About Bedding and Upholstery Services
The Bedding & Upholstery Law in Pennsylvania is centered around protecting consumers. It mandates that manufacturers of bedding and upholstered furniture must use new filling materials. In order to sell these items in the state, manufacturers have to register with the Bureau of Occupational & Industrial Safety. Additionally, the products must be labeled with a white tag that specifies the filling materials used and includes the manufacturer's registration number.
Bedding & Upholstery Processes
Manufacturers, importers, suppliers, and vendors may apply for registration by filing an Application For Bedding & Upholstery Registration, LIBU-32 at the mailing address below.
Companies that use natural/animal materials must sterilize them before use and should register with the Bureau of Occupational & Industrial Safety. Manufacturers/suppliers and importers who sterilize may apply for a sterilization permit by filing an Application for Sterilization Permit, LIBU-100 at the mailing address below. They also need to list the sterilization permit number on the white tag.
The law also applies to renovators, auctioneers, secondhand dealers, and rental dealers who work with used or renovated bedding and furniture. They must register with the Department, use a yellow tag on secondhand or renovated articles to inform consumers that they are not new but have been properly disinfected, and can apply for a registration and disinfection permit. Secondhand dealers, auctioneers, renovators/upholsters, and rental businesses may apply for registration and disinfection permit by filing an Application for Registration and Disinfection Permit, LIBU-103 at the mailing address below. The Department provides a listing of individuals/businesses offering disinfection services.
These listings are based on voluntary information provided and may not be completely up to date. Secondhand registration and disinfection permit holders can renew their certificates online, but bedding & upholstery and sterilization permit holders cannot.
Completed applications should be mailed to:
Department of Labor & Industry
Division of Bedding and Upholstery
651 Boas Street Room 1606
Harrisburg, PA 17121
FAQs
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.
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.
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.
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 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.