Recertification – NOCSAE (2024)

FAQs

How often should helmets be reconditioned? ›

NOCSAE recommends that organizations adopt and follow a program of helmet inspection and reconditioning that meets their particular needs. For example, some schools recondition and recertify their football helmets every year, others every two years.

Annually - Reconditioning helmets and shoulder pads every year ensures that your equipment has been thoroughly inspected, cleaned and sanitized, repaired, and recertified before it returns to the playing field.

The process typically takes 4-5 weeks to complete.

Throughout the year, your equipment gets scuffed, stained and taken through the wringer. To ensure your gear is ready for the next season, it should go in for a bit of a tune-up. Not only does helmet reconditioning help players start each season with polished gear; it can also help promote player safety.

Helmets have a limited lifespan because the resin and other materials used in the manufacturing process over time can be effected by your body fluids, hair oils, ultraviolet light and normal wear and tear. It is prudent advice to replace your helmet 5 years after purchase or 7 years after the production date.

Sweat, the sun, and other environmental factors can damage your helmet over time. If the helmet is cheaply made, the chin strap and inner padding may start to disintegrate after a few years. If you are an avid rider or are wearing a used helmet, check the manufacturer's date to see when the helmet was made.

Adult Helmets are $69.95 Youth helmets $59.95 Charge includes sanitation process, paint and inspection of your helmet.

Once you get home from practice or a game, take your shoulder pads out of your gear bag and set them on the floor to dry. Use a microfiber or soft cloth dampened with water to clean off dirt. Then wipe with a dry cloth to dry the shoulder pads.

Football helmets should be replaced no later than 10 years from the date of manufacture. Many helmets will need to be replaced sooner, depending upon wear and tear.

In order to meet the standards of the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE), any helmet that was made after the 2017 season is mandated to be reconditioned every two years or the helmet no longer meets the industry standards.

How long do helmets last before they expire? ›

The Consumer Product Safety Commission, for example, advises that unless manufacturers recommend otherwise, you should get a new helmet every five to 10 years.

"The five-year replacement recommendation is based on a consensus by both helmet manufacturers and the Snell Foundation. Glues, resins and other materials used in helmet production can affect liner materials. Hair oils, body fluids and cosmetics, as well as normal "wear and tear" all contribute to helmet degradation.

Many manufacturers have set the reconditioning cycle at every two years. After every second season, the helmet needs to be recertified and reconditioned again, by an authorized reconditioner/recertifier—there are over twenty which belong to the National Athletic Equipment Reconditioners Association—NAERA.

Assuming there are no cracks or other internal damage, The National Athletic Equipment Reconditioners Association (NAERA) states that football helmets must be reconditioned and recertified every two to ten years.

Clean & Disinfect Football Helmets

Simply detach the Velcro from the padding at the top, bottom and sides of the shell. Slide or remove the padding gently so you don't cause damage. Remove all loose dirt from the helmet and its padding. Spray everything thoroughly with Clear Gear non-bleach disinfectant.

Replace it if you crash

Cycling helmets are single-use safety devices. Once you compress the foam underneath the helmet's plastic shell, it can no longer protect you. That's true whether your helmet is 20 years old or you just bought it yesterday. Any physical damage to the foam means your helmet can't do its job.

Safety helmets don't actually come stamped with an expiration date, but they do have a date of manufacture stamp that you can use to calculate the maximum lifespan. The stamp is as easy to read as a clock face, but it's up to you to figure out when the helmet should be replaced.

The manufactured date is stamped onto the hard hat, usually below the brim. Flip your hard hat over and take a look on the inside. The number in the middle (13) is the year of manufacture, and the arrow points to the month (5).

If it fell with your head inside, regardless if involved in an accident or not, yes, you should replace it. If it fell on its own, but you notice a deformation on the EPS, or you see visible damage marks on the shell, you should replace it.

The standard requires that any element (helmet, hood, gloves, boots, turnout coat, and trousers) of the PPE ensemble be removed from service after ten years from the date of manufacture.

Do motorbike helmets go out of date? ›

Why change the motorcycle helmet? And that's where I'm heading, the helmet's material; the key to understanding why a helmet expires. These materials resistant to impacts, such as fibre or thermoplastic resin on the shell, the interior EPS, the foam, etc., gradually lose their properties as time goes by. They degrade.

