52616 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 166 / Friday, August 27, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 

1The Commission voted 4–0–1 to publish this 

notice of requirements. Chairman Inez M. 

Tenenbaum issued a statement, and the statement 

can be found at http://www.cpsc.gov/pr/ 

statements.html. 

prior public comment would result in a 

significant change from the substance 

contained herein. Therefore, because a 

delay would significantly affect the 

certification of the airplane, which is 

imminent, the FAA has determined that 

prior public notice and comment are 

unnecessary and impracticable, and 

good cause exists for adopting these 

special conditions upon issuance. The 

FAA is requesting comments to allow 

interested persons to submit views that 

may not have been submitted in 

response to the prior opportunities for 

comment described above. 

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 25 

Aircraft, Aviation safety, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements. 

The authority citation for these 

special conditions is as follows: 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40113, 44701, 

44702, 44704. 

The Special Conditions 

■ Accordingly, pursuant to the authority 

delegated to me by the Administrator, 

the following special conditions are 

issued as part of the supplemental type 

certification basis for Embraer Model 

ERJ 170–100 SU series airplanes 

modified by C&D Zodiac, Inc. 

1. Except as provided in special 

condition number 3, below, compliance 

with heat-release and smoke-emission 

testing requirements of § 25.853, and 

Appendix F, parts IV and V, is required 

for seats that incorporate nontraditional, large, non-metallic panels 

that may be either a single component 

or multiple components in a 

concentrated area in their design. 

2. The applicant may designate up to 

and including 1.5 square feet of nontraditional, non-metallic panel material 

per seat place that does not have to 

comply with special condition number 

1, above. A triple-seat assembly may 

have a total of 4.5 square feet excluded 

on any portion of the assembly (e.g., 

outboard seat place, 1 square foot; 

middle, 1 square foot; and inboard, 2.5 

square feet). 

3. Seats do not have to meet the test 

requirements of part 25, Appendix F, 

parts IV and V, when installed in 

compartments that are not otherwise 

required to meet these requirements. 

Examples include: 

a. Airplanes with passenger capacities 

of 19 or less, 

b. Airplanes that do not have § 25.853, 

Amendment 25–61 or later, in their 

certification basis and do not need to 

comply with the requirements of 

§ 121.312, and 

c. Airplanes exempted from § 25.853, 

Amendment 25–61 or later. 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on August 

18, 2010. 

Jeffrey E. Duven, 

Acting Manager, Transport Airplanes 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–21449 Filed 8–26–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY 

COMMISSION 

[CPSC Docket No. CPSC–2010–0090] 

16 CFR Part 1420 

Third Party Testing for Certain 

Children’s Products; Youth All-Terrain 

Vehicles: Requirements for 

Accreditation of Third Party 

Conformity Assessment Bodies 

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of requirements. 

SUMMARY: The Consumer Product Safety 

Commission (CPSC or Commission) is 

issuing a notice of requirements that 

provides the criteria and process for 

Commission acceptance of accreditation 

of third party conformity assessment 

bodies for testing of all-terrain vehicles 

(ATVs) designed or intended primarily 

for children 12 years of age or younger 

pursuant to 16 CFR part 1420, the CPSC 

regulations under the Consumer Product 

Safety Act (CPSA) relating to ATVs. The 

Commission is issuing this notice of 

requirements pursuant to section 

14(a)(3)(B)(vi) of the CPSA (15 U.S.C. 

2063(a)(3)(B)(vi)). 

DATES: Effective Date: The requirements 

for accreditation of third party 

conformity assessment bodies to assess 

conformity with 16 CFR part 1420 are 

effective August 27, 2010.1

Comments in response to this notice 

of requirements should be submitted by 

September 27, 2010. Comments on this 

notice should be captioned ‘‘Third Party 

Testing for Certain Children’s Products; 

All-Terrain Vehicles: Requirements for 

Accreditation of Third Party Conformity 

Assessment Bodies.’’ 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by Docket No. CPSC–2010– 

00_, by any of the following methods: 

Electronic Submissions: Submit 

electronic comments in the following 

way: 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

To ensure timely processing of 

comments, the Commission is no longer 

accepting comments submitted by 

electronic mail (e-mail) except through 

http://www.regulations.gov. 

