Two agencies dominate the non-food recall landscape in the United States: the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Between them, they cover the products most likely to cause serious injury or death outside of food and drug contexts — everything from children's toys and household appliances to automobiles, tires, and child car seats.
Understanding which agency handles which products helps you know where to check for recalls, how to report safety problems, and what remedies to expect when a recall affects something you own.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission was established in 1972 under the Consumer Product Safety Act. Its mandate is to protect the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with consumer products — a jurisdiction that is deliberately broad.
The CPSC has jurisdiction over approximately 15,000 types of consumer products. Major categories include:
What CPSC does NOT regulate: Food and drugs (FDA), vehicles (NHTSA), alcohol and tobacco (TTB and ATF), firearms (ATF), medical devices (FDA), and most commercial and industrial equipment.
For product categories like children's car seats, CPSC and NHTSA have overlapping safety standard authority, but vehicle-installed car seats fall primarily under NHTSA's recall jurisdiction.
CPSC recalls are typically initiated in one of three ways:
Recall remedies under CPSC are typically a refund, replacement, or free repair — the manufacturer must choose which remedy to offer, though the CPSC can influence this negotiation.
The CPSC does not use a formal Class I/II/III system like FDA and USDA. Instead, recalls are characterized by the nature of the hazard (fire, laceration, choking, strangulation, etc.) and the severity of potential injury. Notices typically include a description of the hazard, the number of units affected, and any incidents or injuries reported.
Browse active CPSC recalls through our unified recall feed or search for specific products at /search.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration operates under the Department of Transportation. Its core mission is reducing deaths, injuries, and economic losses from motor vehicle crashes — and vehicle safety defects are a major part of that mission.
NHTSA's recall jurisdiction covers:
What NHTSA does NOT regulate: Products used outside of vehicles (bicycles, ATVs, and off-road vehicles fall under CPSC), aircraft (FAA), boats (Coast Guard), or railroad equipment (FRA).
NHTSA has strong mandatory recall authority under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act. The recall process typically unfolds as follows:
One key distinction from CPSC: NHTSA has clearer and stronger mandatory recall authority. Vehicle manufacturers who resist recall requests face significant legal exposure, which means most vehicle recalls proceed through voluntary cooperation once NHTSA has identified a defect.
NHTSA's most consumer-friendly tool is its VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls. By entering your 17-digit VIN — found on your dashboard, door jamb, or registration — you can determine whether your specific vehicle has any open recalls and whether the remedy has been completed.
This is more precise than any third-party tool because vehicle recalls are often VIN-specific. A recall affecting a certain model year may not apply to every unit of that model — some vehicles may have already received the repair, and NHTSA tracks this at the VIN level.
Our recall database aggregates NHTSA recall notices alongside CPSC, FDA, and the other agencies we cover, giving you a single place to check across all categories.
| Dimension | CPSC | NHTSA |
|---|---|---|
| Product scope | Consumer products (~15,000 types) | Vehicles, tires, car seats |
| Established | 1972 | 1970 |
| Mandatory recall authority | Limited (court order required) | Yes, direct authority |
| Recall remedy | Refund, replacement, or repair | Free repair at dealership |
| VIN-based lookup | No | Yes |
| Incident reporting | SaferProducts.gov | NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline |
| Mobile app | No | No |
| International equivalent | Various (HC, OPSS, EU Safety Gate) | Transport Canada, DVSA, EU |
RecallTracker tracks {{RECALL_COUNT}} recalls from {{AGENCY_COUNT}} government agencies, which puts the CPSC and NHTSA numbers into sharp relief. The CPSC database contains {{CPSC_COUNT}} recall actions — a figure that reflects more than five decades of product safety enforcement across tens of thousands of product categories. NHTSA's database is considerably larger at {{NHTSA_COUNT}} recall actions, driven by the sheer number of vehicle components that can develop safety-related defects and the long service lives of automobiles on US roads.
Looking at annual volumes tells a more nuanced story. In 2025, agencies tracked in our database issued {{RECALLS_2025}} recall actions combined. NHTSA consistently outpaces CPSC on raw volume because a single automotive component defect — a specific airbag inflator batch, a brake line material — can generate hundreds of separate recall campaigns as manufacturers issue sequential remedies for different model-year populations. The Takata airbag recall, the largest vehicle recall in US history, spanned over a decade and involved more than 100 separate recall campaigns across dozens of manufacturers.
| Agency | Total Recalls in Database | Primary Product Categories |
|--------|--------------------------|---------------------------|
| CPSC | {{CPSC_COUNT}} | Consumer products, toys, electronics, furniture |
| NHTSA | {{NHTSA_COUNT}} | Vehicles, tires, child restraint systems |
For comparison, you can view recall statistics broken down by agency, year, and category — including trend data showing whether recall rates are rising or falling in specific product areas.
