Choking Hazard Warning Label: Text, Placement, and Penalties

The requirements for a choking hazard warning label are set by the Federal Hazardous Substances Act and 16 CFR 1500.19, and they apply to four categories of children’s products: toys with small parts, latex balloons, small balls, and marbles. If your product falls into one of those categories, federal law dictates the exact wording of the warning, how it must be formatted, and where it must appear, both on the package and in any online listing that lets a customer buy it. A product that should carry the warning but doesn’t is a “misbranded hazardous substance” under federal law, which exposes the manufacturer or importer to civil penalties, recalls, seizures, and in some cases criminal prosecution.¹

Which Products Need a Warning

Four product categories trigger the labeling requirement under 16 CFR 1500.19, and each has its own age trigger.

Toys and games with small parts intended for children ages three through five need a warning. This is the most common trigger and covers products from action figures with detachable accessories to board games with small pieces.

Latex balloons need a warning at any age, whether they are sold on their own or included in a toy or game. Foil and mylar balloons are not covered.

Small balls need a warning if they are intended for children, or if they appear in a toy for ages three through seven. A “small ball” is one that passes entirely through a circular hole 1.75 inches in diameter.

Marbles need a warning if they are intended for children three and older, or if they appear in a toy for ages three through seven.²

If a single product triggers more than one category (a game with both small parts and a marble, for example), every applicable warning must appear.

The Exact Warning Text You Must Use

The regulation dictates the warning wording word-for-word. You cannot paraphrase or write your own version.

For a toy or game with small parts, intended for ages three through five:

WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD — Small parts. Not for children under 3 yrs.

For latex balloons, at any age:

WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD — Children under 8 yrs. can choke or suffocate on uninflated or broken balloons. Adult supervision required. Keep uninflated balloons from children. Discard broken balloons at once.

For a small ball intended for children three and older:

WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD — This toy is a small ball. Not for children under 3 yrs.

For a toy or game containing a marble, intended for ages three through seven:

WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD — Toy contains a marble. Not for children under 3 yrs.²

Every warning follows the same pattern: signal word “WARNING,” then “CHOKING HAZARD,” then a hazard-specific description.

How the Warning Must Look and Where It Goes

The wording is only half the requirement. 16 CFR 1500.19(d) also controls the physical presentation of the warning, and the CPSC enforces these rules strictly.

The warning must appear on the principal display panel of the packaging, meaning the side a consumer sees first.
All warning text must be grouped inside a square or rectangular block and appear on at least two lines. If nearby graphics don’t leave enough clear space around it, a border line is required.
The block must sit on a solid background. Art or other text cannot crowd or obscure the warning.
The signal word “WARNING” must appear in capital letters next to an equilateral triangle containing an exclamation point. The triangle must be at least as tall as the letters in “WARNING.”
Minimum type sizes are set by a table in the regulation and scale with the area of the principal display panel, with separate minimums for the signal word, the statement of hazard, and the rest of the cautionary text. Packages from about two square inches up to over 400 square inches each have their own minimums.²

Type-size errors are among the most common compliance mistakes, especially on smaller packages where designers try to compress the block.

Online Listings and Catalog Advertising

The warning has to travel with the product into advertising. Under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 and 16 CFR 1500.20, any internet ad or catalog listing that provides a direct way to buy a toy or game requiring a choking hazard warning must display the applicable warning.³

For online listings, the full warning must appear at the beginning of the product-specific text. Abbreviated versions are not acceptable on the internet. Print catalogs get a little flexibility: a shorthand warning next to each product is allowed as long as the full warning appears at the top or bottom of the page or across the two-page spread. Both formats have minimum type-size rules. Business-to-business websites and catalogs may be exempt.

Products Intended for Children Under Three: A Stricter Rule

Labels are not the answer for products aimed at children under three. Under 16 CFR Part 1501, toys and children’s articles with small parts are banned outright for that age group. You cannot solve a small-parts problem for an under-three product with a warning, because the product cannot legally be sold at all.⁴

Whether a piece counts as a “small part” is determined with a standardized test cylinder that approximates the fully expanded throat of a child under three. If an object fits inside the cylinder in any orientation without being compressed, it qualifies. The test applies to the whole product, any separate component, and any piece that breaks off during simulated use-and-abuse testing.

Age grading is where this becomes a business decision. A product graded for under three is subject to the ban; a product graded for three and up needs the warning label instead. Grading too young turns the product into contraband, and grading older than the product’s real audience to sidestep the ban invites CPSC enforcement.

A short list of children’s products is exempt from the small parts ban because they either cannot exist without small parts or must be small to work: books and paper articles, crayons, chalk, pencils, pens, modeling clay, finger paints, watercolors and paint sets; buttons and shoelace holders on children’s clothing; toothbrushes, drinking glasses, dishes, eating utensils, diaper pins, clips, and barrettes. Balloons are exempt from the small parts ban itself, though latex balloons still need their own choking hazard warning. Rattles and pacifiers are not on the exemption list; they have separate small parts rules of their own.⁵

Certification Behind the Label

A correct label alone doesn’t close out compliance. Every children’s product sold in the United States must be accompanied by a Children’s Product Certificate stating that the product complies with all applicable safety rules, including the small parts regulations. The CPC must rest on passing test results from a third-party laboratory that the CPSC has accepted for the relevant tests.⁶

The manufacturer or importer is legally responsible for issuing the CPC, even if a lab or a consultant helps draft it. The certificate must be in English and must name the specific laboratory that ran the testing, with the lab’s full mailing address and telephone number. If a product qualifies for an exemption from third-party testing under a specific rule, a CPC is still required, but it cites the exemption instead of naming a lab.⁷

Penalties for Getting It Wrong

Under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, anyone who knowingly violates the labeling rules faces civil penalties of up to $100,000 per violation, with a $15,000,000 cap on any related series of violations. Those statutory numbers are adjusted upward for inflation from time to time, so the actual current maximum can be higher.⁸

Each product, and each day of a continuing violation, can count as a separate offense, so exposure climbs quickly for a company distributing large volumes. In setting the penalty, the CPSC looks at the severity of the risk, whether anyone was actually injured, the volume distributed, and the size of the business.

Fines are only part of the picture. The CPSC can seize misbranded products in interstate commerce, seek court orders halting distribution, and mandate recalls that force a company to pull inventory from shelves and notify consumers.

Criminal penalties are on the table as well. A first offense is a misdemeanor with up to 90 days in jail and a $500 fine. If the violation involves intent to defraud, or the defendant is a repeat offender, penalties rise to as much as five years of imprisonment and substantially higher fines.⁸

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1261 – Definitions
2
eCFR. 16 CFR 1500.19 – Misbranded Toys and Other Articles Intended for Use by Children
3
eCFR. 16 CFR 1500.20 – Labeling Requirement for Advertising Toys and Games
4
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Small Parts Ban and Choking Hazard Labeling
5
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Child Safety – Summary Information for Small Parts 16 CFR Part 1501
6
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Childrens Product Certificate
7
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Third-Party Testing Laboratory Accreditation and Small Entity Compliance Guide
8
GovInfo. 15 USC 1264 – Penalties, Seizures, and Injunctions