Selling furniture online: tip-over rules, formaldehyde labels and upholstery tags

Furniture images are usually about style: the room, the light, the cushions. For three kinds of furniture, US law adds something underneath. Dressers and wardrobes must pass a tip-over standard and carry its warning. Anything made with composite wood must meet formaldehyde limits and say so on a label. Upholstered seating must meet a flammability standard and carry a permanent label. None of these is visible in a styled room shot, which is why your listing should show them.

This page covers each rule, what to show and never show in images, and what Amazon asks.

What this page covers: dressers and chests, wardrobes, bookcases, sofas and upholstered seating, and furniture made with composite wood.

The short version

• Clothing storage units 27 inches or taller and 30 pounds or more, made after 1 September 2023, must meet the tip-over standard and carry its warning label.
• Composite wood products, and furniture containing them, must meet formaldehyde limits and be labelled TSCA Title VI compliant.
• Upholstered furniture must meet the federal flammability standard and carry its permanent label.
• Amazon treats composite wood products and upholstered furniture as restricted categories.
• Never show a child climbing or hanging on furniture.

Which dressers must meet the tip-over standard?

The STURDY Act rule covers clothing storage units, such as dressers, chests and wardrobes, that are 27 inches or taller and weigh 30 pounds or more, made after 1 September 2023. They must meet the tip-over standard, ASTM F2057-23, and carry its warning label.

For your listing:

• Show the anti-tip kit in the image of the box contents, where one is included.
• Show the warning label if your photos include it.
• Never show a child climbing on, hanging from or opening drawers to reach the top of a dresser. An image like that shows the exact hazard the standard exists for.

Does composite wood furniture need a formaldehyde label?

Yes. Plywood, particleboard and MDF, and furniture made with them, must meet federal formaldehyde emission limits and be labelled TSCA Title VI compliant. If your product carries the label, a close photo of it answers a careful buyer's first question.

Does upholstered furniture need a flammability label?

Yes. Upholstered furniture must meet the federal flammability standard and carry a permanent label saying so. It is the tag many buyers know as the "do not remove" label.

What does Amazon ask of furniture sellers?

Amazon treats composite wood products and upholstered furniture as restricted categories, so expect to show compliance before or after you list.

What should furniture images show and never show?

Furniture images should show the labels, the anti-tip kit and the real size, and never a child climbing:

How Commicorn helps

• Real size, from your measurements. The Dimensions image shows the measurements you give us, so a buyer sees the height that decides whether the tip-over rule applies.
• Every piece in the box. What's in the set lays out the pieces cut from your photo, the anti-tip kit among them when it is in the photo.
• Placed at its real size. Our scenes place furniture as homes do, at its size against the things around it.
• Your labels, as printed. On the Untouched product route your photo's pixels are never redrawn, so the labels on your product stay exactly as printed.

Questions sellers ask

Which furniture does the STURDY Act cover?

Clothing storage units 27 inches or taller and 30 pounds or more, made after 1 September 2023, such as dressers, chests and wardrobes.

What tip-over standard must a dresser meet?

ASTM F2057-23, with its warning label.

What does "TSCA Title VI compliant" mean?

That the composite wood, or the furniture made with it, meets federal formaldehyde emission limits and is labelled to say so.

Can furniture images show a child near a dresser?

Never a child climbing on, hanging from or opening drawers to reach the top of a dresser: that image shows the exact hazard the tip-over standard exists for.

Is upholstered furniture restricted on Amazon?

Yes. Amazon treats upholstered furniture and composite wood products as restricted categories.

Before you list

Have your measurements, the ASTM F2057-23 tip-over warning label, the anti-tip kit, the TSCA Title VI label and the upholstery flammability label photographed before the listing goes live. On a borderline piece, two things settle it: the federal clothing storage unit rule, 16 CFR 1261, with its 27-inch and 30-pound scope for units made after 1 September 2023, and Amazon's restricted category rules for composite wood and upholstered furniture, both linked below.