NOCSAE Advances Youth Football Helmet Standard to Final Status 

LITCHFIELD PARK, ARIZONA (February 7, 2025) – The National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) finalized the first youth football helmet standard at its Winter Standards Committee meeting. 

The NOCSAE Standards Committee voted to move ND006-23 from proposed status to a minimum 24-month final status with an effective date of February 7, 2027.  

For more than decade, NOCSAE has researched science and data to support a separate standard for football helmets specific to youth players, according to the NOCSAE website. The NOCSAE Standards Committee voted in January 2020 to formally begin the development process for a youth helmet performance standard. 

For purposes of this standard, the definition of youth football is “Football played at a level below high school” and the definition of a youth player as “Any player participating in Youth Football.” 

NOCSAE executive director Mike Oliver said he has received no negative feedback from the youth football governing bodies on adopting this standard. There will be messaging for football organizations, consumers and the industry regarding the youth helmet standard. One of the key messages is existing helmets currently in use or produced during the final status period that meet current NOCSAE standards would not become obsolete once the youth football standard goes into effect.