New and second-hand prams and pushchairs

This guidance is for England, Scotland and Wales

All prams and pushchairs, both new and used, are required to be safe. One way to ensure this is by compliance with UK standard BS EN 1888: Child care articles. Wheeled child conveyances. Safety requirements and test methods, which contains the following definition: "vehicle designed for the carriage of one or more children consisting of a chassis to which a pram body (bodies) or car seat(s) or seat unit(s) or combination of these is (are) attached, which can be manually steered while being pushed or pulled".

There are certain checks you can make on a used pushchair to ensure it is still safe, including checking there are no sharp edges, ensuring the safety harness is in good condition, verifying the parking brake works and testing the stability of the pushchair.

Supplying an unsafe product is a contravention of the General Product Safety Regulations 2005. See 'General product safety: distributors' and 'General product safety: producers' for more information on these Regulations.

All upholstered prams and pushchairs (new and used) have to comply with stringent flammability regulatory requirements too. A label indicating compliance should be located on the frame or seating cover of the new pram / pushchair.

How can I tell if my prams and pushchairs are safe?

Look for the label stating that the pram or pushchair complies with BS EN 1888. These labels are usually found on the frame or seat covering.

Used prams and pushchairs

If prams and pushchairs have been damaged or modified, they may no longer meet the requirements of the Standard. The only way to be certain is to have the item tested by a laboratory, which is expensive. However, you can look out for the following:

• presence of any sharp edges or points
• folding chassis must have a primary and secondary locking device: do they both engage and work properly?
• safety harness: is it in good condition? Make sure the harness is a secure five-point harness and the straps are not frayed
• wheel security, and evidence of any heavy wear on the edges of wheels
• parking brake: does it work both forwards and backwards, and does it engage properly?
• general stability in all directions (forwards, backwards and sideways left and right)
• tubes or linkages: have they been bent by heavy impact with kerbs or stairs?
• presence of any finger entrapments. Ensure that exposed tubes still have some means of preventing fingers from getting trapped
• ensure that the pram or pushchair is generally in good condition

Flammability requirements

All upholstered prams and pushchairs (new and used) have to comply with the stringent flammability requirements contained in the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988. New prams and pushchairs also have to carry permanent labels and display labels giving information about how they comply with the Regulations. If used items do not have a permanent label with the words 'CARELESSNESS CAUSES FIRE', it must be assumed that they do not comply and therefore should not be sold.

More information on the Regulations can be found in our guides 'New upholstered furniture: fire safety' and 'Second-hand upholstered furniture: fire safety'.

Trading Standards

For more information on the work of Trading Standards services - and the possible consequences of not abiding by the law - please see 'Trading Standards: powers, enforcement and penalties'.

In this update

No major changes.

Last reviewed / updated: June 2024