CPSC mattress cigarette ignition standard part 1632.

What the standard covers

Section 1632.2(a) says the standard "prescribes requirements for testing of prototype designs of mattresses and mattress pads before the sale in commerce or the introduction in commerce of any mattress or mattress pad which is subject to the standard" and "a test to determine the ignition resistance of a mattress or a mattress pad when exposed to a lighted cigarette." It also provides optional procedures for classifying ticking materials (1632.6) and for substituting tape edge materials (1632.7).

A "mattress" is "a ticking filled with a resilient material used alone or in combination with other products intended or promoted for sleeping upon" (1632.1(a)). The definition includes adult and youth mattresses, crib mattresses including portable crib mattresses, bunk bed mattresses, futons, water beds and air mattresses that contain upholstery material between the ticking and the core, and detachable mattresses used in upholstered furniture such as convertible sofa bed mattresses and trundle bed mattresses. It excludes sleeping bags, pillows, mattress foundations, liquid and gaseous filled tickings with no upholstery material, upholstered furniture with no detachable mattress, and juvenile product pads such as car bed pads, stroller pads, crib bumpers and playpen pads. A "mattress pad" is a thin flat mat or cushion for use on top of a mattress.

Who must test

Under 1632.2(c)(1), the prototype testing requirement applies to each "manufacturer," meaning an individual plant or factory where mattresses or mattress pads are produced or assembled, and to "all other persons or firms initially introducing mattresses or mattress pads into commerce, including importers; each such firm shall be deemed to be a 'manufacturer.'" Pre-market testing is mandatory: each manufacturer must perform the testing "with acceptable results before selling in commerce or introducing in commerce" the product (1632.3(c)). One-of-a-kind mattresses may be excluded from testing under rules the Commission sets (1632.2(b)(4)).

Renovation is manufacture. The policy in 1632.63 says "mattresses renovated for sale are considered by the Commission to be mattresses manufactured for sale and, therefore, subject to the requirements of the Mattress Standard." Replacing the ticking or batting, stripping a mattress to its springs, rebuilding it or replacing components counts, but a mattress renovated for the owner's own use is not "manufacture for sale."

The test and the 2 inch criterion

The method "measures the ignition resistance of a mattress or mattress pad by exposing the surface to lighted cigarettes in a draft-protected environment" at smooth, tape edge, and quilted or tufted locations, followed by a two-sheet test in which burning cigarettes are placed between sheets (1632.3(a)). The ignition source is a Standard Reference Material cigarette, SRM 1196a, from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The test room must be above 18 degrees C (65 degrees F) and below 55 percent relative humidity, and the sheets must be white, 100 percent cotton of 120 to 210 threads per square inch.

The criterion in 1632.3(b) is that "individual cigarette test locations pass the test if the char length is not more than 2 inches (5.1 cm) in any direction from the nearest point of the cigarette." The operator is told to stop and record a failure before the 2 inch point if an obvious ignition has occurred. 1632.3(d)(1) needs enough units of each prototype to provide six surfaces: "a minimum of three mattresses or mattress pads are required if both sides can be tested; six mattresses or mattress pads are required if only one side can be tested." If all cigarette locations on all six surfaces pass, the prototype is accepted; if any fails, it is rejected. A rejected prototype may not be sold until reworked, retested and accepted (1632.3(d)(4)).

Labels and records

Each mattress or mattress pad needs a permanent, accessible and legible label with "the month and year of manufacture and the location of the manufacturer" set out separately from other information (1632.31(b)(3), (4)). Mattress pads containing a chemical fire retardant need care instructions and the letter "T." No person other than the ultimate consumer may remove the label.

Records under 1632.31(c) include the prototype specification and number, test results, a certification by the person overseeing testing, color or black and white photographs of each tested surface showing which part was sheeted, records supporting material substitutions, ticking classifications (A, B or C), and the disposition of rejected prototypes. They must be kept "for as long as the prototype is in production" and for 3 years afterward (1632.31(c)(12)).

The physician-prescription exemption

A mattress or pad made under a physician's written prescription, or comparable written medical therapeutic specification, for a named individual's illness or injury is a "one of a kind mattress" exempt from testing, if it bears a permanent label (1632.31(f)). The label begins "WARNING: This mattress or mattress pad may be subject to ignition and hazardous smoldering from cigarettes." It must be at least 40 square inches (250 sq. cm) with no linear dimension under 5 inches (12.5 cm), with letters of the word WARNING no less than 0.5 inch (1.27 cm) high, in a color contrasting with the background, and the statement also appears on the invoice or sales papers. The maker keeps the prescription for three years from the date of manufacture. "Physician" includes a chiropractor or osteopath licensed by a State.

Worked example

A manufacturer qualifies a pillow-top prototype. Both sides can be turned and tested, so three mattresses give six surfaces. At one cigarette location the char is 1.6 inches, within the 2 inch value; at another the char reaches 2.3 inches, which fails that location and with it the prototype. Separately, a physician-prescribed custom mattress carries a 6 by 8 inch label, which is 48 square inches and has no side under 5 inches, with 0.75 inch letters in WARNING: it meets the label size values in 1632.31(f)(1). A 4 by 9 inch label has 36 square inches and a side under 5 inches and fails.

Limits of this page

The checker compares numbers you enter with numbers in the text. It does not run the cigarette test, classify ticking, judge prototype identity or decide whether a product is a mattress or something excluded. It also does not address open flame mattress sets, which are covered by part 1633. This page quotes the CFR and is not a determination about any mattress.

Sources

Sources opened and read November 2, 2026.

• eCFR: 16 CFR part 1632, flammability of mattresses (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)