Button battery law · Reese’s Law
Button battery safety: the laws and a home checklist
A swallowed button or coin battery can cause internal chemical burns in as little as 2 hours. In the US, Reese’s Law (16 CFR 1263) requires a battery compartment that needs a tool or two simultaneous hand movements to open, plus warnings, for products made or imported after 19 March 2024; Australia’s mandatory standards have applied since 22 June 2022. If you think a child has swallowed one, go to the emergency department now: the steps for the US, UK and Australia are just below the checklist.
Result
2 things to fix
2 to fix1 to check3 fine
Fine
Does the battery door need a screwdriver or coin to open, or two separate movements at the same time?
Good: that is the kind of compartment US and Australian rules require, one a young child can’t open.
Fine
If you drop it or press hard on the cover, does the door stay shut with the battery inside?
Good: the rules test that batteries can’t come loose in rough use.
Fine
Is there a battery warning on the pack, the product or the instructions?
Good: warnings are required on products with button batteries in the US and Australia.
Check
Did the spare batteries come in packaging that takes scissors or real effort to open?
Keep spares in their original pack until the moment you use them.
Fix
Are spare and used batteries kept up high and out of sight?
Put spares up high in their pack, and get rid of used ones straight away, away from children (the US warning adds: not in household trash).
Fix
Do you know what to do if one is swallowed?
Read the emergency steps below now, while nothing is wrong, and save the numbers in your phone.
If a button battery is swallowed: what to do now
Don’t wait for symptoms, and don’t make the child sick. These are the official first-aid lines. This is general information, not medical advice: follow what the emergency service tells you.
United States
Go to the emergency department immediately. Call:
1-800-498-8666National Battery Ingestion Hotline, 24 hours, or Poison Help on 1-800-222-1222.
- Honey, only if the child is 12 months or older, the battery was swallowed within the last 12 hours, and the child can swallow: 2 teaspoons (10 mL) every 10 minutes, up to 6 doses, on the way to the hospital. Don’t delay going to give it.
- Apart from honey, nothing to eat or drink until an X-ray shows the battery has passed the food pipe.
United Kingdom
If your child swallows a button battery or a magnet, or you think they may have:
Call 999or take them to A&E straight away (NHS). If you are not sure whether they need help for something else, NHS 111 can advise, but a battery or magnet is not a wait-and-see.
In the EU, call 112, the free emergency number in every EU country. The same urgency applies to magnets: the NHS gives the same advice for a swallowed magnet, and in Australia the Royal Children’s Hospital says to call 000 if a child swallows more than one magnet, or a magnet and a metal object.
The laws, with their dates
- 22 June 2022Australia: four mandatory standards apply, for button and coin batteries and for consumer goods that contain them. They were made on 18 December 2020 with an 18-month transition.
- 16 August 2022US: Reese’s Law (Public Law 117-171) is enacted.
- 12 February 2023US: button and coin batteries made or imported after this date must come in child-resistant packaging (16 CFR 1700.15). Enforcement for zinc-air batteries was deferred to 8 March 2024.
- 19 March 2024US: the 16 CFR 1263 performance and warning rules, effective 23 October 2023, are enforced for products made or imported after this date.
- 21 September 2024US: battery packs made or imported after this date must carry the new warning label (16 CFR 1263.4).
- 1 August 2030EU: the new Toy Safety Regulation (EU) 2025/2509, in force since 1 January 2026, replaces the toy safety directive.
What Reese’s Law requires in the US
Products that contain button or coin batteries must meet the UL 4200A standard: a battery compartment that needs a tool, or at least two independent and simultaneous hand movements, to open, and that doesn’t let the battery out after the standard’s use-and-abuse tests. The packaging must carry a warning, so must the product itself where that is practicable, and the instructions must include all the warnings. Zinc-air batteries, the kind used in hearing aids, are not covered by this part.
Toys are handled separately. A plaything for children under 14 that meets the battery rules of the US toy standard, ASTM F963, is exempt from 16 CFR 1263. That is why the checker treats a light-up toy and a musical greeting card differently: the card falls under Reese’s Law, the toy under the toy standard.
Battery packs carry this warning: “INGESTION HAZARD: DEATH or serious injury can occur if ingested. A swallowed button cell or coin battery can cause Internal Chemical Burns in as little as 2 hours. KEEP new and used batteries OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN. Seek immediate medical attention if a battery is suspected to be swallowed or inserted inside any part of the body.” It ends with the number of the National Battery Ingestion Hotline.
