Manufacturing & Engineering UK-wide

Meet the furniture fire-safety and product-safety rules

Upholstered furniture and mattresses must meet strict fire-safety requirements before you can sell them, and all furniture must meet general product safety. This guide takes you through the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 — the ignition-resistance tests and the labelling — and the residual general product safety duty.

Guide summary

Make sure your upholstered furniture, mattresses and cushions pass fire-safety tests before you sell them. You must attach a permanent label and a display label. If your furniture is not covered by these fire-safety rules, it must still meet general product safety law.

  • Pass cigarette and match ignition tests for upholstered furniture and mattresses
  • Attach a permanent label to new furniture to show it meets fire-safety rules
  • Put a display label on items at the point of sale
  • Keep records that prove your materials passed the required tests
  • Rigid wooden, kitchen and office furniture must still be safe under general rules
  • Trading Standards enforce fire-safety rules – penalties can include fines and prison
  • General product safety fines can reach £20,000 and up to 12 months in prison
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Related guides in General Compliance

Furniture carries its own product rules on top of the factory duties. The most important is the fire-safety regime for upholstered furniture and mattresses, which sets ignition-resistance standards and labelling you must meet before you place a product on the market. Anything outside that regime must still meet general product safety. The fire-safety regime is enforced by Trading Standards, and general product safety by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) and Trading Standards.

A. Meet the furniture fire-safety regulations

If you make upholstered domestic furniture, mattresses, bed bases, scatter cushions, pillows or loose covers, you must meet the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988. The Regulations set ignition-resistance standards for filling materials and cover fabrics, require furniture to pass cigarette and match ignition tests, and require both a permanent label and, at the point of sale, a display label. This is a Great Britain regime enforced by Trading Standards; if you supply the Northern Ireland market, check the position there separately.

B. Meet the general product safety duty

Furniture and furnishings that fall outside the fire-safety regime — for example rigid wooden, kitchen and office furniture — must still be safe under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005, which set a residual duty to place only safe products on the market. The General Product Safety Regulations 2005 are a Great Britain regime enforced by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) and Trading Standards; if you supply the Northern Ireland market, check the position there separately, as Northern Ireland follows EU product-safety rules under the Windsor Framework.

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    1. Identify which of your products are within the fire-safety regime

    Upholstered domestic furniture, mattresses, bed bases, cushions, pillows and loose covers are covered; work out which of your products fall within the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988.

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    2. Meet the ignition-resistance standards and pass the tests

    Make sure filling materials and cover fabrics meet the ignition-resistance requirements and that the furniture passes the cigarette and match ignition tests.

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    3. Apply the permanent and display labels

    Attach the required permanent label and provide the point-of-sale display label, and keep records to show compliance.

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    4. Make sure other furniture meets general product safety

    For furniture outside the fire-safety regime, confirm it is safe under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005. Check the NI position separately if you supply there.

What to do next

With your safe-factory spine and the furniture product rules in place, confirm the whole picture with the furniture manufacturer compliance checklist. If you are not sure which guides apply to you, start from the router.

Official sources

Authoritative furniture fire-safety and product-safety guidance.