Written Submissions: Submit written 

submissions in the following way: 

Mail/Hand delivery/Courier (for 

paper, disk, or CD–ROM submissions) 

preferably in five copies, to: Office of the 

Secretary, U.S. Consumer Product 

Safety Commission, Room 820, 4330 

East West Highway, Bethesda, Maryland 

20814; telephone (301) 504–7923. 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the agency name and 

docket number for this notice. All 

comments received may be posted 

without change to http:// 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided. Do not 

submit confidential business 

information, trade secret information, or 

other sensitive or protected information 

(such as a Social Security Number) 

electronically; if furnished at all, such 

information should be submitted in 

writing. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Richard McCallion, Program Area Team 

Leader, Office of Hazard Identification 

and Reduction, U.S. Consumer Product 

Safety Commission, 10901 Darnestown 

Road, Gaithersburg, MD 20878; e-mail 

rmccallion@cpsc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction 

Section 14(a)(3)(B)(vi) of the CPSA, as 

added by section 102(a)(2) of the 

Consumer Product Safety Improvement 

Act of 2008 (CPSIA), Public Law 110– 

314, directs the CPSC to establish and 

publish a notice of requirements for 

accreditation of third party conformity 

assessment bodies to assess children’s 

products for conformity with ‘‘other 

children’s product safety rules.’’ Section 

14(f)(1) of the CPSA defines ‘‘children’s 

product safety rule’’ as ‘‘a consumer 

product safety rule under [the CPSA] or 

similar rule, regulation, standard, or ban 

under any other Act enforced by the 

Commission, including a rule declaring 

a consumer product to be a banned 

hazardous product or substance.’’ Under 

section 14(a)(3)(A) of the CPSA, each 

manufacturer (including an importer) or 

private labeler of products subject to 

those regulations must have products 

that are manufactured more than 90 

days after the establishment and Federal 

Register publication of a notice of the 

requirements for accreditation tested by 

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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 166 / Friday, August 27, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 52617 

2Two mandatory certification requirements 

relating to ATVs were not stayed. See 74 FR at 

68592. 

a third party conformity assessment 

body accredited to do so, and must issue 

a certificate of compliance with the 

applicable regulations based on that 

testing. The Commission may extend 

the 90-day period by not more than 60 

days if the Commission determines that 

an insufficient number of third party 

conformity assessment bodies have been 

accredited to permit certification for a 

children’s product safety rule. Any 

requests for an extension should contain 

detailed facts showing why an extension 

is necessary. 

Section 14(a)(2) of the CPSA, as added 

by section 102(a)(2) of the CPSIA, 

requires that certification be based on 

testing of sufficient samples of the 

product, or samples that are identical in 

all material respects to the product. The 

Commission also emphasizes that, 

irrespective of certification, the product 

in question must comply with 

applicable CPSC requirements (see, e.g., 

section 14(h) of the CPSA, as added by 

section 102(b) of the CPSIA). 

The Commission also is recognizing 

limited circumstances in which it will 

accept certifications based on product 

testing conducted before the third party 

conformity assessment body is accepted 

as accredited by the CPSC. The details 

regarding those limited circumstances 

can be found in part IV of this document 

below. 

This notice provides the criteria and 

process for Commission acceptance of 

accreditation of third party conformity 

assessment bodies for testing pursuant 

to 16 CFR part 1420, Requirements for 

All Terrain Vehicles, which 

incorporates by reference the applicable 

provisions of the American National 

Standard for Four Wheel All-Terrain 

Vehicles, ANSI/SVIA 1–2007. Section 

3(a)(2) of the CPSA defines a children’s 

product as ‘‘a consumer product 

designed or intended primarily for 

children 12 years of age or younger.’’ 

Although all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) are 

often for general use (that is, not 

produced specifically for use by 

children), some ‘‘youth ATVs’’ are 

‘‘designed or intended primarily for 

children 12 years of age or younger.’’ 

