Title 15 — Commerce and TradeRelease 119-73
§1278 Requirements for labeling certain toys and games
Title 15 › Chapter CHAPTER 30— - HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES › § 1278
Summary
Products made for children at least 3 years old but not older than 6 years (the safety agency can change the top age but not below 5) that have a small part must carry a clear warning. The warning must appear on the package, on any printed or online description that comes with the product, and on bins, vending machines, or other displays when the product is sold unpackaged. Special rules apply for latex balloons, balls 1.75 inches in diameter or smaller, and marbles, and for toys that include those items: their packaging, accompanying materials, and bulk displays must include the correct caution. Ads that let people buy directly (including web pages and catalogs) must show the right warning next to the ad. Makers, importers, distributors, and private labelers must tell retailers about any warning needed. A retailer is not at fault if they asked for this information and the supplier lied or gave no answer. Warnings in ads must use the ad’s main language, be easy to read and stand out, and follow the agency’s label rules. Online ad rules started 120 days after August 14, 2008, and catalog/printed-ad rules started 180 days after that date. The safety agency had 90 days after August 14, 2008 to make detailed rules and could allow up to a 180-day grace period for catalogs already printed. The agency can set the warning size and placement and decide how rules apply to business-only catalogs. Normally the full warning must be on the package’s main panel in English and printed clearly. One small exception lets foreign-made items sent directly to a buyer rely on other included materials for the warning. If a package is 15 square inches or smaller and the warning appears in three or more languages, a short pointer on the main panel can point to the full warning on another panel. Products that do not meet these rules are treated as misbranded hazardous substances. The words manufacturer, distributor, private labeler, and retailer are defined by law; “retailer” does not include someone who sells only occasionally.
Full Legal Text
Title 15, §1278
Commerce and Trade — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)(1)The packaging of any toy or game intended for use by children who are at least 3 years old but not older than 6 years (or such other upper age limit as the Commission may determine, which may not be less than 5 years old), any descriptive material which accompanies such toy or game, and, in the case of bulk sales of such toy or game when unpackaged, any bin, container for retail display, or vending machine from which the unpackaged toy or game is dispensed shall bear or contain the cautionary statement described in paragraph (2) if the toy or game—
(A)is manufactured for sale, offered for sale, or distributed in commerce in the United States, and
(B)includes a small part, as defined by the Commission.
(2)The cautionary statement required by paragraph (1) for a toy or game shall be as follows:
(b)(1)In the case of any latex balloon, any ball with a diameter of 1.75 inches or less intended for children 3 years of age or older, any marble intended for children 3 years of age or older, or any toy or game which contains such a balloon, ball, or marble, which is manufactured for sale, offered for sale, or distributed in commerce in the United States—
(A)the packaging of such balloon, ball, marble, toy, or game,
(B)any descriptive material which accompanies such balloon, ball, marble, toy, or game, and
(C)in the case of bulk sales of any such product when unpackaged, any bin, container for retail display, or vending machine from which such unpackaged balloon, ball, marble, toy, or game is dispensed,
(2)The cautionary statement required under paragraph (1) for a balloon, ball, marble, toy, or game shall be as follows:
(A)In the case of balloons, or toys or games that contain latex balloons, the following cautionary statement applies:
(B)In the case of balls, the following cautionary statement applies:
(C)In the case of marbles, the following cautionary statement applies:
(D)In the case of toys or games containing balls, the following cautionary statement applies: In the case of toys or games containing marbles, the following cautionary statement applies:
(c)(1)(A)Any advertisement by a retailer, manufacturer, importer, distributor, or private labeler (including advertisements on Internet websites or in catalogues or other printed materials) that provides a direct means for the purchase or order of a product for which a cautionary statement is required under subsection (a) or (b) shall include the appropriate cautionary statement displayed on or immediately adjacent to that advertisement, as modified by regulations issued under paragraph (3).
(B)(i)A manufacturer, importer, distributor, or private labeler that provides such a product to a retailer shall inform the retailer of any cautionary statement requirement applicable to the product.
(ii)A retailer is not in violation of subparagraph (A) if the retailer requested information from the manufacturer, importer, distributor, or private labeler as to whether the cautionary statement required by subparagraph (A) applies to the product that is the subject of the advertisement and the manufacturer, importer, distributor, or private labeler provided false information or did not provide such information.
(C)The cautionary statement required by subparagraph (A) shall be prominently displayed—
(i)in the primary language used in the advertisement;
(ii)in conspicuous and legible type in contrast by typography, layout, or color with other material printed or displayed in such advertisement; and
(iii)in a manner consistent with part 1500 of title 16, Code of Federal Regulations.
(D)In this subsection:
(i)The terms “manufacturer”, “distributor”, and “private labeler” have the meaning given those terms in section 2052 of this title.
(ii)The term “retailer” has the meaning given that term in section 2052 of this title, but does not include an individual whose selling activity is intermittent and does not constitute a trade or business.
(2)The requirement in paragraph (1) shall take effect—
(A)with respect to advertisements on Internet websites, 120 days after August 14, 2008; and
(B)with respect to catalogues and other printed materials, 180 days after August 14, 2008.
