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CPSC general useUnited StatesDressers and chests

Do dressers need to meet the STURDY Act?

Updated

Short answer

Yes, for clothing storage units made after September 1, 2023.

The STURDY Act led CPSC to make ASTM F2057-23 a mandatory consumer product safety standard in 16 CFR part 1261. It applies to clothing storage units manufactured after September 1, 2023, and is meant to protect children up to 72 months from tip-over deaths and injuries. Each unit within the standard's scope must pass its stability tests, carry its warning label and come with a tip restraint, and the importer issues a General Certificate of Conformity (GCC), or a CPC for children's furniture.

What changes the answer

  • What is a clothing storage unit. 16 CFR 1261.1(b) covers any free-standing furniture item intended for storing clothing, typical of bedroom furniture, such as dressers, chests of drawers and armoires. Built-in units are not free-standing.
  • Scope limits. ASTM F2057-23 sets its own scope, including height and design limits. Read the scope section with your lab before deciding a short chest or a nightstand-style unit is out.
  • Kids furniture. A dresser sized or themed for children 12 and under is a children's product. It needs third-party testing at a CPSC-accepted lab, lead limits on paint and accessible parts, tracking labels and a CPC.
  • Names do not decide it. The definition turns on whether the unit is intended for storing clothing and is typical of bedroom furniture, not on the product title. A chest of drawers listed as a storage cabinet can still be in scope.

What to do

  1. Have the unit tested to ASTM F2057-23, including the stability tests with open, filled drawers and test conditions that represent carpet and a climbing child, as the standard specifies.
  2. Apply the warning label in the location and format the standard requires, and include the tip restraint and installation instructions.
  3. Issue a GCC citing 16 CFR 1261 with the 16 CFR 1110.11 data elements. For children's dressers, issue a CPC based on third-party tests.
  4. eFile the certificate data with the entry, required since July 8, 2026.
HTS line for wooden dressers
  • 9403.50.90.80

    9403: Other furniture and parts thereof

    Wooden furniture of a kind used in the bedroom / Other

    Wooden bedroom furniture, other than beds. Metal or plastic units classify elsewhere in heading 9403.

    General rate
    Free

Next steps

Frequently asked questions

Does a tip restraint alone make a dresser compliant?
No. The unit must pass the F2057-23 stability tests on its own. The tip restraint is an added requirement, not a substitute for stability.
Do I need third-party testing for an adult dresser?
No. An adult dresser is a general use product, so the GCC can rest on your own test or a reasonable testing program.
Do units made before September 1, 2023 have to comply?
The rule applies to clothing storage units manufactured after September 1, 2023. Older stock is outside part 1261, but CPSC can still act against a unit that presents a substantial hazard.

Sources

  1. 16 CFR part 1261, Safety standard for clothing storage units, eCFR, National Archives
  2. 16 CFR 1261.1, Scope and purpose, eCFR, National Archives
  3. 16 CFR 1110.11, Certificate content requirements, eCFR, National Archives
  4. Certificates of Compliance final rule (eFiling), published January 8, 2025, Federal Register

This is general information drawn from the official sources linked above. It is not legal advice. Rules change and often turn on the facts of your product, so confirm your test plan with an accredited lab and your obligations with qualified counsel before you import or sell.