The practical power of a recall agency comes down to what it can actually do when a company resists. CPSC and NHTSA differ significantly in both their enforcement tools and the speed with which they can compel action.
The CPSC's maximum civil penalty under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) is $15 million per violation series — a meaningful number for small manufacturers, but modest relative to the revenue of major consumer brands. The agency's primary leverage is reputational: a CPSC press release naming a hazardous product and the company that makes it generates significant media coverage and consumer avoidance. For most companies, the commercial cost of resisting a recall far exceeds the cost of compliance, which is why voluntary recalls dominate CPSC enforcement. In cases where a company refuses to cooperate, the CPSC can file suit in federal district court to force a recall — a process that can take months, during which the hazardous product may remain in consumer hands.
NHTSA operates with faster enforcement levers. Under the FAST Act and subsequent legislation, NHTSA can impose civil penalties up to $105 million per violation, and the agency has a dedicated Office of Defects Investigation with engineers who conduct independent vehicle testing. When NHTSA concludes that a safety defect exists and a manufacturer refuses to issue a recall, the agency can order the recall directly — no court action required. This matters most in time-sensitive situations: an airbag that deploys without a crash, a brake system that fails at highway speed. The vehicle safety context means that defects can kill people in the days or weeks that a legal fight would consume.
Both agencies publish enforcement actions publicly. If a company has been fined or ordered to recall a product, that record is part of the public database — and searchable through recall statistics and agency-specific searches on our platform.
Finding a recall that applies to your product or vehicle is only the first step. Acting on it promptly is what actually protects you. The process differs meaningfully between CPSC and NHTSA recalls.
For a CPSC recall: The recall notice will include a remedy option — typically a refund, a replacement product, or a free repair kit. Most CPSC recalls require you to stop using the product immediately and contact the manufacturer directly. The contact information and instructions are in the recall notice. Keep in mind that some CPSC recalls have claim deadlines, particularly for refund-based remedies.
For an NHTSA recall: Contact your vehicle's dealership using the manufacturer name. Dealers are required by law to perform recall repairs at no cost to you, regardless of whether you purchased the vehicle from them. Bring your VIN — the service department will confirm which recalls are open on your specific vehicle and schedule the repair. If parts are unavailable, ask for a written estimate of when they will arrive; this creates a paper trail and may entitle you to interim accommodation in serious safety cases.
Use this checklist after finding any open recall:
You can scan a product barcode to instantly check whether a specific item has an open recall before you buy or after you notice something feels wrong.
Child restraint systems (car seats) present an interesting jurisdiction case. CPSC sets flammability and general product safety standards for car seats as consumer products. NHTSA sets crash performance standards and handles recalls when a car seat has a defect related to its crash protection function.
In practice, most child car seat recalls are issued by NHTSA because the defects most commonly involve structural or restraint performance issues. Our car seat recall guide covers this category in detail, including how to check your specific seat and register for manufacturer recall notifications.
One practical challenge for consumers is that checking for product recalls and vehicle recalls requires visiting two completely different government systems. If you want to check your family's home products and your vehicle in the same session, you historically had to use CPSC's website, NHTSA's website, and probably the FDA website as well.
Our recall database aggregates all of these sources — CPSC, NHTSA, FDA, USDA FSIS, Health Canada, UK OPSS, and EU Safety Gate — into a single searchable interface. Whether you are checking a space heater, a family vehicle, or a packaged food item, a single search at /search covers all seven agencies simultaneously.
The unified view also surfaces recalls you might otherwise miss. A parent checking for toy recalls may not think to search NHTSA for their child's car seat — but in our database, both appear in a single results list. The same logic applies to households with multiple concerns: an elderly parent using a mobility aid (CPSC) who also drives a recalled vehicle model (NHTSA) can surface both issues in one search session rather than navigating two separate government portals with different search interfaces.
You can also check recalls by brand to see the full recall history for a specific manufacturer across all agencies. A brand like Graco, for instance, appears in both CPSC records (baby gear, strollers) and NHTSA records (car seats) — seeing both in one view gives a more complete picture of a company's product safety track record.
For guidance on reporting safety problems to either agency, our guide on how to report a dangerous product covers both CPSC (SaferProducts.gov) and NHTSA (Vehicle Safety Hotline) reporting processes.
