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Baby Product RecallsCheck baby gear against the official recall notices

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How to Check if a Baby Product Is Recalled

Find the label, search CPSC, NHTSA or the FDA, and match your model number and date code to the official recall notice, step by step.

By Baby Product Recalls editorial teamUpdated 3 min readHow we research

An empty mesh bassinet beside an adult bed, with a changing table behind it

To check a baby product for a recall, find the label with the maker, model number and manufacture date, then search the agency that covers it: CPSC for cribs, strollers and most baby gear, NHTSA for car seats, the FDA for formula. Open any matching notice and compare the model numbers and dates exactly.

The whole check takes a few minutes per product, and the label is the part that takes longest to find.

How to check, step by step

  1. Find the label. Federal rules require durable baby gear, such as cribs, strollers, high chairs and swings, to be permanently marked with the maker’s name, the model name and number and the month and year it was made. The date can be printed as a code. See where to find the model number.
  2. Write the numbers down. Copy the model number, any item code and the date exactly, including letters and dashes.
  3. Pick the agency. Cribs, bassinets, play yards, strollers, swings, high chairs, carriers, gates and toys go to CPSC. Car seats and boosters go to NHTSA. Formula and baby food go to the FDA.
  4. Search by maker and product type, not by model number alone. Notices are written around the brand and product name, and the model numbers sit in the description.
  5. Open every notice that could match and compare your numbers with the ones it lists.
  6. If it matches, follow the notice. It names the remedy and the company’s recall line. What to do with a recalled product covers the next steps.

Where to search, product by product

Product Where to search What to enter
Crib, bassinet, play yard, stroller, swing, high chair, carrier, gate, toy cpsc.gov/Recalls Brand and product type, for example the brand plus “crib”
Car seat or booster seat nhtsa.gov/recalls, Car Seat tab Brand and model name from the seat’s label
Infant formula or baby food FDA recalls list Brand name
Reports from other owners (not recalls) SaferProducts.gov Brand and product type

CPSC’s search takes a keyword and can be narrowed by date range, by hazard (such as Falling, Entrapment or Suffocation) and by product category, which includes Cribs, Bassinets and Cradles, Baby Gates or Barriers and Baby Walkers and Jumpers. The results cover both recalls and CPSC product safety warnings, and they can be exported as a spreadsheet.

NHTSA’s Car Seat search returns recalls, investigations, complaints and manufacturer communications for the seat you choose. Car seat recalls explains the car seat check in more detail.

The FDA’s list comes from press releases and other public notices. The FDA says not every recall has a press release or appears on that page, and entries move to an archive after three years.

How to tell if your exact product is in the recall

A wooden high chair with a white tray and a navy seat with a harness
High chairs, cribs and strollers carry a permanent label with the model number and date of manufacture.Photo: ajay_suresh / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

A recall rarely covers every product with a given name. Notices list the affected versions in their description, and they tell you where to look. CPSC’s June 12, 2025 notice for Bugaboo Giraffe highchairs, for example, lists five item codes by color and says “The item codes are located on the bottom of the seat.”

Compare your label with the notice the same way:

  • Model or item number: every character should match.
  • Date range: many notices cover products made or sold between two dates. Your date code must fall inside it.
  • Color or version: some notices list colors, sizes or versions next to each number.

If you cannot tell

If your label is missing or worn, or the numbers almost match, stop using the product and call the recall line in the notice. The company can tell you whether your unit is included.

What if nothing comes up?

No result means no recall was found for what you entered, not that the product is guaranteed safe. Try the brand name alone, then the product type alone, and check the spelling on the label. For a secondhand item, also check the product’s age against today’s rules: buying used baby gear explains why older cribs are a special case.

To hear about future recalls without searching again, send in the registration card or sign up for recall alerts. For the bigger picture, see how baby product recalls work.

Frequently asked questions

How do I find out if my baby product has been recalled?

Note the maker, model number and date of manufacture from the label, then search the agency that covers the product: CPSC for cribs, strollers and most baby gear, NHTSA for car seats and the FDA for formula and baby food. Open any notice that names your product and compare the model numbers and dates.

Can I check a recall by phone?

Yes. SaferProducts.gov lists CPSC's toll-free number, 800-638-2772. For car seats, NHTSA's number is 888-327-4236. The company named in a recall notice also has its own recall line.

My product's name matches a recall but the model number does not. Is it recalled?

Recalls usually cover specific model numbers, item codes or manufacturing dates, so a product with the same name can be outside the recall. If you cannot tell, call the company's recall line listed in the notice and give them the numbers from your label.

What is SaferProducts.gov?

It is CPSC's public database of reports about unsafe products, where anyone can file or read a report. Reports are complaints, not recalls, so check cpsc.gov/Recalls for recall notices and use SaferProducts.gov to see what other owners have reported.

Sources

  1. Recalls & Product Safety Warnings (search)U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
  2. SaferProducts.govU.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
  3. Check for Recalls: Vehicle, Car Seat, Tire, EquipmentNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
  4. Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety AlertsU.S. Food and Drug Administration
  5. 16 CFR 1130.4: Identification on the productElectronic Code of Federal Regulations
  6. Bugaboo North America Recalls Giraffe High Chairs Due to Risk of Serious Injury or Death from Fall Hazard (June 12, 2025)U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Filed under Recall basicsStart with How Baby Product Recalls Work in the U.S.

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How Baby Product Recalls Work in the U.S.

Who recalls cribs, car seats and formula, what a recall notice tells you, what a Recall Alert is, and where to check a baby product before you use it.