The ANSI/SVIA 1–2007 standard 

identifies a usage category of Y (Youth 

Model) ATVs that consists of three 

subcategories: (a) Category Y–6+, for 

youth model ATVs intended for use by 

children age 6 or older; (b) Category Y– 

10+, for youth model ATVs intended for 

use by children age 10 or older; and (c) 

Category Y–12+, for youth model ATVs 

intended for use by children age 12 or 

older. For the purposes of this notice of 

requirements, the term ‘‘youth ATVs’’ at 

a minimum refers to categories Y–6+ 

and Y–10+ in ANSI/SVIA 1–2007. In 

determining whether a youth ATV is a 

children’s product the Commission will 

be guided by the statutory factors listed 

at section 3(a)(2)(A) through (D) of the 

CPSA. Such a determination will 

indicate whether a given Category Y– 

12+ ATV is intended primarily for 

children age 12 or younger, which 

would necessitate the third party testing 

and certification requirements in section 

14(a)(2) of the CPSA. (For example, if a 

manufacturer sells a ‘‘Category T’’ ATV, 

which is generally intended for use by 

a 14 year old operator under adu1t 

supervision or by an operator age 16 or 

older, it might impact the age range of 

the intended primary users of the 

Category Y–12+ ATV.) Accordingly, in 

determining whether a particular ATV 

is a children’s product subject to the 

third party testing and certification 

requirements of section 14(a)(2) of the 

CPSA, the Commission will follow the 

factors set forth in section 3(a)(2) of the 

CPSA and will not rely solely on a 

statement by the manufacturer about the 

ATV’s intended use. 

The CPSC also recognizes that section 

14(a)(3)(B)(vi) of the CPSA is captioned 

‘‘All Other Children’s Product Safety 

Rules,’’ but the body of the statutory 

requirement refers only to ‘‘other 

children’s product safety rules.’’ 

Nevertheless, section 14(a)(3)(B)(vi) of 

the CPSA could be construed as 

requiring a notice of requirements for 

‘‘all’’ other children’s product safety 

rules, rather than a notice of 

requirements for ‘‘some’’ or ‘‘certain’’ 

children’s product safety rules. 

However, whether a particular rule 

represents a ‘‘children’s product safety 

rule’’ may be subject to interpretation, 

and the Commission staff is continuing 

to evaluate which rules, regulations, 

standards, or bans are ‘‘children’s 

product safety rules.’’ The CPSC intends 

to issue additional notices of 

requirements for other rules which the 

Commission determines to be 

‘‘children’s product safety rules.’’ 

This notice of requirements applies to 

all third party conformity assessment 

bodies as described in section 14(f)(2) of 

the CPSA that desire to test all-terrain 

vehicles to the requirements of 16 CFR 

part 1420 where the test results will be 

used as the basis for a certification that 

ATVs comply with CPSC’s requirements 

at 16 CFR 1420. Such third party 

conformity assessment bodies can be 

grouped into three general categories: 

(1) Third party conformity assessment 

bodies that are not owned, managed, or 

controlled by a manufacturer or private 

labeler of a children’s product to be 

tested by the third party conformity 

assessment body for certification 

purposes; (2) ‘‘firewalled’’ conformity 

assessment bodies (those that are 

owned, managed, or controlled by a 

manufacturer or private labeler of a 

children’s product to be tested by the 

third party conformity assessment body 

for certification purposes and that seek 

accreditation under the additional 

statutory criteria for ‘‘firewalled’’ 

conformity assessment bodies); and (3) 

third party conformity assessment 

bodies owned or controlled, in whole or 

in part, by a government. 

The Commission requires baseline 

accreditation of each category of third 

party conformity assessment body to the 

International Organization for 

Standardization (ISO)/International 

Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 

Standard 17025:2005, ‘‘General 

Requirements for the Competence of 

Testing and Calibration Laboratories.’’ 

The accreditation must be by an 

accrediting body that is a signatory to 

the International Laboratory 

Accreditation Cooperation-Mutual 

Recognition Arrangement (ILAC–MRA), 

and the scope of the accreditation must 

include testing in accordance with the 

regulations identified earlier in part I of 

this document for which the third party 

conformity assessment body seeks to be 

accredited by the CPSC. 

