Poliform builds its sofas and armchairs in Inverigo, in the Brianza district of Italy, and ships many of them to American living rooms. Each upholstered piece that crosses the Atlantic arrives with a small permanent label that reads TB 117-2013. Buyers spot it while vacuuming under the cushions and write to ask what it means. The short answer: it is a California fire safety rule for upholstered furniture, and the whole country follows it in practice.
What California tests for
TB 117-2013 is a technical bulletin from California. It tests whether the materials of an upholstered seat will smolder when a lit cigarette lands on them, which is how most furniture fires start in a home. The older version of the rule pushed makers to load foam with flame retardant chemicals. The 2013 version tests the cover and the materials under it for smoldering, and makers can pass it without adding those chemicals.
The Poliform pieces that carry it
Any piece with padding and a cover: sofas, armchairs, poufs and upholstered headboards. Poliform Sunday, Flaviano Capriotti's compact family from 2023, is a good example. Its backs wrap around the sitter, and on the armchair the back continues into the armrest with no joint. The seat is deep and padded, so both the sofa and the armchair carry the label. See the Sunday collection.
A dining table, a sideboard or a bare wooden bench carries no such label, because it has no padding. A Curve chair in all wood skips it; the same chair with an upholstered seat and back carries it.
Owen by Jean-Marie Massaud, 2025. Upholstered seats bound for an American home carry the flammability label.
The 2 by 3 inch tag and its checkbox
The label is no smaller than 2 by 3 inches and stays attached for the life of the piece; you should not be able to tear it off by hand. It states that the piece complies with TB 117-2013. A checkbox on it records whether flame retardants were added to the filling.
That checkbox answers the question many parents ask us. You can read it before you buy: we send the answer with the quote on request.
What the rule looks at
The test looks at the materials of an upholstered seat, from the cover down to the filling. The frame underneath is outside its reach.
On an Italian sofa
Poliform Owen, Jean-Marie Massaud's family from 2025, pairs a plush curved seat with a wooden base. The factory builds it to order in Italy, and the version for the American market goes out with the tested cover and filling and the sewn label in place. See the Owen collection.
The label ties to the materials. We confirm the cover you choose with the factory for the American market during the quote, before production starts.
Lacey, TSCA and Prop 65 beside the label
TB 117-2013 is one of several requirements for furniture sold in the United States. Pieces with wood inside also need a Lacey Act declaration on the shipment, and composite panels fall under a formaldehyde rule. Some states also ask for a Proposition 65 warning. We handle these on the import side and list them on the quote, so you know the paperwork exists and who holds it.
Reading the label
What the TB 117-2013 label says on upholstered furniture sold in the United States. Prices on request.
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Complies with TB 117-2013
- What it tells you
- The cover and fillings passed the smolder test
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Flame retardant chemicals
- What it tells you
- A checkbox: added, or not added
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Size
- What it tells you
- At least 2 by 3 inches, sewn in to stay
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Where
- What it tells you
- Under the seat or on the deck of the piece
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Pieces covered
- What it tells you
- Sofas, armchairs, poufs, upholstered headboards
Before you buy
Ask for the label information along with the price, above all if flame retardants worry you. Keep the label on the piece: a mover, an insurer or a future buyer may ask to see it. Photograph it the day the sofa arrives and file the picture with the invoice, so you have it even if the label ends up under a slipcover.
Tell us which Poliform sofa or armchair you are considering and the cover you like, using the form at the foot of the page. We reply with a written quote and a note on the label and the flame retardant question for that exact configuration.
