Lead-Containing Paint on Furniture and Painted Products Sold in the United States: What 16 CFR Part 1303 Says

16 CFR Part 1303 is the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission rule titled “Ban of lead-containing paint and certain consumer products bearing lead-containing paint”. It is short, and it names furniture articles directly, so a buyer importing painted or coated furniture, or painted products for schools, hospitals and public buildings, needs to read it and not only the supplier’s datasheet.

This article reads the part as published in the electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR, Part 1303), full text as of 8 October 2026, which was the latest issue date the eCFR service offered when we read it on 13 October 2026. It quotes or closely paraphrases the text. It is a reading of the rule for procurement planning, not legal advice, and it does not decide whether any particular product is caught. We did not read the Consumer Product Safety Act, section 101 of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, the labelling rules the part cross-refers to, or any Commission guidance. For related rules, see our guides to the federal upholstered furniture rule, 16 CFR 1640 and paint and coating manufacturers in China.

What the part declares

Section 1303.1(a) declares that paint and similar surface-coating materials for consumer use that contain lead or lead compounds, and in which the lead content (calculated as lead metal) is in excess of 0.06 percent of the weight of the total nonvolatile content of the paint or of the weight of the dried paint film, are banned hazardous products under sections 8 and 9 of the Consumer Product Safety Act. The same paragraph adds that the 0.06 percent figure is reduced to 0.009 percent effective 14 August 2009, as mandated by Congress in section 101(f) of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008.

The paragraph then declares two kinds of consumer products to be banned hazardous products when they bear “lead-containing paint”: toys and other articles intended for use by children, and furniture articles for consumer use. Section 1303.4 repeats this in a list: lead-containing paint itself, toys and articles for children that bear it, and furniture articles that bear it, in each case manufactured after 27 February 1978 and unless exempted by section 1303.3.

Where the ban applies

Section 1303.1(b) says the ban applies to products manufactured after 27 February 1978 that are “consumer products” as defined in section 3(a)(1) of the Consumer Product Safety Act. It describes covered products as those customarily produced or distributed for sale to or for use, consumption or enjoyment of consumers in or around a household, in schools, in recreation, or otherwise. It adds that, in addition to products sold directly to consumers, the ban applies to products used or enjoyed by consumers after sale, such as paints used in “residences, schools, hospitals, parks, playgrounds, and public buildings or other areas where consumers will have direct access to the painted surface”.

The same paragraph says paints and coatings for motor vehicles and boats are not within the ban because they fall outside the statutory definition of a consumer product. The part does not contain a separate rule for furniture sold to hotels or offices. Whether a given contract furniture item is a consumer product in the sense of section 1303.1(b) is a question for your adviser; the text of the part does not answer it item by item.

Definitions that matter to a furniture schedule

Section 1303.2(b) defines the terms the ban relies on. Those that bear most on a furniture or building-products schedule are the following.

• Paint and other similar surface-coating materials: a fluid, semi-fluid or other material, with or without a suspension of finely divided colouring matter, which changes to a solid film when a thin layer is applied to a metal, wood, stone, paper, leather, cloth, plastic or other surface. The definition does not include printing inks or materials that become part of the substrate, such as the pigment in a plastic article, or materials that are bonded to the substrate, such as by electroplating or ceramic glazing.
• Lead-containing paint: paint or similar coating containing lead or lead compounds with lead content (calculated as lead metal) in excess of the percentage in section 1303.1(a), by weight of the total nonvolatile content or the dried paint film.
• Furniture article: movable articles used to support people or things, and other functional or decorative furniture articles, including but not limited to beds, bookcases, chairs, chests, tables, dressers, desks, pianos, console televisions and sofas.
• What a furniture article is not: the definition says it does not include appliances; fixtures such as bathroom fixtures, built-in cabinets, chandeliers, windows and doors; or household items such as window shades, venetian blinds, wall hangings and draperies.

The distinction between a movable furniture article and a fixture is the one a mixed schedule should test line by line: a freestanding wardrobe and a built-in wardrobe are different lines of the same package under this definition.

Exemptions and their labelling conditions

Section 1303.3 sets out exemptions in two tiers. Section 1303.3(b) lists products exempt from the ban provided they carry the label statements in section 1303.3(a); section 1303.3(c) lists products exempt with no cautionary labelling required.

