CPSC clothing flammability standard part 1610.

Purpose, scope and applicability

Section 1610.1(a) gives the purpose: "to reduce danger of injury and loss of life by providing, on a national basis, standard methods of testing and rating the flammability of textiles and textile products for clothing use, thereby prohibiting the use of any dangerously flammable clothing textiles." The standard "provides methods of testing the flammability of clothing and textiles intended to be used for clothing, establishes three classes of flammability, sets forth the requirements which textiles shall meet to be classified, and warns against the use of those textiles which have burning characteristics unsuitable for clothing." Under (e), it applies to "textile fabric or related material in a form or state ready for use in an article of wearing apparel, including garments and costumes finished for consumer use."

The Flammable Fabrics Act is the statute behind it. Section 1610.32 states the general rule: no article of wearing apparel or fabric subject to the Act "shall be marketed or handled if such article or fabric, when tested according to the procedures prescribed in section 4(a) of the Act (16 CFR 1609), is so highly flammable as to be dangerous when worn by individuals." Only the uncovered or exposed part of a garment is tested (1610.34(a)).

What is excepted and what is exempt

Section 1610.1(c) lists four specific exceptions to the standard: hats that are not part of a covering for the neck, face or shoulders; gloves not more than 14 inches in length and not affixed to or part of another garment; footwear, provided it is not hosiery in whole or part and not part of another garment; and interlining fabrics intended or sold as a layer between an outer shell and an inner lining.

Separately, 1610.1(d) exempts certain fabrics from testing to support an initial guaranty, because years of testing "demonstrates that certain fabrics consistently yield acceptable results." These are plain surface fabrics, regardless of fiber content, weighing 2.6 ounces per square yard or more, and all fabrics, plain or raised, regardless of weight, made entirely from acrylic, modacrylic, nylon, olefin, polyester, wool, or combinations of those fibers. The exemption is from testing for the guaranty; the checker flags it but does not treat the fabric as tested. Plastic film, nitrocellulose fabrics and coated fabrics follow part 1611 in the cases 1610.33 and 1610.34 describe.

How the test works

Section 1610.3 summarizes the method. All textiles are tested before and after refurbishing (dry cleaning and laundering under 1610.6). Each specimen is inserted in a frame, brushed if it has a raised-fiber surface, and held in the apparatus at an angle of 45 degrees. "A standardized flame shall be applied to the surface near the lower end of the specimen for 1 second, and the time required for the flame to proceed up the fabric a distance of 127 mm (5 in) shall be recorded." For a raised-surface fabric, a note is made whether the base of the fabric ignites or fuses. A specimen is 50 mm by 150 mm (2 in by 6 in), and "burn time" is the time from ignition until the stop thread is severed (1610.2(b), (o)).

The three classes

Class 1, normal flammability, is acceptable for clothing. Plain surface fabric is Class 1 when the burn time is 3.5 seconds or more; the table notes "3.5 seconds is a pass." Raised surface fabric is Class 1 when the burn time is more than 7.0 seconds, or when it burns with a rapid surface flash (0.0 to 7.0 seconds) "provided the intensity of the flame is so low as not to ignite or fuse the base fabric."

Class 2, intermediate flammability, applies only to raised-fiber surface textiles and may be used for clothing: burn time from 4.0 through 7.0 seconds, both inclusive, and the base fabric starts burning at places other than the point of impingement as a result of the surface flash (test result code SFBB). Class 2 "is not applicable to plain surface textile fabrics."

Class 3, rapid and intense burning, is "dangerously flammable and shall not be used for clothing." Plain surface fabric is Class 3 when the time of flame spread is less than 3.5 seconds. Raised surface fabric is Class 3 when the time is less than 4.0 seconds and the base fabric starts burning at places other than the point of impingement (SFBB). A note to Table 1 says "SFBB poi and SFBB poi* are not considered a base burn for determining Class 2 and 3 fabrics."

Test sequence, guaranties and records

The classification is not made from one specimen. Section 1610.7 sets a sequence: preliminary tests find the fastest burning direction; five specimens are tested from it; and in some cases five more, for ten; if there is only one burn time out of ten the test "is inconclusive" and the fabric cannot be classified. Preliminary classifications are assigned both before and after refurbishing, and the final classification is whichever is more severe.

A person who receives a guaranty in good faith has a defense against criminal prosecution under section 8 of the Act, and 1610.37 requires a person issuing an initial guaranty to run a program of reasonable and representative tests, defined as "at least one test with results demonstrating conformance with the Standard." Records of the tests relied on must be kept for 3 years from the date the tests were performed (1610.38(d)). A fabric of the same "class" of constructions may be used to support a guaranty (1610.37(c)(3)).

Worked example

A cotton flannel with a brushed, raised surface burns for 6.2 seconds with a base burn at a point other than the point of impingement. Because it is raised surface, burn time falls in the 4.0 to 7.0 second range, and there is a base burn, so it is Class 2, intermediate flammability: acceptable for clothing. If the same fabric burned in 3.6 seconds with a base burn it would be Class 3 and could not be used for clothing. A plain surface satin that burns in 3.4 seconds is Class 3, and one at 3.5 is Class 1. A plain polyester fabric of any weight is exempt from guaranty testing under 1610.1(d)(2), so no burn time need be entered.

Limits of this page

The checker classifies one burn time as the table does. It does not run the 1610.7 specimen sequence, average results, apply refurbishing or decide whether a fabric is plain or raised. Children's sleepwear is under part 1615, which supersedes part 1610 for those items. This page quotes the CFR and is not a determination about any fabric.

Sources

Sources opened and read November 2, 2026.

• eCFR: 16 CFR part 1610, flammability of clothing textiles (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)