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The Coast Guard published a final rule to remove references to type codes in its regulations on the carriage and labeling of Coast Guard-approved personal flotation devices, or PFDs.

The purpose of this final rule is to facilitate future adoption of new industry consensus standards for PFD labeling that more effectively convey safety information, and to help harmonize our regulations with PFD requirements in Canada and in other countries.

This final rule will enable the complete development of a standard for wearable PFDs without including unnecessary references to type codes.

Under these amendments, the number and kind of PFDs required to be carried on a vessel will not change, but the terminology used to refer to approved PFDs will.

This final rule is effective October 22, 2014.

View the final rule for full details.

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