What Australia’s standards require
Since 22 June 2022, consumer goods with a button or coin battery must hold it securely: a battery meant to be replaced must sit in a compartment young children can’t open, the battery must not come out in reasonably foreseeable use or misuse, and the products must be tested to show it. The batteries themselves must be sold in child-resistant packaging if they are lithium, or if they are another kind 16 mm or wider. Warnings must say the battery is hazardous and must be kept away from children, that a swallowed or inserted lithium battery can cause severe or fatal injuries in 2 hours or less, and to get medical help straight away. The standard also recommends that battery packs carry the Poisons Information Centre’s details.
The UK and the EU
In the UK and the EU, button batteries in toys come under the toy safety rules, which require toys, including their electrical parts, to be safe: the Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011 in Great Britain and Directive 2009/48/EC in the EU, replaced by Regulation (EU) 2025/2509 from 1 August 2030. Other products come under general product safety law; in the EU, the General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988, which applies from 13 December 2024. In 2025 the UK’s Office for Product Safety and Standards ran its “Small hazards, big harm” campaign on button batteries and magnets.
Worked example: the checklist above
The example answers describe a typical light-up toy: the battery door has a screw and stays shut when dropped, and there is a warning on the box. Two things still need fixing: the spare batteries are loose in a kitchen drawer, and nobody at home knows the emergency steps. Neither is about the toy; both are about the house. Most of the protection comes from the product, and the rest from where the spares live.
Common mistakes
- Loose spares in a bowl or drawer. Keep them in the original pack, up high, until you need one.
- Thinking a flat battery is harmless. The US warning says to keep new and used batteries out of reach of children, and to dispose of used ones straight away.
- A screw that has been left undone. After changing a battery, do the screw up again: the protection only works when it’s closed.
- Waiting to see if the child is fine. A battery stuck in the food pipe can cause severe damage in just 2 hours, whether or not the child seems unwell. Go straight away.
This page is general information drawn from official sources, not medical or legal advice. In an emergency, call the numbers above and follow the advice of the emergency service.
Questions
What is Reese’s Law?
A US law enacted on 16 August 2022 (Public Law 117-171) that led to the button battery safety standard at 16 CFR 1263. Products with button or coin batteries need a secure battery compartment and warnings, and the batteries must come in child-resistant packaging.
When did Reese’s Law take effect?
In steps: child-resistant battery packaging for batteries made or imported after 12 February 2023; the product rules, effective 23 October 2023, enforced for products made or imported after 19 March 2024; and new warnings on battery packs made or imported after 21 September 2024.
What is the button battery law in Australia?
Four mandatory standards, two for safety and two for information, applying since 22 June 2022. Products must hold their batteries securely and carry warnings, and lithium batteries, and other kinds 16 mm or wider, must be sold in child-resistant packaging.
Should I give honey if my child swallows a battery?
The US National Capital Poison Center advises honey only on the way to hospital, for a child 12 months or older who can swallow, within 12 hours of swallowing: 2 teaspoons every 10 minutes, up to 6 doses. Never delay going to give it.
Do toys have to follow Reese’s Law?
Toys for children under 14 that meet the battery rules of the US toy standard, ASTM F963, are exempt from 16 CFR 1263. Everything else with a button or coin battery, such as remote controls and greeting cards, is covered.
Sources
Checked on 3 November 2026.
- US rule and dates: 16 CFR part 1263 (eCFR, up to date as of 2 November 2026; the pack warning is Figure 1 to 1263.4(b)(1), also in the 2025 printed CFR); CPSC button cell and coin battery business guidance; CPSC letter on Reese’s Law implementation dates (12 February 2024).
- Reese’s Law, Public Law 117-171, became law on 16 August 2022: H.R. 5313, Congress.gov.
- US first aid and honey: National Capital Poison Center, button battery ingestion and the National Battery Ingestion Hotline triage and treatment guideline (revised June 2018).
- UK: NHS, what to do if your child has an accident (reviewed 18 December 2025); OPSS, “Child safety: small hazards, big harm” (updated 22 August 2025); Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011.
- Australia: Consumer Goods (Products Containing Button/Coin Batteries) Safety Standard 2020, Information Standard 2020, Consumer Goods (Button/Coin Batteries) Safety Standard 2020 and Information Standard 2020, Federal Register of Legislation; Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network, button battery safety factsheet (updated 30 June 2026); Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, swallowed objects (reviewed April 2026).
- EU: Directive 2009/48/EC; Regulation (EU) 2025/2509; General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988; European Commission, 112.