US Operating Cord Rule for Custom Window Coverings, 16 CFR Part 1260: What the Regulation Says for Blinds, Shades and Shadings

Blinds, shades and shadings are specified for hotel, apartment and office projects with cords, wands or motors. In the United States, operating cords on custom window coverings are the subject of a mandatory consumer product safety standard: 16 CFR Part 1260, issued by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The text states requirements for operating cords by reference to the American National Standard ANSI/WCMA A100.1—2018, and adds its own test methods for rigid cord shrouds, cord retraction devices and loop cord and bead chain restraining devices.

This article reads Part 1260 as published on the eCFR, in the text we downloaded on 17 October 2026 from the version dated 1 October 2026, which was the latest issue date for Title 16 that day. The source note records 87 FR 73189 of 28 November 2022. We quote or closely paraphrase the text. It is a reading for procurement planning, not legal advice, and it does not decide whether any particular product or project is covered. We did not read ANSI/WCMA A100.1—2018 itself, so definitions taken from it are given only as Part 1260 restates them, and we do not set out penalties. For the Canadian counterpart, see our reading of Canada’s Corded Window Coverings Regulations.

Scope and definitions: § 1260.1

Section 1260.1(a) says that the part “establishes a consumer product safety standard for operating cords on custom window coverings” and that its effective date is May 30, 2023. Paragraph (b) then restates definitions from section 3 of ANSI/WCMA A100.1—2018.

• Custom window covering (custom blinds, shades and shadings) is “any window covering that is not classified as a stock window covering”.
• Stock window covering is a window covering that is “completely or substantially fabricated prior to being distributed in commerce and is a specific stock-keeping unit (SKU)”.
• Operating cord is the portion of the cord that the user manipulates directly during operation, including lifting, lowering, tilting, rotating and traversing.
• Cord shroud is a device or material added to limit the accessibility of a cord or the formation of a hazardous loop; a rigid cord shroud is made of inflexible material that makes the cord inaccessible.
• Cord retraction device is a passive device that winds and gathers cords when tension is no longer applied by the user; a retractable cord extends when pulled and fully retracts when released.
• Loop cord and bead chain restraining device is a device integrated into the window covering that prevents the creation of a hazardous loop from an accessible continuous operating cord.
• Operating interface is the part the user touches or grasps by hand or with a tool, for example a wand or the bottom rail.

The definition of a stock window covering carries two sentences that matter to project buyers. Even when the seller, manufacturer or distributor modifies a pre-assembled product by adjusting it to size, attaching the top or bottom rail or tying cords to secure the bottom rail, the product is still considered stock. And “online sales of the product or the size of the order such as multi-family housing do not make the product a non-stock product”. The line between stock and custom is therefore drawn by the state of the product before distribution, and not by who orders it or how many are ordered.

The operating cord requirement: § 1260.2(a)

Section 1260.2(a) says that each custom window covering “shall comply with section 4.3.1 or 4.3.2.5.2, instead of section 4.3.2, of ANSI/WCMA A100.1—2018”. Part 1260 does not reproduce those sections. Its findings in § 1260.4(b)(6) describe the operating cord requirements for stock window coverings in section 4.3.1 as adequately addressing the strangulation hazard “by not allowing hazardous cords on the product by design”, so that they do not rely on consumer action, and the Commission found that the custom-product incidents it identified likely would have been prevented if those requirements had applied.

Paragraphs (b) to (d) of § 1260.2 then set out what a custom product must meet where it complies with paragraph (a) by using one of three devices: a rigid cord shroud, a cord retraction device, or a loop cord and bead chain restraining device. In its discussion of utility in § 1260.4(d)(2), the Commission also notes that consumers can choose a remote-controlled operating system or other tools such as a pole to operate a window covering.

Rigid cord shrouds: § 1260.2(b)

A rigid cord shroud used to make an operating cord inaccessible has to meet section 6.3 of ANSI/WCMA A100.1—2018 and must not have an accessible cord when tested by the two methods in the text.

• Center load test: support each end of the shroud, with the supports within 0.25 inches of the ends and without restricting rotation along the axis. Apply a 5-pound force at the center for at least 5 seconds and measure the maximum deflection. For a shroud of 19 inches or less, the deflection must not exceed 1 inch, and for every additional 19 inches of length the shroud can deflect an additional inch. While the force is applied, the cord shroud accessibility test probe shown in the text must not be able to touch any cord.
• Axial torque test: mount one end of the shroud and restrict its rotation, then apply a torque of 4.4 in-lb (0.5 Nm) along the other end for 5 seconds. While the torque is applied, the probe must not be able to touch any cord.

Cord retraction devices: § 1260.2(c)

A cord retraction device used for compliance has to meet four requirements in the text.

• With a mass of 30 grams applied to the operating interface, the device must maintain full retraction of the retractable cord so that the cord is not accessible as defined in Appendix C of ANSI/WCMA A100.1—2018.
• The maximum stroke length is 12 inches, measured from the bottom of the headrail.
• The operating interface may not be a cord of any length, including a short static or access cord. It may be a ring and pole, a wand or any other design that cannot bend on itself, so that it cannot create a hazardous loop.
• The device must have a service life of at least 5,000 cycles after exposed portions or components have been subjected to 500 hours of ultraviolet exposure under AATCC Test Method 16-2004, Option 3, as the text cites it.

