Coin batteries and small strong magnets sit inside many remote controls, key fobs, kitchen scales, toys and desk gadgets. Swallowing either can seriously harm a child, so the US has specific rules. This guide explains what the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) says on two business-guidance pages, and what to check before you buy. It covers US rules only. If a child swallows a battery or magnets, get emergency medical care at once. We did not read UK or EU rules for this topic.

This guide is based on the public sources listed below. We have not tested any product or store. See also our guide to toy age ratings and safety marks and the Compare table.

Button cell and coin batteries

Source: CPSC, "Button Cell and Coin Battery FAQs" (no date shown). Last checked: 16 October 2026.

  • The rule (16 CFR part 1263, under Reese's Law) says the battery compartment of a covered product must need a tool or two separate, simultaneous hand movements to open, and must not release the battery during use-and-abuse testing.
  • Product packaging must carry a warning, the product itself if practicable, and manuals must repeat the warnings.
  • Batteries sold on their own, or included with a product, must come in child-resistant packaging. Packaging labeling rules apply to packages made or imported after 21 September 2024.
  • Dates on the page: general-use products made or imported on or after 23 October 2023, and children's products on or after 20 December 2023.
  • Zinc-air cells are outside the product rule but still need special packaging. Toys that meet the toy standard are exempt from the product rule, and medical devices are excluded.

Loose magnets

Source: CPSC, "Magnet Safety Standard: Business Guidance" (no date shown). Last checked: 16 October 2026.

  • Loose or separable magnets in covered products that fit inside the small-parts cylinder must have a flux index below 50 (16 CFR part 1262).
  • It covers products for entertainment, jewelry, mental stimulation, stress relief or a mix, and applies to products made after 21 October 2022.
  • Toys already under the toy standard (16 CFR part 1250) are exempt.

The CPSC's reseller guide adds why this matters: two or more high-powered magnets, or a magnet and a magnetic object, can attract across tissue and cause life-threatening harm, and it says CPSC knows of at least four deaths (guide dated February 2025).

What to check on a listing

  1. Does the product use a coin battery? If so, look for a compartment that locks with a screw or needs a tool, and for child-resistant battery packaging.
  2. Does it contain magnets? Sets of small loose magnets are the concern, and "desk toys" for adults are covered by the rule too.
  3. Warnings in the manual and on the package. Ask the seller if they are not shown.
  4. Age grading and returns. Keep products with small batteries or magnets away from young children, check the age label, and read the return policy.
  5. Certificates. Makers and importers must certify these products. Ask the seller if you want to see the certificate.

What we could not confirm

  • Injury statistics and first-aid steps (neither page gives them), and UK or EU rules.

Sources: US CPSC, button cell and coin battery FAQs; US CPSC, magnet safety standard; US CPSC, Resellers Guide to Selling Safer Products (PDF).