Evidence
Sources we read
Information, not adviceThis page is general information, not a substitute for the assembly instructions and safety labels supplied with a product. Follow the manufacturer's instructions, and where a child is involved follow the age guidance printed on the bed itself.
Each of these was opened and read on the date shown before anything on this site cited it. The sentences on our pages were written to match what the source says, rather than a source being found afterwards to prop up a sentence.
-
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Bunk Beds Business Guidance
Read 2026-08-08 · cited on bunk bed safetyWhat it supports here:
- Adult bunk beds are covered by 16 CFR Part 1213 and children's bunk beds by 16 CFR Part 1513.
- A bed counts as a bunk bed once its mattress foundation sits more than 30 inches above the floor.
- The upper bunk must have at least two guardrails, at least one on each side.
- The guardrail on the wall side runs continuously end to end, and where it does not attach to a bed end the gap may be no more than 0.22 inches.
- On the open side, the gap between either end of the guardrail and the nearest bed end may be no more than 15 inches.
- Guardrail tops must sit at least 5 inches above the top of the mattress.
- A lower bunk whose foundation is 30 inches or less from the floor does not need guardrails.
- The rule exists to prevent a child being trapped between the upper bunk and a wall, below a guardrail, or in an opening in the bed ends.
- Makers and importers of children's bunk beds certify compliance in a Children's Product Certificate after testing at a laboratory accepted by the Commission.
