Any persons, partnerships, companies, corporations, or associations that manufacture and/or import any new bedding/upholstered items must be registered in Pennsylvania. They are issued a Uniform Registration Number (URN) that must be printed on the white law label affixed to the article. Retailers in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania selling only new articles of bedding/upholstery do not need a license to sell such articles.

Any persons, partnerships, companies, corporations, or associations that offer for sale, lease or auction, have in his/her possession with intent to sell, auction, or include in a sale, lease or auction any secondhand bedding/upholstery article or material must be registered in Pennsylvania as a secondhand dealer, renovator, rental business, or auctioneer. This includes companies that are located outside of Pennsylvania that sell or lease/rent their secondhand bedding/upholstered articles in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, either to another company or directly to a consumer.

Yes, if you are auctioning off any secondhand bedding/upholstery or material, you must obtain a bedding and upholstery registration number. You must disinfect those articles/material in an approved manner and place your yellow law label on the product to inform customers the item is used and has been disinfected properly. You must also keep a log of the items disinfected, the date they were disinfected, and who purchased the item.

Yes, if you are selling other individuals’ secondhand bedding/upholstery articles or material, you must obtain a bedding and upholstery registration number. You must disinfect those articles/material in an approved manner and place your yellow law label on the product to inform customers the item is used and has been disinfected properly. You must also keep a log of the items disinfected, the date they were disinfected, and who purchased the item.

Any business or organization conducting operations regulated by the Bedding and Upholstery Law and Regulations at different addresses/locations is required to register each location for their own registration number.

To apply for a Bedding and Upholstery registration number, you will need to complete the appropriate application form and submit it to our office as specified on the application form with the applicable fee. The current forms and fees can be found on our website at https://www.dli.pa.gov/Individuals/Labor-Management-Relations/bois/Pages/Bedding-and-Upholstery.aspx.

To apply for a Stuffed Toy registration number, you need to complete the Stuffed Toy application form with its notarized form and submit it to our office as specified on the application form with the applicable fee and a sample(s) of the toy item(s) being manufactured. The current forms and fees can be found on our website at https://www.dli.pa.gov/Individuals/Labor-Management-Relations/bois/Pages/Stuffed-Toys.aspx.

The Department allows importers to register jointly with a manufacturer; however, they must do so for each individual manufacturing facility from which they wish to purchase items. When applying in this manner, the manufacturer linked to the registration number is only permitted to apply the registration number to items made for that specific importer. The other option for an importer is to help a manufacturing facility obtain its own registration number. In this case, the manufacturer owns the number themselves and can apply the registration number to items they make for anyone.

Normal processing time is within two weeks of our office receiving a completed application with its applicable fee and sample(s), if needed; however, that is dependent on the volume of applications received, as all applications are processed in the order of their receipt.

A sample is required if you are applying for registration under the Stuffed Toy Law. The sample submitted must have been made by the manufacturing facility listed on the application and be a true representation of the finished product. No sample is required if you are registering a product under Pennsylvania's Bedding and Upholstery Law.

The registration lasts for a period of one calendar year and must be renewed annually. A renewal registration certificate will be sent by the Department of Labor & Industry approximately two months prior to the expiration date of the current registration certificate. The renewal registration certificate will be either emailed or mailed, depending on the method elected by the responsible party managing the record. It is the responsibility of the designated party receiving the renewal registration certificate to renew the registration prior to the current registration certificate’s expiration date, to continue proper certification.

The registration lasts for a period of one calendar year and must be renewed annually to remain current. If the registration should expire, the business or organization shall not be permitted to sell any articles covered by the Pennsylvania Bedding & Upholstery Law and Regulations until the registration is renewed. In order to renew an expired registration, all unpaid past years’ renewal fees must be paid.

For Bedding and Upholstery registration numbers, Pennsylvania is reciprocal with other States that issue the Uniform Registry Number (URN). The completed Pennsylvania bedding and upholstery application form and fee must still be submitted along with a copy of the other state’s registration certificate and the law label displaying the registration number. Once the application has been processed, the other state’s registration number can be used on products made or sold in PA as long as the registration number is kept current in Pennsylvania as well as the state that originally issued the registration number. The registration number begins with the two-letter state abbreviation of the issuing state. A two-letter abbreviation for the state or country in which the factory is physically located will end the number. Example: UT-#### (TX) - In this example, Utah issued the registration number for a manufacturing facility located in Texas.

For Stuffed Toy registration numbers, Pennsylvania does not recognize stuffed toy registrations from any other state. All Pennsylvania Stuffed Toy registration numbers will begin with the two-letter abbreviation "PA" and will be followed by a string of numbers, ending with a two-letter abbreviation for the state or country in which the factory is physically located.

