16 CFR 1211.4 - General Requirements for Protection Against Risk of Injury

Before the specific entrapment protection rules in 16 CFR 1211.6 through 1211.13, the regulation establishes baseline injury prevention requirements that apply to all residential operators. Section 1211.4 is that baseline.

What this regulation says

16 CFR 1211.4 has three operative provisions.

Subsection (a) states the core rule:

"If an automatically reset protective device is employed, automatic restarting of a motor shall not result in a risk of injury to persons."

This addresses what happens after a safety device has tripped and then reset itself. The door must not automatically restart and begin moving again in a way that could injure someone in the opening.

Subsection (b) provides a specific compliance path for subsection (a). An operator meets the restart-safety requirement when "some means is provided to prevent the motor from restarting when the protector closes." In plain terms: when a protective circuit trips and then resets, the motor must stay off until the operator receives a new command from the user.

Subsection (c) covers the safety circuits themselves. Electronic and solid-state circuits designed to prevent fire, electric shock, injury, or entrapment must comply with UL 991, the standard for tests for safety-related controls. An alternative compliance path: circuits that meet Supplement SA of UL 325-2017 satisfy subsection (c).

When it applies

Section 1211.4 applies to all residential garage door operators covered by 16 CFR Part 1211, meaning those manufactured on or after January 1, 1993 for sale in the United States.

This section is relevant whenever a protective device triggers and then resets. Examples include a photo-eye that loses its beam and then regains it, or a pressure-sensitive edge that is depressed and then released. After either event, the operator must not restart the door on its own.

What this means for you

Auto-restart is prohibited. If your door was descending and the photo-eye tripped (a car bumper, a child, a blown leaf), then the beam cleared, the door must not resume closing on its own. It requires a new button press. Any opener that resumes automatically after a sensor trip is not compliant with 1211.4.

Safety electronics are not off-the-shelf parts. The requirement that safety circuits meet UL 991 or Supplement SA means manufacturers cannot use generic electronics for safety functions. This is why brand-name operator electronics should not be replaced with generic circuit boards.

Older openers may not meet this rule. Pre-1993 openers were built before these requirements existed. An opener that restarts automatically after a safety event is a sign of a non-compliant or very old unit.

Full text and source

Read 16 CFR 1211.4 at https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/16/1211.4. The full Part 1211 is at: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-II/subchapter-B/part-1211

16 CFR 1211.4 applies to residential garage door operators only. Commercial operators are not covered by 16 CFR Part 1211.