(A description of the history and 

content of the ILAC–MRA approach and 

of the requirements of the ISO/IEC 

17025:2005 laboratory accreditation 

standard is provided in the CPSC staff 

briefing memorandum ‘‘Third Party 

Conformity Assessment Body 

Accreditation Requirements for Testing 

Compliance with 16 CFR Part 1501 

(Small Parts Regulations),’’ dated 

November 2008 and available on the 

CPSC’s Web site at http://www.cpsc.gov/ 

library/foia/foia09/brief/smallparts.pdf.) 

The Commission has established an 

electronic accreditation registration and 

listing system that can be accessed via 

its Web site at http://www.cpsc.gov/ 

ABOUT/Cpsia/labaccred.html. 

The Commission stayed the 

enforcement of certain provisions of 

section 14(a) of the CPSA in a notice 

published in the Federal Register on 

February 9, 2009 (74 FR 6396). The stay 

applied to testing and certification of 

various products, including ATVs.2 On 

December 28, 2009, the Commission 

published a notice in the Federal 

Register (74 FR 68588) revising the 

terms of the stay. Section II.G of the 

December 28, 2009, notice stated ‘‘[t]he 

Commission has not yet issued a notice 

of accreditation requirements for * * * 

ATVs so no third-party certificates will 

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52618 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 166 / Friday, August 27, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 

be required until 90 days after the 

Commission issues such [a] notice[ ] of 

requirements.’’ As the factor preventing 

the stay from being lifted in the 

December 28, 2009 notice with regard to 

testing and certifications of ATVs was 

the absence of a notice of requirements, 

publication of this notice has the effect 

of lifting the stay with regard to 16 CFR 

part 1420. 

This notice of requirements is 

effective on August 27, 2010. Further, as 

the publication of this notice of 

requirements effectively lifts the stay of 

enforcement with regard to testing and 

certifications related to 16 CFR part 

1420, each manufacturer of a youth ATV 

subject to 16 CFR part 1420 must have 

samples of any such product, or samples 

that are identical in all material respects 

to such product, tested by a third party 

conformity assessment body accredited 

to do so. Further, for youth ATVs 

manufactured after November 26, 2010, 

the manufacturer must issue a certificate 

of compliance with 16 CFR part 1420 

based on that testing. (Under the CPSA, 

the term ‘‘manufacturer’’ includes 

anyone who manufactures or imports a 

product.) 

This notice of requirements is exempt 

from the notice and comment 

rulemaking requirements of the 

Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 

553 (see section 14(a)(3)(G) of the CPSA, 

added by section 102(a)(2) of the CPSIA 

(15 U.S.C. 2063(a)(3)(G)). 

II. Accreditation Requirements 

A. Baseline Third Party Conformity 

Assessment Body Accreditation 

Requirements 

For a third party conformity 

assessment body to be accredited to test 

children’s products for conformity with 

the test methods in the regulations 

identified earlier in part I of this 

document, it must be accredited by an 

ILAC–MRA signatory accrediting body, 

and the accreditation must be registered 

with, and accepted by, the Commission. 

A listing of ILAC–MRA signatory 

accrediting bodies is available on the 

Internet at http://ilac.org/membersby 

category.html. The accreditation must 

be to ISO Standard ISO/IEC 17025:2005, 

General Requirements for the 

Competence of Testing and Calibration 

Laboratories, and the scope of the 

accreditation must expressly include 

testing to the regulations in 16 CFR part 

1420, Requirements for All Terrain 

Vehicles. A true copy, in English, of the 

accreditation and scope documents 

demonstrating compliance with the 

requirements of this notice must be 

registered with the Commission 

electronically. The additional 

requirements for accreditation of 

firewalled and governmental conformity 

assessment bodies are described in parts 

II.B and II.C of this document below. 

