Corded window blinds are not illegal to own, but manufacturing, importing, or selling new ones that fail federal safety standards is. Since May 30, 2023, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has required all custom window coverings made for the U.S. market to be cordless, have inaccessible cords, or use cords no longer than eight inches in any position. Stock window coverings sold off the shelf already had to meet similar requirements under an industry standard the CPSC treats as enforceable. If you already have corded blinds in your home, keeping them is lawful. Selling them, donating them, or installing new corded products is where the legal problems start.
What the Federal Rule Prohibits
The mandatory safety standard is 16 CFR Part 1260. It applies to custom window coverings — blinds, shades, curtains, and draperies made to a consumer’s specifications — manufactured after May 30, 2023. Those products must be cordless, have inaccessible cords, or have operating cords no longer than eight inches in any position. The rule also barred manufacturers and importers from stockpiling non-compliant inventory during the phase-in.1Federal Register. Safety Standard for Operating Cords on Custom Window Coverings
Stock window coverings — the ready-made kind you buy off a shelf — are covered by a separate CPSC rule that places non-compliant products on the federal substantial product hazard list. That designation triggers recalls, mandatory reporting, and import refusal for any stock product with hazardous cords.2eCFR. 16 CFR Part 1120 – Substantial Product Hazard List
An updated industry standard, ANSI/WCMA A100.1-2022, took effect on June 1, 2024, and eliminates free-hanging operating cords, free-hanging tilt cords, and multiple cords feeding into a single connector on made-to-order products.3Window Covering Safety Council. Revised Safety Standard Will Result in More Window Coverings Sold in US Market to be Cordless Practically, any window covering manufactured for the U.S. market since mid-2024 should be cordless or designed so a child cannot reach or loop the cord around their neck.
Why the Rule Exists
About nine children under five die every year from strangling in window blinds, shades, draperies, and other corded coverings. Between January 2009 and December 2021, the CPSC documented more than 200 incidents involving children up to eight years old. A child died in 48 percent of those incidents. Survivors suffered injuries ranging from scars around the neck to quadriplegia and permanent brain damage.4United States Consumer Product Safety Commission. Nearly Half of Incidents with Kids and Corded Window Coverings Resulted in Death
The CPSC said decades of warning labels, voluntary industry pledges, and consumer education had not reduced the death toll, which is why it moved from voluntary compliance to a mandatory standard.5United States Consumer Product Safety Commission. CPSC Approves New Federal Safety Standard for Custom Window Coverings
Owning Corded Blinds You Already Have
The regulations target manufacturing, importing, and selling. Keeping corded blinds you bought before the rules took effect is not against the law, and no agency is coming to remove them.
The hazard, however, does not go away with a compliance date. The CPSC noted in its rulemaking that when a home is sold or rented, new residents — potentially families with young children — inherit those window coverings without knowing the risk.1Federal Register. Safety Standard for Operating Cords on Custom Window Coverings Replacement is the only step that eliminates the danger.
Selling, Donating, or Passing Them On
This is where most people run into a rule they didn’t know existed. Federal consumer product safety laws apply to anyone who sells or distributes consumer products, not only retailers. Thrift stores, consignment shops, charities, yard sales, and individuals listing items on eBay or Facebook Marketplace all fall within reach.6United States Consumer Product Safety Commission. Resellers Guide to Selling Safer Products
If a product has been recalled or does not comply with a CPSC safety standard, offering it for sale is illegal. The CPSC’s guidance to resellers is direct: non-compliant and recalled products should be destroyed, not sold or given away. For corded window coverings, that means old blinds should not go into a garage sale, a donation bin, or an online listing. If a specific product has been recalled, the CPSC expects you to participate in the recall remedy or destroy it.6United States Consumer Product Safety Commission. Resellers Guide to Selling Safer Products
Landlords and Rental Properties
No federal statute requires landlords to remove every corded blind already installed in a rental unit. But any new custom window covering ordered for a rental after May 30, 2023, must meet the mandatory standard, wherever the product ends up installed.1Federal Register. Safety Standard for Operating Cords on Custom Window Coverings Installing new non-compliant corded blinds in a rental is not permitted.
The exposure extends past the safety standard. The CPSC flagged rental housing as a specific concern, since new tenants may move in with young children and no warning that hazardous cords are present. A landlord who knows corded blinds are installed, knows the strangulation risk is documented, and does nothing could face negligence claims if a child is injured.
Schools and Childcare Facilities
The mandatory standard applies to custom window coverings used in residences, schools, and any setting where consumers have access to the covering and face a strangulation hazard.1Federal Register. Safety Standard for Operating Cords on Custom Window Coverings Products installed in a school, daycare, or childcare center after May 30, 2023, must meet the same cord requirements as residential products.
Penalties and Enforcement
Manufacturers, distributors, and retailers who learn a product fails a safety standard or contains a defect that could create a substantial hazard must report that information to the CPSC immediately.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 2064 – Substantial Product Hazards The Commission can order public notification, mandatory recalls, or both. Non-compliant imported window coverings are refused entry into the United States.2eCFR. 16 CFR Part 1120 – Substantial Product Hazard List
Knowing violations of the Consumer Product Safety Act carry civil penalties up to $120,000 per violation, with a cap of $17,150,000 for a related series of violations. Those figures are adjusted periodically for inflation, so current maximums may be slightly higher.8Federal Register. Civil Penalties Notice of Adjusted Maximum Amounts Enforcement is active: in February 2025 the CPSC recalled Homebox Blackout Roller Window Shades sold on Amazon for having long operating cords that violated the window covering regulations.9United States Consumer Product Safety Commission. Homebox Blackout Roller Window Shades Recalled
If You Are Not Ready to Replace Them
Replacement is the only measure that fully removes the hazard. Until then, the CPSC recommends the following steps:
- Move cribs, beds, chairs, and toys away from windows so children cannot use them to reach cords.
- Shorten pull cords to eliminate any dangling length.
- Check cord stops on each pull cord and position them within one to two inches of the headrail when the blind is fully lowered.
- Anchor continuous-loop cords to the wall or floor with a fastener so the loop stays taut.
If your blinds lack cord stops or a hold-down device for a continuous loop, the Window Covering Safety Council offers free retrofit kits through 800-506-4636 or windowcoverings.org.10United States Consumer Product Safety Commission. Window Covering Cords
Two limits are worth knowing. The free retrofit kits address certain hazards but do not fix the dangling pull cord found on many common blinds. And blinds sold before November 2000 often have inner cords a child can pull into a loop large enough to catch around the neck. The CPSC says those older blinds should be replaced immediately rather than retrofitted.10United States Consumer Product Safety Commission. Window Covering Cords