(3)Notwithstanding any provision of chapter 6 of title 5 or the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the Commission shall, not later than 90 days after August 14, 2008, promulgate regulations to effectuate this section with respect to catalogues and other printed material. The Commission may, under such regulations, provide a grace period of no more than 180 days for catalogues and other printed material printed prior to the effective date of paragraph (1) during which time distribution of such catalogues and other printed material shall not be considered a violation of such paragraph. The Commission may promulgate regulations concerning the size and placement of the cautionary statement required by paragraph (1) of this subsection as appropriate relative to the size and placement of the advertisements in such catalogues and other printed material. The Commission shall promulgate regulations that clarify the applicability of these requirements to catalogues and other printed material distributed solely between businesses and not to individual consumers.
(4)The requirements in paragraph (1) shall be treated as a consumer product safety standard promulgated under section 2058 of this title. The publication or distribution of any advertisement that is not in compliance with paragraph (1) shall be treated as a prohibited act under section 2068(a)(1) of this title.
(d)(1)Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), any cautionary statement required under subsection (a) or (b) shall be—
(A)displayed in its entirety on the principal display panel of the product’s package, and on any descriptive material which accompanies the product, and, in the case of bulk sales of such product when unpackaged, on the bin, container for retail display of the product, and any vending machine from which the unpackaged product is dispensed, and
(B)displayed in the English language in conspicuous and legible type in contrast by typography, layout, or color with other printed matter on such package, descriptive materials, bin, container, and vending machine, and in a manner consistent with part 1500 of title 16, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations thereto).
(2)In the case of a product manufactured outside the United States and directly shipped from the manufacturer to the consumer by United States mail or other delivery service, the accompanying material inside the package of the product may fail to bear the required statement if other accompanying material shipped with the product bears such statement.
(3)(A)A cautionary statement required by subsection (a) or (b) may, in lieu of display on the principal display panel of the product’s package, be displayed on another panel of the package if—
(i)the package has a principal display panel of 15 square inches or less and the required statement is displayed in three or more languages; and
(ii)the statement specified in subparagraph (B) is displayed on the principal display panel and is accompanied by an arrow or other indicator pointing toward the place on the package where the statement required by subsection (a) or (b) appears.
(B)(i)In the case of a product to which subsection (a), subsection (b)(2)(B), subsection (b)(2)(C), or subsection (b)(2)(D) applies, the statement specified by this subparagraph is as follows:
(ii)In the case of a product to which subsection (b)(2)(A) applies, the statement specified by this subparagraph is as follows:
(e)A balloon, ball, marble, toy, or game, that is not in compliance with the requirements of this subsection 11 So in original. Probably should be “this section”. shall be considered a misbranded hazardous substance under section 1261(p) of this title.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
References in Text
The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, referred to in subsec. (c)(3), is Pub. L. 96–511, Dec. 11, 1980, 94 Stat. 2812, which was classified principally to chapter 35 (§ 3501 et seq.) of Title 44, Public Printing and Documents, prior to the general amendment of that chapter by Pub. L. 104–13, § 2, May 22, 1995, 109 Stat. 163. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see
Short Title
of 1980 Amendment note set out under section 101 of Title 44 and Tables.
Amendments
2008—Subsecs. (c) to (e). Pub. L. 110–314 added subsec. (c) and redesignated former subsecs. (c) and (d) as (d) and (e), respectively.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
Pub. L. 103–267, title I, § 101(d),
June 16, 1994, 108 Stat. 725, provided that: “Subsections (a) and (b) [enacting this section and provisions set out as a note under section 1261 of this title] shall take effect
January 1, 1995, and section 24 of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act [this section] shall apply only to products entered into commerce on or after
January 1, 1995.”
Regulations
Pub. L. 103–267, title I, § 101(c), June 16, 1994, 108 Stat. 725, provided that: “The Consumer Product Safety Commission (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Commission’) shall promulgate
Regulations
, under section 553 of title 5, United States Code, for the implementation of this section [enacting this section and provisions set out as notes under this section and section 1261 of this title] and section 24 of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act [this section] by
July 1, 1994, or the date that is 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act [
June 16, 1994], whichever occurs first. Subsections (f) through (i) of section 3 of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C. 1262) shall not apply with respect to the issuance of
Regulations
under this subsection.” Preemption Pub. L. 103–267, title I, § 101(e), June 16, 1994, 108 Stat. 725, provided that: “(1) In general.—Subject to paragraph (2), a State or political subdivision of a State may not establish or enforce a requirement relating to cautionary labeling of small parts hazards or choking hazards in any toy, game, marble, small ball, or balloon intended or suitable for use by children unless such requirement is identical to a requirement established by
Amendments
made by this section to the Federal Hazardous Substances Act [enacting this section] or by
Regulations
promulgated by the Commission. “(2) Exception.—A State or political subdivision of a State may, until
January 1, 1995, enforce a requirement described in paragraph (1) if such requirement was in effect on
October 2, 1993.”
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
15 U.S.C. § 1278
Title 15 — Commerce and Trade
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73