The Commission will maintain on its 

Web site an up-to-date listing of the 

third party conformity assessment 

bodies whose accreditations it has 

accepted and the scope of each 

accreditation. Subject to the limited 

provisions for acceptance of 

‘‘retrospective’’ testing noted in part IV 

below, once the Commission adds a 

third party conformity assessment body 

to that list, the third party conformity 

assessment body may commence testing 

of children’s products to support the 

manufacturer’s certification that the 

product complies with the regulations 

identified earlier in part I of this 

document. 

B. Additional Accreditation 

Requirements for Firewalled Conformity 

Assessment Bodies 

In addition to the baseline 

accreditation requirements in part II.A 

of this document above, firewalled 

conformity assessment bodies seeking 

accredited status must submit to the 

Commission copies, in English, of their 

training documents showing how 

employees are trained to notify the 

Commission immediately and 

confidentially of any attempt by the 

manufacturer, private labeler, or other 

interested party to hide or exert undue 

influence over the third party 

conformity assessment body’s test 

results. This additional requirement 

applies to any third party conformity 

assessment body in which a 

manufacturer or private labeler of a 

children’s product to be tested by the 

third party conformity assessment body 

owns an interest of 10 percent or more. 

While the Commission is not addressing 

common parentage of a third party 

conformity assessment body and a 

children’s product manufacturer at this 

time, it will be vigilant to see if this 

issue needs to be addressed in the 

future. 

As required by section 14(f)(2)(D) of 

the CPSA, the Commission must 

formally accept, by order, the 

accreditation application of a third party 

conformity assessment body before the 

third party conformity assessment body 

can become an accredited firewalled 

conformity assessment body. 

C. Additional Accreditation 

Requirements for Governmental 

Conformity Assessment Bodies 

In addition to the baseline 

accreditation requirements of part II.A 

of this document above, the CPSIA 

permits accreditation of a third party 

conformity assessment body owned or 

controlled, in whole or in part, by a 

government if: 

• To the extent practicable, 

manufacturers or private labelers 

located in any nation are permitted to 

choose conformity assessment bodies 

that are not owned or controlled by the 

government of that nation; 

• The third party conformity 

assessment body’s testing results are not 

subject to undue influence by any other 

person, including another governmental 

entity; 

• The third party conformity 

assessment body is not accorded more 

favorable treatment than other third 

party conformity assessment bodies 

which have been accredited in the same 

nation; 

• The third party conformity 

assessment body’s testing results are 

accorded no greater weight by other 

governmental authorities than those of 

other accredited third party conformity 

assessment bodies; and 

• The third party conformity 

assessment body does not exercise 

undue influence over other 

governmental authorities on matters 

affecting its operations or on decisions 

by other governmental authorities 

controlling distribution of products 

based on outcomes of the third party 

conformity assessment body’s 

conformity assessments. 

The Commission will accept the 

accreditation of a governmental third 

party conformity assessment body if it 

meets the baseline accreditation 

requirements of part II.A of this 

document above and meets the 

additional conditions stated here. To 

obtain this assurance, CPSC staff will 

engage the governmental entities 

relevant to the accreditation request. 

III. How does a third party conformity 

assessment body apply for acceptance 

of its accreditation? 

The Commission has established an 

electronic accreditation acceptance and 

registration system accessed via the 

Commission’s Internet site at http:// 

www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/ 

labaccred.html. The applicant provides, 

in English, basic identifying information 

concerning its location, the type of 

accreditation it is seeking, and 

electronic copies of its ILAC–MRA 

accreditation certificate and scope 

statement, and firewalled third party 

conformity assessment body training 

document(s), if applicable. 

Commission staff will review the 

submission for accuracy and 

completeness. In the case of baseline 

third party conformity assessment 

bodies and government-owned or 

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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 166 / Friday, August 27, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 52619 

1 42 U.S.C. 402(d)(1)(C). 

2Public Law 104–121. 

3Section 104(a) of the CAAA. 

4 42 U.S.C. 402(d)(4). 

government-controlled conformity 

assessment bodies, when that review 

and any necessary discussions with the 

applicant are satisfactorily completed, 

the third party conformity assessment 

body in question is added to the CPSC’s 

list of accredited third party conformity 

assessment bodies at http:// 

www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/ 

labaccred.html. In the case of a 

firewalled conformity assessment body 

seeking accredited status, when the 

staff’s review is complete, the staff 

transmits its recommendation on 

accreditation to the Commission for 

consideration. (A third party conformity 

assessment body that may ultimately 

seek acceptance as a firewalled third 

party conformity assessment body also 

can initially request acceptance as a 

third party conformity assessment body 

accredited for testing of children’s 

products other than those of its owners.) 

