The federal flammability standard for upholstered furniture, 16 CFR Part 1640, applies to seating furniture intended for indoor use, and it adopts California’s Technical Bulletin 117-2013 as its test. Furniture made for outdoor use falls outside that definition. For commercial buyers, the other rules come from fire codes adopted by states and cities: the International Fire Code (IFC) sets cigarette-ignition and heat-release limits for new upholstered furniture in certain institutional buildings and in college dormitories, including their decks, porches and balconies, and it requires fabric tests for tents and membrane structures.
This page describes what the standards and codes say, checked October 3, 2026. Which edition a jurisdiction has adopted, and how it applies to a particular patio or pool deck, is a question for the local fire code official.
The federal standard and TB 117-2013
Part 1640 took effect on June 25, 2021, under authority Congress gave the Consumer Product Safety Commission in Public Law 116-260. It requires all upholstered furniture, as the rule defines it, to meet California’s TB 117-2013.
The definition sets the reach. Upholstered furniture under Part 1640 is an article of seating furniture that is intended for indoor use, has an upholstered seat, back or arm, is made or sold with a cushion or pillow or is stuffed or filled, and supports a person sitting upright or reclining. It excludes mattresses, foundations, bedding products and fitness furniture. Covered products carry a permanent label with the statement “Complies with U.S. CPSC requirements for upholstered furniture flammability.”
TB 117-2013 is a smolder test. It exposes small mock-ups of cover fabric, barrier, filling and decking materials to a lighted cigarette. A cover fabric fails if the mock-up keeps smoldering after the 45-minute test, chars more than 1.8 inches vertically or begins to burn with an open flame. The bulletin says its methods do not measure performance under open-flame exposure.
Part 1640 also preempts state flammability requirements for upholstered furniture, with exceptions for certain California rules. The text preserves state rules on health risks of upholstered furniture that are not designed to protect against fire.
California’s TB 133
California’s TB 133 was a fire test for seating furniture in public occupancies such as jails, nursing homes, health care facilities, public auditoriums, hotels and motels, according to the bureau that wrote it. In a 2018 environmental study for the change, the bureau called TB 133 outdated and proposed requiring furniture of any intended use to meet TB 117-2013 instead. The bureau said added flame-retardant chemicals were a common way to meet TB 133. SGS, a testing company, reported that the repeal took effect on January 22, 2019.
Fire code rules for furniture in certain buildings
Section 805 of the 2024 IFC applies to newly introduced upholstered furniture in four settings: Group I-1, Condition 2 facilities, Group I-2 occupancies and ambulatory care facilities, Group I-3 detention facilities, and college and university dormitories in Group R-2, including decks, porches and balconies. In each, the code requires the following:
| Test | What the 2024 IFC requires |
|---|---|
| Cigarette ignition | Mock-ups with a char length of no more than 1.5 inches under NFPA 261, or components that meet Class I under NFPA 260 |
| Heat release | A peak of no more than 80 kW and no more than 25 megajoules in the first 10 minutes under ASTM E1537 or California TB 133; detention facilities use ASTM E1537 only |
| Label | The label of an approved agency confirming both results |
In most of these settings the heat-release limits do not apply in rooms or spaces protected by an approved automatic sprinkler system installed under Section 903.3.1.1. Detention facilities have no such exception. Because the dormitory section names decks, porches and balconies, newly introduced upholstered seating in those places is covered wherever a jurisdiction has adopted that section.
NFPA describes NFPA 260 as a test method that measures how resistant upholstered furniture components are to cigarette ignition. The current edition is 2024.
Curtains and decorative fabric
The IFC regulates curtains, draperies, fabric hangings and similar decorative materials hung from walls or ceilings in assembly, business, educational, institutional, mercantile and hotel occupancies and in dormitories, and it limits them to 10 percent of the wall or ceiling area they hang on, with exceptions. Where the code requires better fire performance, those materials must pass Test Method 1 or Test Method 2 of NFPA 701, or show a heat release of no more than 100 kW under NFPA 289. NFPA describes NFPA 701 as test methods for the propagation of flame of textiles and films; the current edition is 2023.
Tents, cabanas and membrane structures
Chapter 31 of the 2024 IFC covers temporary and permanent tents and membrane structures. Before a permit is granted, the owner or agent files a certificate from the product manufacturer showing that the tent, its sidewalls, drops and tarpaulins, and its floor coverings meet Test Method 2 of NFPA 701, or have been treated with an approved flame retardant and meet it. Bunting and combustible decorations must meet Test Method 1 or 2 as applicable. The structure must carry a permanent label naming its size and fabric, the manufacturer and the treatment, if any.
Chapter 31 also bars open flames and heat-producing devices inside a tent or membrane structure, or within 10 feet of it while it is open to the public, unless the fire code official approves them, and it bars smoking in tents and membrane structures. Whether a poolside cabana or a fabric shade structure counts as a tent or membrane structure under the adopted code is for the fire code official to decide.
What to ask a supplier
- For any cushioned seating, whether the product carries the Part 1640 label, and whether the maker treats it as indoor or outdoor furniture.
- For dormitory decks and porches and for health care or senior living projects, test reports under NFPA 260 or NFPA 261 and ASTM E1537, and the approved agency’s label.
- For cabanas, tent-style shade structures and umbrellas used as part of them, the NFPA 701 certificate and the label information Chapter 31 asks for.
- For decorative fabrics hung in a covered dining area, the NFPA 701 or NFPA 289 test report.