Manufacturers and others continue to have questions about the status of proposed federal regulations for lithium ion batteries used to power electric bicycles and other mobility products.  PeopleForBikes continues to advocate for the adoption of mandatory federal safety standards for these batteries, as we have done for almost three years. With the composition and role of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) still unresolved, let’s review how we got here, where we currently stand, and the possible paths to adoption of these important safety standards.

What is the Status of CPSC Battery Regulations?

The authority to establish uniform national regulatory requirements for testing and certification of consumer products like electric bicycles, e-mobility products and their batteries in the United States resides with the CPSC.  The CPSC has a number of formal and informal processes to create and enforce such regulatory standards, and require manufacturers to certify their compliance. The CPSC can also request that manufacturers recall their products, and in the most egregious circumstances, may impose fines on manufacturers, importers, or distributors of hazardous products.  

In December, 2022 CPSC staff sent a letter to manufacturers of e-mobility products informing them that they should “ensure that all micromobility devices that you manufacture, import, distribute, or sell in the United States comply with the relevant UL standards.” These voluntary safety standards were created by Underwriter’s Laboratories Standards and Engagement (ULSE) with the participation of industry and include UL 2271 (batteries), UL 2272 (micromobility devices) and UL 2849 (electric bicycles). In July, 2023 the CPSC held a forum where stakeholders could present their views on future regulations. PeopleForBikes and other groups fully supported the adoption of mandatory regulatory standards, which in our view should also include the European standard, EN 15194, in addition to UL standards.

On April 30, 2025, the Commission voted 3-2 to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) that would largely adopt the three UL standards. Subsequently, the three Commissioners who voted to issue the NPR were fired by the Administration. Their official status is the subject of ongoing litigation.

On May 13,  the two remaining Commissioners voted to withdraw the NPR.  Then on August 21, they voted to send a draft NPR to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), which is an agency within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).  This action complied with Executive Order 14215 and OMB guidance for all newly issued regulations.  The Commission also ordered that the draft NPR “shall not rely solely on CPSC’s Final Guidance for Estimating Value per Statistical Life (89 Fed. Reg. 27740), which is being withdrawn.” To date it does not appear that the CPSC has forwarded a revised NPR to OIRA for review because it is not yet listed on the OIRA website.

What Do the CPSC’s Actions Mean for the Bicycle Industry?

Forwarding of a draft NPR to the Administration for review will be a positive step forward.  Because the review process created by EO 14215 is new, it is still unclear how quickly such reviews will be completed and whether regulations will be approved, modified or sent back to agencies for further development.  Additionally, the change made by the Commission to the statistical method used to estimate the value of the battery standard in terms of lives saved and property damage avoided (as measured against the estimated cost of compliance) is significant. It may take CPSC staff some time to re-draft the NPR. 

When the NPR is ultimately published PeopleForBikes will submit comments on behalf of the industry and advocate for inclusion of the EN 15194 standard.

What Happened to the Battery Bills Pending in Congress?

Battery safety legislation that was almost passed by Congress at the end of the session in 2024 was reintroduced this year as H.R. 973 and S. 389.  The House passed H.R. 973 on April 28.  The Senate version was passed out of Committee on July 29 and placed on the general calendar for consideration by the full U.S. Senate.  These bills would direct the CSPC to issue a final rule establishing UL standards as mandatory federal safety standards for e-mobility devices and batteries within 180 days:

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (referred to in this section as the “Commission”) shall promulgate, under section 553 of title 5, United States Code, the provisions of ANSI/CAN/UL 2271–Standard for Batteries for Use in Light Electric Vehicle Applications, ANSI/CAN/UL 2849–Standard for Safety for Electrical Systems for eBikes, and ANSI/CAN/UL 2272–Standard for Electrical Systems for Personal E-Mobility Devices, as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act, as final consumer product safety standards.

The bill could be taken up and passed by the Senate at any time, as it has broad bipartisan support. 

Whether the bill would be signed by the president and become law is another question, especially given the Administration’s stance towards independent agencies like the CPSC and its general disfavor of any new regulation. The Administration may choose to pursue the CPSC’s NPR after review and any changes made by OMB.  There is a remote possibility that OMB may determine that the NPR should not be published and Congress either does not pass battery safety legislation or that legislation is vetoed by the president, in which case the effort to create national battery regulations would be stalled. 

What Should Electric Bicycle Manufacturers Do?

While some uncertainty remains as to the exact path, PeopleForBikes believes that mandatory federal e-mobility device and battery safety regulations are likely to be adopted in the foreseeable future.  It’s also likely given both the CPSC’s proposed NPR and the pending federal legislation that UL 2849, UL 2272 and UL 2271 will ultimately become the only acceptable standards in the U.S.  The effective date of such new regulation and standards would be determined by the CPSC in any final regulation, after a public comment period.

PeopleForBikes therefore strongly recommends that if they have not already done so, that manufacturers and importers of electric bicycles work towards compliance of their electric bicycles with UL 2849, and their batteries with UL 2271.  These standards are the only ones included in both the pending legislation and the NPR, and seem most likely to be the national-level standards eventually adopted for the U.S. market.  

Manufacturers should use accredited third party laboratories to conduct their testing in order to meet existing state and local law requirements.  While a few small cities have passed ordinances requiring certification of electric bicycles and batteries by a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) these cities represent a very small portion of the market, and NRTL testing is unlikely to be required at a federal level for consumer products.  Non-compliance with voluntary safety standards for electric bicycles and e-mobility products is simply no longer an option and companies that choose to bring unsafe products to market will do so at their peril.

Having electric bicycles and batteries tested to these consensus standards by accredited laboratories can best ensure that products are safe, that present and future federal and emerging state regulatory requirements can be met, and that products will be defensible. Specific questions about your products or your product safety program should be addressed to your compliance counsel.