FMVSS 226: Ejection Mitigation explained.

What FMVSS 226 says it is for

The eCFR heads this section "Standard No. 226; Ejection Mitigation." Under 49 CFR part 571, the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards are the numbered standards that set safety performance requirements for motor vehicles and equipment. The text below is quoted from 571.226 as current through October 29, 2026.

This standard establishes requirements for ejection mitigation systems to reduce the likelihood of complete and partial ejections of vehicle occupants through side windows during rollovers or side impact events.

What it applies to

The application section of the standard says:

This standard applies to passenger cars, and to multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks designed to carry at least one person, and buses with a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 kg or less, except walk-in vans, modified roof vehicles, convertibles, and vehicles with no doors or with doors that are designed to be easily attached or removed so the vehicle can be operated without doors. Also excluded from this standard are law enforcement vehicles, correctional institution vehicles, taxis and limousines, if they have a fixed security partition separating the 1st and 2nd or 2nd and 3rd rows and if they are produced by more than one manufacturer or are altered (within the meaning of 49 CFR 567.7).

Applicability is decided by the text of the standard as written, including any exclusions it lists, and by the date-specific rules in it. This page does not decide whether a particular vehicle or item is covered.

How the standard is organized

The eCFR text of 571.226 has these top-level sections:

• S1: Purpose and Scope
• S2: Application
• S3: Definitions
• S4: Phase-in, performance and other requirements
• S5: Test procedures
• S6: General test conditions
• S7: Ejection mitigation test device specifications
• S8: Phase-in Schedule for Vehicle Certification

In all, the text has 68 numbered headings. Use the finder above to search them; for example, a search for "test" lists the headings that mention tests.

Second-level headings at a glance

These are the numbered sub-sections one level below the top, in order (first 12 of 25):

• S4.1 Phase-in requirements
• S4.2 Performance and other requirements
• S5.1 Demonstrate compliance with S4.2 of this standard in accordance with the test procedures…
• S5.2 Determination of impact target locations
• S5.3 Determination of zero displacement plane
• S5.4 Window position and condition
• S5.5 Impact speeds and time delays
• S5.6 Ejection impactor orientation
• S6.1 Vehicle test attitude
• S6.2 Doors
• S6.3 Steering wheel, steering column, seats, grab handles, and exterior mirrors
• S6.4 Other vehicle components and structures

Key requirements, quoted from the text

These are excerpts from the requirements sections of 571.226, in the order the standard presents them. Long paragraphs are shortened where marked with [...]; the eCFR has the complete text, tables and figures, which this page omits.

S4.1.1. Except as provided in S4.1.3 of this standard, a percentage of each manufacturer's vehicle production, as specified in S8 of this standard, manufactured on or after September 1, 2013 to August 31, 2017, shall meet the requirements of S4.2. Vehicles that are not subject to the phase-in may be certified as meeting the requirements specified in this standard.

S4.1.2. Except as provided in S4.1.3 of this section, each vehicle manufactured on or after September 1, 2017 must meet the requirements of S4.2 without use of advanced credits.

S4.1.3 Exceptions from the phase-in; special allowances. (a) Vehicles produced by a small manufacturer and by a limited line manufacturer are not subject to S4.1.1 of this standard, but are subject to S4.1.2. (b) Vehicles that are altered (within the meaning of 49 CFR 567.7) before September 1, 2018, after having been previously certified in accordance with part 567 of this chapter, and vehicles manufactured in two or more stages before September 1, 2018, are not required to meet the requirements of S4.2. Vehicles that are altered on or after September 1, 2018, and vehicles that are manufactured in two or more stages on or after September 1, 2018, must meet the requirements of S4.2.

Defined terms

The standard defines 12 terms in its definitions section; the first 10 are quoted here from the eCFR.

• Ejection impactor means a device specified in S7.1 of this standard that is a component of the ejection mitigation test device and is the moving mass that strikes the ejection mitigation countermeasure.
• Ejection impactor targeting point means the intersection of the y-axis of the ejection headform and the outer surface of the ejection headform.
• Ejection mitigation countermeasure means a device or devices, except seat belts, integrated into the vehicle that reduce the likelihood of occupant ejection through a side window opening, and that requires no action by the occupant for activation.
• Ejection propulsion mechanism means a device that is a component of the ejection mitigation test device consisting of a mechanism capable of propelling the ejection impactor and constraining it to move along its axis or shaft.
• Limited-line manufacturer means a manufacturer that sells three or fewer carlines, as that term is defined in 49 CFR 583.4, in the United States during a production year.
• Modified roof means the replacement roof on a motor vehicle whose original roof has been removed, in part or in total, or a roof that has to be built over the occupant compartment in vehicles that did not have an original roof over the occupant compartment.
• Movable window means a daylight opening composed of glazing designed to be moved with respect to the vehicle or frame while the vehicle is in motion.
• Side daylight opening means, other than a door opening, the locus of all points where a horizontal line, perpendicular to the vehicle vertical longitudinal plane, is tangent to the periphery of the opening. The periphery includes surfaces 100 millimeters inboard of the inside surface of the window glazing and 25 mm [...]
• Small manufacturer means an original vehicle manufacturer that produces or assembles fewer than 5,000 vehicles annually for sale in the United States.
• Target means the x-z plane projection of the ejection headform face as shown in Figure 1.

Limits of this page

This page quotes the text of 49 CFR 571.226 as published in the eCFR, current through October 29, 2026. It omits tables, figures, cross-referenced test procedures in other parts, and the preambles and rulemaking history that explain the rule. It does not tell you whether a given vehicle, part or product complies, how to run a test, or what a manufacturer must certify. Compliance questions go to the manufacturer's engineers, qualified counsel or NHTSA. The eCFR is an editorial compilation, not the official legal edition of the Federal Register.

Sources

Sources opened and read November 2, 2026.

• eCFR: 49 CFR 571.226, Standard No. 226; Ejection Mitigation. (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)
• eCFR: 49 CFR part 571, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)