Proposed Rule2026-18103
Notice of Availability and Request for Comment: Revision to the Voluntary Standard for Products Containing Button Cell or Coin Batteries
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 3, 2026
Issuing agencies
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Abstract
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's (Commission or CPSC) mandatory rule, Safety Standard for Button Cell or Coin Batteries and Consumer Products Containing Such Products, incorporates by reference UL 4200A, Standard for Safety for Products Incorporating Button Batteries or Coin Cell Batteries. UL notified the Commission that it has revised this incorporated voluntary standard. CPSC seeks comment on whether the revision improves the safety of button cell or coin batteries and consumer products containing such products.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 170 (Thursday, September 3, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 170 (Thursday, September 3, 2026)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 56604-56605]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-18103]
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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
16 CFR Part 1263
[Docket No. CPSC-2023-0004]
Notice of Availability and Request for Comment: Revision to the
Voluntary Standard for Products Containing Button Cell or Coin
Batteries
AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.
ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's (Commission or
CPSC) mandatory rule, Safety Standard for Button Cell or Coin Batteries
and Consumer Products Containing Such Products, incorporates by
reference UL 4200A, Standard for Safety for Products Incorporating
Button Batteries or Coin Cell Batteries. UL notified the Commission
that it has revised this incorporated voluntary standard. CPSC seeks
comment on whether the revision improves the safety of button cell or
coin batteries and consumer products containing such products.
DATES: Comments must be received by September 17, 2026.
ADDRESSES: You can submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2023-
0004, by any of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit electronic comments to the Federal
eRulemaking Portal at: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments. Do not submit through this
website: confidential business information, trade secret information,
or other sensitive or protected information that you do not want to be
available to the public. CPSC typically does not accept comments
submitted by email, except as described below.
Confidential Written Submissions: CPSC encourages you to submit
electronic comments by using the Federal eRulemaking Portal. If you
wish to submit confidential business information, trade secret
information, or other sensitive or protected information that you do
not want to be available to the public, you may submit such comments by
email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5f3c2f2c3c72302c1f3c2f2c3c71383029"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="197a696a7a34766a597a696a7a377e766f">[email protected]</span></a>.
Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and
docket number. CPSC may post all comments without change, including any
personal identifiers, contact information, or other personal
information provided, to: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. Do not submit to
this website: confidential business information, trade secret
information, or other sensitive or protected information that you do
not want to be available to the public. If you wish to submit such
information, please submit it according to the instructions for
confidential written submissions.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, and insert the
docket number, CPSC-2023-0004, into the ``Search'' box, and follow the
prompts.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel Taxier, Project Manager,
Division of Mechanical and Combustion Engineering, U.S. Consumer
Product Safety Commission, 5 Research Place, Rockville, MD 20850;
telephone: (301) 987-2211; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#cca8b8adb4a5a9be8cafbcbfafe2aba3ba"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="bfdbcbdec7d6dacdffdccfccdc91d8d0c9">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Reese's Law was enacted to protect children
six years old and younger against hazards associated with the ingestion
of button cell or coin batteries during reasonably foreseeable use or
misuse conditions. 15 U.S.C. 2056e(a)(1). Section 5 of Reese's Law
broadly defines a ``button cell or coin battery'' as ``(A) a single
cell battery with a diameter greater than the height of the battery; or
(B) any other battery, regardless of the technology used to produce an
electrical charge, that is determined by the Commission to pose an
ingestion hazard.'' Notes to 15 U.S.C. 2056e.
Section 2(a)(2) of Reese's Law mandates that the Commission
establish, by rulemaking, warning label requirements for consumer
products containing button cell or coin batteries, and for packaging of
button cell or coin batteries. The warning labels required by section
2(a)(2) of Reese's Law must: (1) clearly identify the hazard of
ingestion; and (2) instruct consumers, as practicable, to keep new and
used batteries out of the reach of children, to seek immediate medical
attention if a battery is ingested, and to follow any other consensus
medical advice. 15 U.S.C. 2056e(b).
Under this authority, the Commission issued a mandatory safety rule
that incorporates by reference ANSI/UL 4200A, Standard for Safety for
Products Incorporating Button Batteries or Coin Cell Batteries,
approved on August 30, 2023 (UL 4200A-2023), with additional
requirements, codified at 16 CFR part 1263 (88 FR 65274 (September 21,
2023) and 88 FR 65296 (September 21, 2023)). This mandatory standard
includes performance requirements and test procedures, as well as
requirements for warning labels and instructions, to address the
ingestion hazard associated with button cell or coin batteries and
consumer products containing such products.
Section 2(f) of Reese's Law specifies the process for when a
voluntary standards organization revises a standard that the Commission
previously had incorporated by reference under section 2(e). First, the
voluntary standards organization must notify the Commission of the
revision. Once the Commission receives this notification, the
Commission may reject or accept the revised standard in whole or in
part. To reject a revised standard, the Commission must notify the
voluntary standards organization within 90 days of receiving the notice
of
[[Page 56605]]
revision that the revised voluntary standard, in whole or in part, does
not improve the safety of the consumer product covered by the standard
and that the Commission is retaining all or part of the existing
consumer product safety standard. If the Commission does not take this
action, the revised voluntary standard will be considered a consumer
product safety standard issued under section 9 of the Consumer Product
Safety Act (CPSA) (15 U.S.C. 2058), effective 180 days after the
Commission received notification of the revision (or a later date
specified by the Commission in the Federal Register). 15 U.S.C.
2056e(f)(2).
On August XX, 2026, UL notified the Commission that it had approved
and published a revised version of the voluntary standard, UL 4200A-
2026. CPSC is assessing the revised voluntary standard to determine,
consistent with section 2(f) of Reese's Law, its effect on the safety
of button cell or coin batteries and consumer products containing such
products subject to 16 CFR part 1263. The Commission invites public
comment to inform CPSC staff's assessment and subsequent Commission
consideration of the revisions in UL 4200A-2026.
UL 4200A-2026 is copyrighted. UL 4200A-2026 is available for review
in several ways. A read-only copy of the revised standard UL 4200A-
2026, is available to view at no cost, on UL's website at <a href="https://www.ulstandards.com/IBR/logon.aspx">https://www.ulstandards.com/IBR/logon.aspx</a>. Additionally, interested parties
can purchase a copy of the UL standard from UL, 151 Eastern Avenue,
Bensenville, IL 60106, Telephone: 1-888-853-3503 or online at: <a href="http://ulstandards.ul.com/">http://ulstandards.ul.com/</a>. Finally, interested parties can schedule an
appointment to inspect a copy of the standard at CPSC's Office of the
Secretary, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East-West
Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814, telephone: 301-504-7479; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#87e4f7f4e4aae8f4c7e4f7f4e4a9e0e8f1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e380939080ce8c90a380939080cd848c95">[email protected]</span></a>.
Comments must be received by September 17, 2026. Because of the
short statutory time frame Congress established for the Commission to
consider revised voluntary standards under section 2(f) of Reese's Law,
CPSC will not consider comments received after this date.
Alberta E. Mills,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2026-18103 Filed 9-2-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P
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