Reese’s Law in the US mandates ANSI/US 4200A-2023 for button cell or coin battery products, covering secure battery compartments, performance testing, and detailed labeling requirements for consumer products and packaging, excluding toys.
The United States safety standard 16 CFR 1263 Button Cell or Coin Batteries and Consumer Products Containing Such Batteries originates from Reese’s Law, which was signed in August 2022. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued the safety standard in March 2024, and it came into effect in September 2024. It establishes the requirements for products containing button cell or coin batteries, and the packaging of button cell or coin batteries sold separately.
Key Requirements
The safety standard states that each consumer product, but excluding toy products, containing button cell or coin batteries shall comply with the standard ANSI/US 4200A-2023. This standard consists of the construction requirements, performance tests and markings. Products containing button cell or coin batteries shall be designed to minimize the risk of children removing and ingesting or aspirating the batteries.
Construction requirements
The battery compartment must be difficult for children to access. It must either be sealed securely (i.e. the batteries are not replaceable), or it must require tools or two independent actions to open it, if the batteries are replaceable.
Performance testing
The following tests are performed on the battery compartment of the product:
- Drop Test
- Impact Test
- Crush Test
- Torque Test
- Tension Test
- Compression Test
- Stress Relief
- Battery Replacement Test
Labelling requirements
In addition, UL 4200A defines detailed warning and labelling requirements for the packaging of button and coin batteries, as well as for products which contain button or coin cell batteries, together with their packaging and instructions/user manuals.
There are rules dictating the font height to be used for the warning statement and also the hazard information on the packaging, this is related to size of the Principal Display Panel (PDP) of the packaging.
Example Warning Labels
Examples of the warning symbols and information are shown below:
- Example of the Information required on the principal display panel:
- Example of product marking
- An alternative symbol that can be used on products where there is limited space
