If you source products containing button cell or coin batteries — remote controls, key fobs, musical greeting cards, small electronics — there’s a federal safety requirement now in active enforcement that carries unusually severe stakes. This piece covers what Reese’s Law actually requires, a recent real enforcement case, and what to verify before you order.
1. Why this law exists: the real severity of the risk
Reese’s Law is named for a toddler who died after swallowing a button battery, and was signed into federal law on August 16, 2022. The stakes behind it are documented directly by the CPSC: from 2011 through 2021, the agency recorded 27 deaths and an estimated 54,300 emergency-room-treated injuries associated with ingested or inserted button cell or coin batteries. A swallowed button battery can burn through a child’s esophagus in as little as two hours — among the fastest-acting hazards covered by any CPSC standard.
2. What the law actually requires
Pursuant to Reese’s Law, the CPSC adopted ANSI/UL 4200A-2023 as the mandatory federal safety standard, codified at 16 CFR Part 1263, covering consumer products containing button cell or coin batteries. The requirements operate on two separate layers:
- Performance-tested, child-resistant battery compartments on the product itself — the compartment housing the battery inside the device must be tested and demonstrated to resist a child’s ability to access it.
- Child-resistant packaging under 16 CFR Part 1700 (the Poison Prevention Packaging Act) — applying both to button/coin batteries sold on their own, and to products that include them, effective for battery packaging specifically since February 12, 2023.
3. The specific labeling requirements
Warning labels must appear on the principal display panel of the packaging — the part most likely to be visible to a consumer at the point of sale. The label must include the mandated text — “Keep out of reach of children” and “Seek immediate medical attention if swallowed” — along with a standardized graphic symbol depicting a battery and a child, meeting specific contrast and legibility requirements that scale with the size of the packaging panel.
4. An important scope exclusion worth knowing
These requirements do not apply to toy products intended for children under 14, provided those products already comply with the mandatory toy safety standard (ASTM F963) — a deliberate scope carve-out to avoid double-regulating the same product under two overlapping standards. If you’re sourcing a toy specifically, verify which standard actually governs your product rather than assuming Reese’s Law automatically applies on top of toy safety compliance.
5. A real, recent enforcement case
On January 2, 2025, the CPSC issued a public warning regarding TIANQIU brand AG4 and AG6 alkaline button cell batteries — approximately 12,000 units, sold exclusively through a single wholesale distributor. The packaging was found not to be child-resistant as required by Reese’s Law, and the CPSC issued a Notice of Violation to the importer, urging consumers to immediately move any units already purchased to secure storage away from children. This is a real, current example of exactly the kind of enforcement gap this law was designed to close — a product reaching the market with genuinely non-compliant packaging.
6. What to verify before you order
- Confirm your product’s battery compartment has been performance-tested to ANSI/UL 4200A-2023, not just assumed to be “child-safe” based on a screw closure or similar feature.
- Verify the packaging itself meets Poison Prevention Packaging Act child-resistant standards separately from the compartment testing — these are two distinct requirements, both mandatory.
- Check the warning label wording and graphic against the specific CPSC requirements — the exact mandated text, symbol, and legibility standards, not a generic “keep away from children” substitute.
- If your product is a toy for children under 14, confirm whether ASTM F963 compliance already covers your product, or whether Reese’s Law applies separately.
The bottom line
Reese’s Law reflects a genuinely severe, well-documented risk — the CPSC’s own data shows 27 deaths and tens of thousands of emergency room visits over a decade tied to button battery ingestion, with injury able to occur within hours. A real, recent enforcement case shows this isn’t a theoretical requirement — products with non-compliant packaging are actively being flagged. Verifying both the physical battery compartment and the packaging separately, against the specific mandatory standard, is the baseline for sourcing any product in this category.
Regulatory details reflect Reese’s Law, 16 CFR Part 1263, ANSI/UL 4200A-2023, and the Poison Prevention Packaging Act (16 CFR Part 1700) as of mid-2026. The TIANQIU case is drawn from an official CPSC Product Safety Warning dated January 2, 2025. Verify current requirements against official CPSC sources before making sourcing decisions. General guidance, not legal advice.