Painting May Void Your Warranty

Well aware of its risk to helmet safety, this usually includes paint. Furthermore, if you do sustain a severe head injury, the helmet company can remove themselves from liability if any paint was applied.

We strongly recommend that you DO NOT paint your own helmet. Painting by anyone other than a reconditioner licensed by NOCAE will automatically void the manufacturers warranty.

You can't think about Notre Dame without thinking of gold. "Every Friday night before each home game, the helmets would be spray-painted by the student managers," Heisler said.

Have you ever had that funky smell from your headphones? When you wear your headphones on for a period of time, moisture and dirt stains the ear pads. This can get really bad when you are staying in a damp and humid area. Over time, moisture induces the growth of mold, and then the awful smell develops.

You can use football helmets for your garden. Convert your football helmet into a planter and add some greenery to your sports archives room. Baseball Helmet into Ice Cream Bowl – This can be another unique and fun way to transform your baseball helmet – use it as a bowl for ice cream.

NOCSAE is the only athletic equipment standards development organization that mandates independent third-party certification of compliance, in accordance with ANSI/ISO 17065 international guidelines. NOCSAE has designated Safety Equipment Institute (SEI) as the certifying body for this purpose.

Helmets are buffed and sanded to prepare them to be painted. They are also washed and air dried before they are moved to the paint room. The helmets are repainted using manufacture-approved materials. Once they are painted, the parts are then re-assembled.

What is NOCSAE ND200? NOCSAE ND200 is the first-ever performance standard for chest protection. Product compliance with ND200 reduces impact forces and thus the risk of commotio cordis (cardiac arrest due to a blow to the heart area).

CE stands for Conformite Europeene (European Conformity). The CE Marking is required and shows that the manufacturer ensures the helmet meets EU legal safety requirements. This is the current riding helmet standard for the USA, Canada, and Mexico. It is specific to equestrian helmets.

What do you do with an expired bike helmet? ›

Most local recycling programs don't want mixed materials. So your best solution may be to take the helmet apart, put the plastic shell in your plastic recycling, break up the EPS foam for use as packing material or a soil amendment, and pitch the strap and buckle in the trash.

In general, yes: Helmets have an expiration date. That's because exposure to sunlight, heat, and other elements degrades the foam and other parts of the helmet. Plus, helmets tend to get knocked around with use. You don't want to mess around with something designed to save your life.

If the average mileage for a biker is somewhere between 6,000 miles and 8,000 miles, then it might be suggested that once a helmet has done between 40,000 and 50,000 miles it's about time to change it. The guys who ride 20k a year will often change their helmets every 2/3 years.

Spray the inside of the helmet and shoulder pads down with Lysol, or another disinfectant spray, at least once a week. This helps kill any germs, but also makes it smell better, some people that use Febreze, but I stick with Lysol.

You can use any kind of car wax or polish on your helmet, but a great way to get a good shine is to use lemon pledge or the equivalent.

"Typically for individuals reconditioning their helmets, they're anywhere from $60 to $100. Whole team reconditioning can differ, but average cost per helmet is around $40 to $50 and can be less for entry-level youth helmets."

It is recommended that your helmet be reconditioned every year by a Riddell Factory Authorized Reconditioner. Proper maintenance requires reconditioning of your helmet at least every two (2) years by a NOCSAE Licensed Reconditioner using only new factory replacement liners in the reconditioning process.

National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment.

Why is removing your helmet a penalty in football? Removing your helmet is a penalty in football because it is unsafe to be on the field of play without a helmet on. Even if the play is over, there are still many moving parts on the field that could result in a player being injured.

Members of the national Athletic Equipment Reconditioners Association (“NAERA”) are licensed by NOCSAE to recertify football, lacrosse, softball/baseball helmets, and face guards.

How much do NFL teams pay for helmets? ›

We hope that NFL teams receive a bulk discount for their helmet purchases! According to Answers.com, the average cost of equipment per player in the NFL is $1100 - $1200.

A cycling helmet is generally good for around 5 years, after that, you will want to replace your bike helmet. This is because the polystyrene foam that protects you degrades over time, mainly as a result of UV exposure to sunlight.