• Section 1303.3(b), exempt with labelling: agricultural and industrial equipment refinish coatings; industrial and commercial building and equipment maintenance coatings, including traffic and safety marking coatings; graphic art coatings; touchup coatings for agricultural equipment, lawn and garden equipment and appliances; and catalysed coatings marketed solely for use on radio-controlled model powered aircraft.
• Section 1303.3(a), the label conditions: the signal word “Warning” and the statement “Contains Lead. Dried Film of This Paint May Be Harmful If Eaten or Chewed.” on the main panel of the label, together with a statement that the product is not to be applied on toys and other children’s articles, furniture, or interior surfaces of any dwelling or facility which may be occupied or used by children, and not on exterior surfaces of dwelling units to which children may be commonly exposed.
• Section 1303.3(c), exempt without labelling: mirrors that are part of furniture articles, to the extent that they bear lead-containing backing paint; artists’ paints and related materials; and “metal furniture articles (but not metal children’s furniture) bearing factory-applied (lead) coatings”.

The last entry is worded narrowly: it names metal furniture articles bearing factory-applied coatings and carves out metal children’s furniture. The part does not extend it to timber, upholstered or plastic furniture, and it does not define “factory-applied” in the text we read.

The part at a glance

What a specification for painted or coated goods should ask

None of the following is a requirement placed on a factory by Part 1303. They are questions a United States importer can write into the specification so the coating is settled before an order is placed. Put each answer in writing and keep it with the purchase order.

• Item classification: for each item code, whether it is a movable furniture article as section 1303.2(b)(4) defines it, a fixture, or something else, and who made that call.
• Coating identification: the coating system on each painted or lacquered surface, by the coating supplier’s name and product reference, so the lead question can be put to the right party.
• Lead statement: a written statement of the lead content of the coating, on the basis the part uses (percent by weight of the total nonvolatile content or of the dried paint film), issued for the coating and the finish actually applied.
• Children’s use: whether the item is intended for children, since the exemption for metal furniture articles excludes metal children’s furniture.
• Exempt coatings: if a coating is offered under an exemption in section 1303.3, which paragraph is relied on and whether the label statements are on the container.
• Change control: a commitment that a change of coating or supplier is notified and approved before production, by item code.

For related items see our note on formaldehyde standards for cabinets and our guide to hotel room furniture from China.

Questions to settle with your adviser

These are questions for your product-safety and customs advisers, not statements of what the rule means. Write the answers into the specification file.

• Is the item a “consumer product” in the sense of section 1303.1(b) when it is supplied to a hotel, a school, a hospital or a public building?
• Is a built-in or fixed item a furniture article or a fixture under section 1303.2(b)(4)?
• Does the factory-applied coating exemption in section 1303.3(c)(3) cover the finish on a given metal item, and does the item count as children’s furniture?
• What certification or testing records does the importer need to hold for the coating, under rules outside Part 1303?
• Who holds the coating records for each item code after delivery?

What this reading does not cover

This article does not read the Consumer Product Safety Act, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, 16 CFR 1500.121 (referred to in section 1303.3(a)(3)), the rules on lead in children’s products, certification and testing requirements, or any state rule. It does not state penalties, and it does not say that any named product is or is not caught. Check the eCFR for the current version before you rely on this reading, because the text we read is the part as of 8 October 2026, and keep a dated copy with the project file so that the position at the date of the order can be shown later.

Questions buyers ask about 16 CFR Part 1303

What does 16 CFR Part 1303 ban?

It bans lead-containing paint for consumer use, and toys and other articles for children and furniture articles that bear lead-containing paint, as banned hazardous products, with the exemptions set out in section 1303.3.

What lead level does the part set?

Section 1303.1(a) refers to lead content in excess of 0.06 percent by weight of the total nonvolatile content of the paint or of the dried paint film, and says the figure is reduced to 0.009 percent effective 14 August 2009 as mandated by Congress.

Does the part cover furniture for hotels and offices?

The part covers furniture articles for consumer use and says the ban applies to products used or enjoyed by consumers after sale, including in schools, hospitals and public buildings. It does not address hotel or office furniture by name, so ask your adviser about a specific item.

Are metal furniture articles exempt?

Section 1303.3(c)(3) exempts metal furniture articles, but not metal children’s furniture, bearing factory-applied coatings, with no cautionary labelling required. Check the exact wording against the item.

How does FBM Sourcing support this kind of project?

We review the brief, collect comparable quotations and manage the package for the project. For suppliers you nominate, we charge a 5% commission; for products we source for you, we quote a direct price. Our own team performs one inspection after bulk production is complete and before shipment, and the client’s project team is welcome to attend.

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