A dresser can look ready for the American market long before it is ready to ship. The finish, dimensions and price may work. The unresolved question is whether that exact product meets the US stability rule, and who will certify it.
For a European home brand, that belongs in the product decision before the first US order. Testing may change the design. The design may change the cost. Discovering that after agreeing a price leaves very little room to move.
Start with the product, not the catalogue name
The US rule implementing STURDY is already in force. It applies to covered clothing storage units manufactured after September 1, 2023. The current regulation incorporates ASTM F2057-23 through 16 CFR part 1261. [1] [2]
CPSC defines the category by intended use and physical characteristics. A covered unit is free-standing, intended for clothing storage typical of bedroom furniture, at least 27 inches high, at least 30 pounds in mass, and has at least 3.2 cubic feet of enclosed storage volume. All of those criteria matter. Dressers, chests and armoires can fall within scope; qualifying fabric dressers can too. [1]
The catalogue label is not the whole assessment. CPSC lists exclusions, including dining room furniture, bookcases and certain accent furniture not intended for bedroom use. A brand should document the intended use and measurements of each US model rather than assume that calling it a cabinet settles the question. [1]
An anchor kit does not replace stability
Covered units must pass three stability tests: a simulated clothing-load test, a horizontal-force test, and a test simulating carpet with a 60-pound child weight. These address use conditions that a photograph cannot show: open drawers, clothing inside them, and forces acting on the furniture. [1] [3]
An anti-tip device meeting ASTM F3096 must also be packaged with the product, alongside the required warning labels. CPSC is explicit that including an anchor kit does not remove the need for stability testing: the unit must meet the stability requirements without the kit installed. Anchoring remains important, but it is not a substitute for a compliant unit. [1] [4]
The commercial implication is simple: test the product you intend to sell. Treat changes to its dimensions, construction or drawer system as reasons to check whether the existing evidence still supports compliance. CPSC advises retesting when a material change could affect compliance. A report for an earlier version should not become a permanent passport for every later version. [5]
Name the importer before preparing the certificate
Testing and certification are separate steps. General-use products require a General Certificate of Conformity based on testing or a reasonable testing program. For goods manufactured overseas, CPSC says the importer must issue the GCC. A laboratory can help prepare it; responsibility remains with the importer. [5]
Clothing storage units that are children's products require a Children's Product Certificate and testing by a CPSC-accepted third-party laboratory. The fact that STURDY protects children does not make every dresser a children's product. The product's classification needs its own assessment. [1] [5]
There is also a current import-data requirement. CPSC's certificate update sets July 8, 2026 as the general imported-product compliance date for electronic filing of certificate data. Products entered from a Foreign Trade Zone have a January 8, 2027 date. The certificate file therefore belongs in shipment preparation, not in a folder nobody has assigned to the broker. [6]
Put the evidence into the first-order plan
Before confirming a US order, settle the model's scope, the applicable testing, the final warnings and anti-tip device, the certifying importer, and the certificate-data handoff. These are operating decisions as much as regulatory ones.
A beautiful dresser can win a buyer's attention. A product whose design, testing and import file agree is ready for the next conversation: how to sell it, deliver it and reorder it.
Sources
- [1] CPSC: scope, tests, warnings and certification
- [2] Current regulation: ASTM F2057-23
- [3] CPSC: STURDY adoption and test conditions
- [4] CPSC FAQ: anchor kits and manufacturing date
- [5] CPSC: general-use testing and importer responsibility
- [6] CPSC: current certificate and eFiling dates
General information, not a product-specific compliance opinion. Regulatory sources checked October 7, 2026.
Photo: K Adams / Unsplash.