Blind compliance is the mix of federal enforcement rules and industry standards that govern whether a window covering can be sold with cords, and it has tightened. Since June 1, 2024, the national industry standard has required nearly all window coverings manufactured or imported for the U.S. market to be cordless or to have short, inaccessible cords, because dangling cords are a proven strangulation hazard to young children. Older blinds already in your home are not banned, but the cords on them still pose a real risk, and the safest fix is to replace or retrofit them.
If you have young children or grandchildren at home, understanding what changed, why it matters, and what you can do about older blinds can prevent a tragedy.
What Blind Compliance Standards Require Now
The national standard for corded window coverings is ANSI/WCMA A100.1-2022, developed by the Window Covering Manufacturers Association and approved by the American National Standards Institute. It eliminates free-hanging operating cords, free-hanging tilt cords, and multiple cords running into a single connector on the products it covers.
The rules arrived in stages:
- 2018: a voluntary industry standard required stock (ready-made, off-the-shelf) blinds to be cordless, limit operating cords to 8 inches, or make cords inaccessible
- December 2022: the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) added non-compliant window covering cords to its substantial product hazard list (16 CFR 1120.3), giving it recall and enforcement authority over them
- June 1, 2024: the updated industry standard, ANSI/WCMA A100.1-2022, became the compliance date for products manufactured or imported after that date, including custom, made-to-order coverings
The enforceable federal piece is the substantial product hazard listing. Under 16 CFR 1120.3, stock window coverings that fail the operating-cord and inner-cord requirements of ANSI/WCMA A100.1-2018, and custom coverings that fail its inner-cord requirements, are treated as substantial product hazards subject to recall.
The CPSC went further in 2022 and issued a separate mandatory standard for custom coverings (16 CFR Part 1260), finding that an accessible operating cord longer than 8 inches poses an unreasonable strangulation risk to children 8 years old and younger. The D.C. Circuit vacated that custom-covering rule in September 2023 in Window Covering Manufacturers Association v. CPSC, so operating cords on custom products are now governed by the voluntary A100.1-2022 standard rather than by a federal rule.
For homeowners, the practical takeaway is simple. Any compliant blind you buy today should be cordless or have cords too short to form a loop. These requirements apply to what manufacturers sell, not to what is already hanging in your windows.
Why Corded Blinds Are Dangerous for Children
The CPSC lists window covering cords among the top hidden hazards in American homes for a reason. On average, about nine children under age 5 die every year after strangling in the cords of blinds, shades, and draperies. In a 13-year span from January 2009 through December 2021, the CPSC counted more than 200 incidents involving children up to age 8, and nearly half of those incidents, 48 percent, ended in death. Survivors have suffered injuries as severe as permanent brain damage and quadriplegia.
Young children are especially vulnerable. They are curious, they climb, and they do not have the awareness to free themselves once a cord wraps around the neck. Many strangulations happen quietly in a child’s own bedroom, often within reach of a crib or bed placed near a window.
How to Make Older, Non-Compliant Blinds Safer
If replacing every corded blind at once is not realistic, start with the rooms where children spend the most time, such as bedrooms, nurseries, and living rooms. The CPSC and the Window Covering Safety Council recommend these steps for the corded coverings that remain:
- Move cribs, beds, furniture, and toys away from windows and cords, ideally against a cord-free wall
- Keep all pull cords as short as possible and out of a child’s reach
- Install cord stops on inner cords, placed within 1 to 2 inches of the head rail when the blind is fully lowered
- Anchor continuous-loop cords on draperies or vertical blinds to the wall or floor with a tension device
- Order free retrofit kits, including cord cleats and tension devices, from the Window Covering Safety Council
- Check hotel rooms, relatives’ homes, and any other place your child stays
Retrofits reduce risk, but they do not remove it entirely. Cordless or motorized coverings remain the safest choice in a home with young children.
Window Covering Injuries and Illinois Product Liability
When a corded window covering seriously injures or kills a child, the standards above can matter in more than a safety sense. A product that fails the applicable safety standard, or one that lacks adequate warnings, may be defective under Illinois product liability law. Compliance with a voluntary standard is evidence a jury can weigh, not an automatic defense, and falling short of one is evidence of defect rather than proof of it.
Illinois recognizes strict product liability, which means a manufacturer or seller can be held responsible for an unreasonably dangerous product without proof that it was careless. Claims generally fall into three categories: a design defect, a manufacturing defect, or a failure to warn of a known danger. A blind sold with a non-compliant cord after the standard took effect, or without clear strangulation warnings, could support a claim.
Time limits are strict. In Illinois you generally have two years from the date of an injury to file a personal injury claim (735 ILCS 5/13-202). If a family loses a child, a wrongful death claim generally must be filed within two years of the death (740 ILCS 180/2), though longer periods can apply in limited circumstances. When the injured person is a child, the clock is usually paused, and the child has two years after turning 18 to sue in their own name (735 ILCS 5/13-211).
One rule catches families off guard with older blinds. Illinois puts an outside limit on product liability claims regardless of when the injury happened: no strict-liability product claim may be brought more than 12 years after the product was first sold by any seller, or 10 years after it was first sold to its initial user or consumer, whichever expires earlier (735 ILCS 5/13-213(b)). A blind that has hung in a home for 15 years may be past that limit even though the injury just occurred, so the age and purchase records of the covering matter as much as the injury date. Because deadlines and the facts of each case vary, it is worth talking with an attorney sooner rather than later. You can read more about the leading injury causes among children and how prevention and accountability fit together.
The attorneys at 844-SEE-MIKE handle Illinois product liability cases, including injuries tied to dangerous household products, and represent families in wrongful death and child injury matters across Chicago and statewide Illinois. You pay nothing unless we recover money for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are blinds with cords still legal?
Corded blinds already in your home are legal to keep and use. What changed is what manufacturers sell: since June 1, 2024, nearly all new window coverings must be cordless or have short, inaccessible cords to meet the ANSI/WCMA A100.1-2022 industry standard, and non-compliant cords can also trigger CPSC recall authority under 16 CFR 1120.3.
How do I make a blind cord safe?
Keep cords short and out of reach, install cord stops on the inner cords, anchor any continuous-loop cord to the wall or floor with a tension device, and move furniture away from windows. Free retrofit kits are available from the Window Covering Safety Council. The safest option is switching to cordless or motorized coverings.
Do I have to replace the corded blinds already in my house?
No. The compliance rules apply to newly manufactured products, not to coverings you already own. Replacement is strongly recommended in homes with young children, but it is not legally required.
Can I sue if a child was injured by window blind cords in Illinois?
Possibly. If a defectively designed covering, a non-compliant cord, or a missing warning contributed to the injury, you may have an Illinois product liability claim. A free consultation is the fastest way to learn whether the facts support a case. Deadlines are strict, and Illinois also bars most product claims brought more than 12 years after the product’s first sale or 10 years after its first sale to a consumer, whichever comes first (735 ILCS 5/13-213(b)).
This article is general information, not legal advice. Contact 844-SEE-MIKE anytime for a free, no-pressure consultation about a window covering or other product injury.