Bicycles fall under CPSC jurisdiction. NHTSA covers motor vehicles — bicycles are not motor vehicles regardless of their size or use. Check our recall search or the CPSC database directly for bicycle recalls.
Technically yes — there is no law prohibiting you from driving a recalled vehicle. However, if the recall is for a safety-critical defect (such as the Takata airbag inflator recalls), the risk to you and your passengers is real. NHTSA strongly advises completing recall repairs as quickly as possible, particularly for defects that can cause injury without a crash occurring.
Electric scooters and e-bikes that are not classified as motor vehicles fall under CPSC jurisdiction. This is a growing category with increasing recall activity as lithium battery defects in these products have caused fires and injuries. Check our recall search for the brand and model of your electric scooter or e-bike.
Report through SaferProducts.gov. Your report — including a description of the product, the hazard, and any injuries — contributes to CPSC's injury surveillance system and can trigger an investigation. For detailed guidance on the reporting process, see our how to report a dangerous product guide.
The CPSC can seek a mandatory recall through the federal court system. The agency can also publicize the hazard independently, which typically creates sufficient commercial pressure to compel action. CPSC also has authority to impose civil penalties on companies that knowingly distribute products with defects. In the most serious cases, the Department of Justice can pursue criminal charges.
Use the barcode scanner in RecallTracker by visiting `/scan` or enter the product name or model in the site search. Results return aggregated government listings from all tracked agencies and currently surface {{RECALL_COUNT}} recall records across our database, with links to the original agency recall notices and suggested remedies. If you prefer manual lookup, use `/search` and confirm the product's model number and lot/batch information against the recall notice before acting.
Locate the vehicle VIN (on the dashboard or registration) and ask your dealership to check it, since dealers are required to perform recall repairs at no cost. You can also enter the VIN into RecallTracker's `/search` to see any matching NHTSA recalls and check repair status; for urgent safety defects, schedule the dealer appointment immediately and keep the repair confirmation for your records.
Yes — food and many medical device recalls come from the FDA and are included in our unified results; you can filter by agency when viewing search results. Our aggregated feed includes {{FDA_COUNT}} FDA recall entries alongside CPSC and NHTSA records, and you can view trends and counts at `/statistics` to see how frequently those recalls occur for a given product category.
Use the brand lookup at `/brands` to view every recall tied to a manufacturer across agencies, including the number of actions, dates, and remedies offered. For manufacturers that make both consumer products and vehicle-related items, the brand page merges CPSC, NHTSA, and other agency entries so you can compare records such as the total CPSC recalls shown as {{CPSC_COUNT}}.
RecallTracker Premium (see `/pricing`) offers real-time email and push notifications for saved items, priority search indexing, and exportable recall history for a saved VIN or product list. To get started, add items to your watchlist in the app and enable notifications so Premium can notify you immediately when a new recall affecting those items is published.
Use RecallTracker's barcode scanner at `/scan` to instantly check packaged products before you buy and to verify items at home; for vehicles, have your VIN ready and check the vehicle entry in our search results or contact your dealership for a free remedy. If the product is listed, the recall notice will include the recall number, remedy type, and any claim deadlines you should note. Take a photo of the product label or VIN and save the recall notice for your records.
Go to `/brands` and enter the manufacturer name to see a consolidated history of that company's recalls across agencies — CPSC, NHTSA, FDA and others — including the number of affected models and dates. Use the brand page filters to limit results by agency or year, and subscribe to brand alerts if you want automatic email notices when new recalls are published.
Recall repairs required by NHTSA are performed by dealerships at no cost to the owner, and CPSC recall remedies (refund, replacement, or free repair) must be provided by the manufacturer at no charge to consumers. Timing depends on parts availability — if parts are delayed, request a written estimate from the dealer or manufacturer to create a paper trail and ask about interim safety measures. Keep your repair confirmation and check `/search` or the NHTSA database afterwards to verify the remedy is recorded.
Our live statistics page at `/statistics` reports current totals; at the time this article was published there are {{RECALL_COUNT}} active recalls across tracked agencies, including {{CPSC_COUNT}} from CPSC and {{FDA_COUNT}} from FDA. These numbers change daily as agencies issue new notices and manufacturers close remedies.
Premium (`/pricing`) adds continuous brand and keyword watchlists, push alerts for new recalls, faster search prioritization, and bulk upload support for inventory managers so you get notified the moment a match appears in our database. If you manage multiple products, maintain inventory, or want immediate notifications for child safety items and vehicles, Premium can save time and reduce risk by automating monitoring and delivering early alerts.