted finial snaps off a block and fits the cylinder: the article fails under 1501.4(b)(2). If nothing detaches that fits, the article meets the part 1501 test. A set of printed paper puzzle pieces sold as a book would fall within the paper exemption in 1501.3(b).

Limits of this page

The tool applies the scope, exemption and result logic to answers you give it. It cannot check whether a part fits the cylinder or run the use and abuse tests in 1500.51 and 1500.52, which require equipment and procedure. Related labeling for older children is in 1500.19. This page quotes the CFR and is not a determination about any product.

Sources

Sources opened and read November 2, 2026.

• eCFR: 16 CFR part 1501, small parts, toys for children under 3 (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)