Dear Manufacturers, Importers, Distributors, and Retailers of Micromobility Devices for Consumer Use:
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is an independent federal regulatory agency responsible for protecting consumers from unreasonable risks of injury and death from consumer products.
As you may be aware, in recent years there has been a rise in fires and other thermal events involving micromobility products—including e-scooters, self-balancing scooters (often referred to as hoverboards), e-bicycles, and e-unicycles. From January 1, 2021, through November 28, 2022, CPSC received reports from 39 states of at least 208 micromobility fire or overheating incidents. These incidents resulted in at least 19 fatalities, including 5 deaths associated with e-scooters, 11 with hoverboards, and 3 with e-bikes. CPSC also received reports of at least 22 injuries that resulted in emergency department visits, with 12 of the injuries involving e-scooters and 10 of them involving e-bikes.
I am writing to urge you to ensure that the micromobility devices for consumer use that you manufacture, import, distribute, or sell in the United States have been designed, manufactured, and certified for compliance with the applicable consensus safety standards.
1. These safety standards include ANSI/CAN/UL 2272 – Standard for Electrical Systems for Personal E-Mobility Devices dated February 26, 2019, and ANSI/CAN/UL 2849 – Standard for Safety for Electrical Systems for eBikes dated June 17, 2022, and standards they incorporate by reference. The UL standards, which can be viewed for free and purchased from the UL Standards Sales Site,
2 were designed to reduce the serious risk of dangerous fires in these products. Compliance with the standards should be demonstrated by certification from an accredited testing laboratory.
Manufacturing these products in compliance with the applicable UL standards significantly reduces the risk of injuries and deaths from micromobility device fires. Consumers face an unreasonable risk of fire and risk serious injury or death if their micromobility devices do not meet the level of safety provided by the relevant UL standards. Accordingly, products that do not meet these standards could present a substantial product hazard under Section 15(a) of the CPSA, 15 U.S.C. § 2064(a); and, should CPSC’s Office of Compliance and Field Operations encounter such products, we will seek corrective action as appropriate. I urge you to review your product line immediately and ensure that all micromobility devices that you manufacture, import, distribute, or sell in the United States comply with the relevant UL standards.
3 Failure to do so puts U.S. consumers at risk of serious harm and may result in enforcement action.
Please also note that Section 15(b) of the CPSA, 15 U.S.C. § 2064(b), requires every manufacturer, importer, distributor, and retailer of consumer products to report immediately to the Commission when the firm obtains information that reasonably supports the conclusion that a product distributed in commerce contains a defect that could create a substantial product hazard or that the product creates an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death. The statute also provides for imposition of civil and criminal penalties for failing to report the required information.
If you have any questions, or if we can be of any assistance, you may contact micromobility@cpsc.gov.