Loop cord and bead chain restraining devices: § 1260.2(d)

A restraining device used for compliance has to meet section 6.5 of ANSI/WCMA A100.1—2018 with an additional test, and must not form a hazardous loop when tested by two further methods. The additional test takes one sample through the ultraviolet stability test in section 6.5.2.2 of the ANSI standard, followed by the operational cycle test in section 6.5.2.1. The two loop tests mirror the shroud tests: a center load test with a 5-pound force applied for at least 5 seconds and the same deflection limits, and an axial torque test of 4.4 in-lb (0.5 Nm) for 5 seconds. In each, if the hazardous loop head probe in the ANSI standard can pass through an opening between the cord and the restraining device, the opening is considered a hazardous loop.

Stockpiling and findings: §§ 1260.3 and 1260.4

Section 1260.3 prohibited manufacturers and importers from making or importing non-complying custom window coverings, in any 180-day period between November 28, 2022 and May 30, 2023, at a rate greater than 120 percent of the rate in a base period of their choosing, any 180 consecutive days in the five years before November 28, 2022. That window closed on the effective date.

Section 1260.4 records the Commission’s findings as they stood when the standard was issued on November 28, 2022. We cite them as the Commission’s findings, not as our own. They state, among other things, that operating cords on custom window coverings present an unreasonable risk of strangulation to children 8 years old and younger; that cord cleats and tension devices are unlikely to be effective to eliminate or substantially reduce the hazard and that warning labels are not likely to be effective; and that CPSC databases contained 209 reported fatal and nonfatal strangulations on window coverings among children eight years and younger from January 2009 through December 2021, of which 100 were fatal. In § 1260.4(h) the Commission also writes that it considers the Canadian standard “to be the most stringent because it applies to all window coverings”.

Which projects does this reach?

Part 1260 is “a consumer product safety standard”, and its authority line cites 15 U.S.C. 2056 and 2058 under the Consumer Product Safety Act. Section 3 of that Act, 15 U.S.C. 2052, defines a consumer product, as printed in the 2024 Edition of the U.S. Code on govinfo, as “any article, or component part thereof, produced or distributed (i) for sale to a consumer for use in or around a permanent or temporary household or residence, a school, in recreation, or otherwise, or (ii) for the personal use, consumption or enjoyment of a consumer in or around a permanent or temporary household or residence, a school, in recreation, or otherwise”. The definition excludes, among other things, “any article which is not customarily produced or distributed for sale to, or use or consumption by, or enjoyment of, a consumer”.

Part 1260 does not say how window coverings specified for a hotel, an office or a rental apartment building are to be treated. The only sentence that touches multi-family housing, in § 1260.1(b)(2), concerns the line between stock and custom products, not coverage. Whether a given order is within the standard depends on the product and the facts, and it belongs with your US adviser and, where needed, with the Commission. For the products themselves, see our guides to roller blind manufacturers in China and blackout curtains, roller blinds and motorised shades for hotels, and for the supply side of curtain systems, curtain tracks and rails.

Questions to put to the maker before production

The cord design is settled by the mechanism, so it has to be settled before production. These are the questions we would put in writing for each item code that is going to the United States.

• Is each item a stock or a custom window covering as § 1260.1(b) defines them, and on what basis does the maker say so?
• Which route in § 1260.2 does the design follow: section 4.3.1 or 4.3.2.5.2 of ANSI/WCMA A100.1—2018, a rigid cord shroud, a cord retraction device or a loop cord and bead chain restraining device?
• For a shroud, retraction device or restraining device, what test evidence does the maker hold for the exact device and size, against the center load, axial torque, ultraviolet and cycle tests in the text?
• Where the design is cordless or motorised, how does the maker show that no operating cord is present on the product?
• Which edition of ANSI/WCMA A100.1 does the maker work to, and who holds a licensed copy?
• Which document will travel with the shipment for each item code, and in whose name?

Questions buyers ask about 16 CFR Part 1260

When did the custom window covering cord rule take effect?

Section 1260.1(a) gives the effective date as May 30, 2023. Section 1260.3 limited non-complying production and imports between November 28, 2022 and that date.

Does Part 1260 apply to stock blinds and shades?

Its scope paragraph addresses custom window coverings, and it defines stock window coverings to draw the line between the two. The Commission’s findings describe section 4.3.1 of ANSI/WCMA A100.1—2018 as the operating cord requirement for stock products. Whether the voluntary standard applies to a given stock order is a question for your adviser.

Does a large multi-family order turn a stock product into a custom one?

No. Section 1260.1(b)(2) says that online sales of the product or the size of the order, such as multi-family housing, do not make the product a non-stock product.

Can a custom window covering keep an operating cord?

Section 1260.2 sets the routes: section 4.3.1 or 4.3.2.5.2 of the ANSI standard, and, where a rigid cord shroud, a cord retraction device or a loop cord and bead chain restraining device is used, the tests in § 1260.2(b) to (d). Ask the maker which route each item follows and for the evidence.

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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