What standard do pool drain covers need to meet in the US?

Pool and spa drain covers must meet the ANSI/APSP/ICC-16 2017 standard for protection against entrapment. The requirement covers drain covers manufactured in the United States, distributed in the United States, or introduced into commerce there (16 CFR 1450).

Which certificate you need

You need a General Certificate of Conformity, or GCC, for these drain covers. For these imported finished products, the US importer is the finished product certifier and must issue the GCC before entry; the factory doesn't replace the importer as the certifier (16 CFR 1110.7). A reasonable testing program must support that certificate, but third-party testing isn't mandatory for it.

Since July 8, 2026, the importer must electronically file the finished product certificate data in ACE at the time of filing the entry for every shipment, regardless of how much the shipment is worth (16 CFR 1110.13). The filing uses CPSC's PGA Message Set for the certificate data elements required under 1110.11 (16 CFR 1110.13).

Which tests apply

The legal basis is the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, beginning at section 8001 of title 15 of the United States Code. Its drain-cover requirement is in section 8003(b), together with the implementing federal regulation in part 1450 of title 16 (16 CFR 1450).

Testing must cover the applicable entrapment tests in the standard incorporated by 1450.3. The provisions identified in 1450.3(b) as nonmandatory are excluded from the requirement (16 CFR 1450.3).

What goes on the label

Our rule library hasn't checked the labeling details for this product yet, so we don't list them here.