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Bunk Bed Safety: Guardrails, Ages and the Rules in the US, UK and Australia

bed.chat 2026-10-28

Bunk bed safety rules differ by country. In the US, the federal rule requires at least two guardrails, at least one on each side, on a bed whose foundation is more than 30 inches from the floor. The same rule includes the warning not to allow children under 6 years of age to use the upper bunk. Australia's bunk bed safety notice names AS/NZS 4220:1994, Bunk beds, as the standard it is based on. BSI describes BS EN 747-1 as specifying requirements for the safety, strength and durability of bunk beds and high beds for domestic and non-domestic use.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Check the rules for the country where you buy.

Why the rules exist

The US rule says its purpose is to reduce the risk that children die or are injured by being trapped between the upper bunk and the wall, in openings below guardrails, or in other parts of the bed. In the findings behind the rule, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission reported 57 deaths of children under 15 trapped between the upper bunk and the wall or in openings in the bed over a 9.6-year period, and over 96% of those who died in entrapment incidents were age 3 or younger.

United States

The US rule defines a bunk bed as a bed where the underside of any foundation is over 30 inches from the floor. It applies to bunk beds made in, or imported into, the US on or after June 19, 2000, except beds made only for institutional use. Its main requirements:

Two guardrails. Any bed whose foundation is more than 30 inches from the floor needs at least two guardrails, at least one on each side.
Height above the mattress. The upper edge of the guardrails must be no less than 5 inches above the top of the mattress when a mattress of the maximum thickness the manufacturer specifies is on the bed.
Gaps at the ends. The second guardrail may stop short of the bed's ends, but by no more than 15 inches from the nearest end structure.
Fixed in place. Guardrails must be attached so they cannot be removed without intentionally releasing a fastening device or applying forces in sequence in different directions.

The rule's warning text tells buyers: do not allow children under 6 years of age to use the upper bunk. It also says that if the bunk bed is placed next to a wall, the guardrail that runs the full length of the bed should go against the wall to prevent entrapment.

Australia

Australia's Consumer Protection Notice No. 1 of 2003 sets the consumer product safety standard for bunk beds, based on AS/NZS 4220:1994, Bunk beds. The Federal Register of Legislation records it as effective from 11 March 2003.

The notice covers bunk beds supplied as furniture. It excludes portable camping bunk beds and bunks built into caravans, motor homes, trains, ships, aircraft and other conveyances. It defines a bunk bed as components that assemble into stacked single or double/single beds, or any single bed, other than a hospital bed, whose mattress base is at least 800 mm above the floor.

United Kingdom

BSI describes BS EN 747-1 as setting requirements for the safety, strength and durability of bunk beds and high beds for domestic and non-domestic use. It applies to bunk beds whose top bed base is 600 mm or more above the floor, and to high beds whose base is 600 mm or more above the floor. BSI says its dimensional requirements are meant to minimise the risk of accidents, particularly to children.

One detail to know: the BSI catalogue marks the BS EN 747-1:2012+A1:2015 edition as withdrawn on 15 March 2024.

Checks before you buy

Guardrails on both sides of the upper bunk, as the US rule requires.
The ladder and the top barrier. Which? suggests checking that small children can safely climb the ladder and that the barrier at the top is high enough to stop them toppling over the edge.
Age. Follow the US rule's warning: no children under 6 on the upper bunk.
Wall side. If the bed goes against a wall, put the full-length guardrail on the wall side.

For the mattress itself, the bed.chat size tool lists sizes by country, and Bed Fit, the chooser on the bed.chat home page, can take into account that the bed is for a child.