Pennsylvania is reciprocal with Utah’s Sterilization Permit numbers. In order for Pennsylvania to accept a Utah issued sterilization permit number, the following must be submitted for review:

1. A completed Pennsylvania Sterilization Permit Application form and fee
2. A copy of the Utah Sterilization Permit Certificate
3. A copy of the Utah Sterilization Inspection Report
4. A copy of the Inspection’s test results

If you will be selling your bedding or upholstered or stuffed toy products in a state other than Pennsylvania, please visit the website for the International Association of Bedding and Furniture Law Officials for other states’ contact information: http://iabflo.org/

PA Bedding and Upholstery: For new and secondhand bedding and upholstered articles, sample law label(s) can be found at the end of the Pennsylvania Bedding and Upholstery Regulations. You will need to contact a printer that specializes in law labels to have them made. We recommend you contact the other states that require registration where you will be selling your product so that your one law label is in compliance with all law label requirements. Click this link to view the Pennsylvania Regulations regarding labeling requirements for Bedding and Upholstery.

For stuffed toy articles, the only requirements for a Pennsylvania Stuffed Toy law label are the statement "All New Material" and the Pennsylvania Registration number issued to you per Stuffed Toy Regulation 47.315. We recommend you contact the other states that require registration where you will be selling your product so that your one law label is in compliance with all law label requirements as well.

Secondhand articles include any bedding or upholstered item that contains a filling material which has been previously used. This would include items that you can sit on, recline on, lay on, or cover up with. This does not include stuffed toys, clothing, or linens. All secondhand dealers, auctioneers, renovators and rental stores must be registered to sell secondhand articles. In addition, all articles of bedding and upholstered furniture must be disinfected using an approved disinfectant (currently Steri-Fab or Microban) and must have attached to them a yellow law label. The label must state the registration and permit number of the individual/business that performed the disinfecting.

Currently, there are two approved disinfection sprays for secondhand items: SteriFab^® or Microban^® X-580 with Tracer. These items can be purchased through one of their distributors, which can be found on their websites or by contacting the company for their distributor listing. If the sprays are stored properly, they can last awhile; however, you would need to contact the company about your particular product and storage situation.

The amount of disinfection spray to be applied shall be in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations. The Bedding & Upholstery Law and Regulations require that all surfaces of the regulated item be sprayed and not be removed from the isolated area for a period of not less than 30 minutes after the treatment.

All registered businesses conducting disinfection shall keep an accurate record of all articles being disinfected in accordance with the Bedding & Upholstery Law and Regulations.

The required yellow law label shall be securely attached to each article after it has been properly disinfected in a prominent location so that the information contained on it is visible to the consumer. Labels are to be securely attached by sewing, tacking, and/or pasting, when possible.

No, the only items that are required to be sprayed with the disinfection spray prior to being sold are secondhand bedding and upholstered items.

As long as the auction house/secondhand store is registered with our office and properly sprayed and tagged the item with their law label, the item does not need to be resprayed nor re-tagged. However, if the item wasn’t properly sprayed or tagged, you will need to spray and tag the item with your label prior to being able to sell it.

Per Steri-Fab, this should only be possible with high usage or unless a high-speed vacuum is used on the product; therefore, it is very unlikely.

In order to obtain a copy of the certificate/current invoice that has already been mailed to you, please send a written request for a duplicate to the Bedding and Upholstery Division (address listed below) along with a check or money order for the applicable fee. Click here for the fee schedule.

For new applications, payment must be in the form of a money order or a US funded check. The check must be drawn off of a US bank branch. Foreign checks, cash, credit cards, and electronic transfers are NOT acceptable forms of payment. The fee schedule is available here.

Online payments are now accepted to renew Secondhand Registration and Disinfection Permit certificates and Stuffed Toy Registration certificates. With your unpaid invoice in hand, click on this link to make your online payment: https://www.dli.pa.gov/Individuals/Labor-Management-Relations/bois/Pages/Online-Payments.aspx.

Bedding & Upholstery and Sterilization Permit holders CANNOT renew their certificates online at this time.

The following list encompasses a few known products that are regulated by the Bedding and Upholstery Law and Regulations. This does not mean that if your particular product is not on the list, that it does not need to meet the requirements of the Law/Regulations. When determining a regulated item, a good gauge is any item that someone can sit on, lay on, recline on or cover up with that also has concealed filling of any kind. The item may be covered in any material, such as leather, pleather, plastic, vinyl, etc. If you don’t see your item listed and have a question on if registration/disinfection/tagging is required, please contact the Department of Labor & Industry for assistance.

You may find an electronic copy of the Law and Regulations by clicking on the following links:

• Bedding and Upholstery Law
  
• Bedding and Upholstery Regulations
  
• Stuffed Toy Law
  
• Stuffed Toy Regulations

You may also request a paper copy of the Law and Regulations for Bedding and Upholstery or Stuffed Toys by contacting the Division of Bedding and Upholstery at:

Department of Labor & Industry
Division of Bedding and Upholstery
651 Boas Street, Room 1606
Harrisburg, PA 17121

Telephone: (717) 787-6848
Fax: (717) 787-6925
Email: BUTOYS@pa.gov