If the Commission accepts a staff 

recommendation to accredit a firewalled 

conformity assessment body, the 

Commission will issue an order making 

the required statutory findings and the 

firewalled conformity assessment body 

will then be added to the CPSC’s list of 

accredited third party conformity 

assessment bodies. In each case, the 

Commission will notify the third party 

conformity assessment body 

electronically of acceptance of its 

accreditation. All information to 

support an accreditation acceptance 

request must be provided in the English 

language. 

Subject to the limited provisions for 

acceptance of ‘‘retrospective’’ testing 

noted in part IV of this document below, 

once the Commission adds a third party 

conformity assessment body to the list, 

the third party conformity assessment 

body may begin testing of children’s 

products to support certification of 

compliance with the regulations 

identified earlier in part I of this 

document for which it has been 

accredited. 

IV. Limited Acceptance of Children’s 

Product Certifications Based on Third 

Party Conformity Assessment Body 

Testing Prior to the Commission’s 

Acceptance of Accreditation 

The Commission will accept a 

certificate of compliance with 16 CFR 

part 1420, Requirements for All Terrain 

Vehicles, based on testing performed by 

an accredited third party conformity 

assessment body (including a 

government-owned or governmentcontrolled conformity assessment body, 

or a firewalled conformity assessment 

body) prior to the Commission’s 

acceptance of its accreditation if all the 

following conditions are met: 

• When the product was tested, the 

testing was done by a third party 

conformity assessment body that at that 

time was ISO/IEC 17025 accredited by 

an ILAC–MRA signatory. For firewalled 

conformity assessment bodies, the 

Commission will not accept a certificate 

of compliance based on testing 

performed by the third party conformity 

assessment body unless the firewalled 

conformity assessment body was 

accredited by order as a firewalled 

conformity assessment body before the 

product was tested, even though the 

order will not have included the test 

methods in the regulations specified in 

this notice. 

• The third party conformity 

assessment body’s application for 

testing using the test methods in the 

regulations identified in this notice is 

accepted by the CPSC on or before 

October 26, 2010. 

• The product was tested on or after 

November 4, 2008 (the date that 16 CFR 

part 1420 was published), with respect 

to the regulations identified in this 

notice; 

• The accreditation scope in effect for 

the third party conformity assessment 

body at the time of testing expressly 

included testing to the regulations 

identified earlier in part I of this 

document. 

• The test results show compliance 

with the applicable current standards 

and/or regulations; and 

• The third party conformity 

assessment body’s accreditation, 

including inclusion in its scope the 

standards described in part I of this 

notice, remains in effect through the 

effective date for mandatory third party 

testing and manufacturer certification 

for conformity with 16 CFR part 1611. 

Dated: August 20, 2010. 

Todd A. Stevenson, 

Secretary, Consumer Product Safety 

Commission. 

[FR Doc. 2010–21199 Filed 8–26–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6355–01–P 

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION 

20 CFR Part 404 

[Docket No. SSA–2006–0154] 

RIN 0960–AF78 

Entitlement and Termination 

Requirements for Stepchildren 

AGENCY: Social Security Administration. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are revising our 

regulations to reflect changes made in 

the Contract with America 

Advancement Act of 1996 (CAAA) to 

the entitlement and termination 

requirements for Social Security child’s 

benefits to stepchildren. Under the 

CAAA, we consider a stepchild as 

dependent on a stepparent to receive 

child’s benefits based on the 

stepparent’s earnings only if the 

stepchild receives at least one-half 

support from the stepparent. Also, we 

terminate a stepchild’s benefits that are 

based on the stepparent’s earnings if the 

stepchild’s parent or adoptive parent 

and the stepparent divorce, unless the 

stepparent adopted the stepchild and 

the stepchild can qualify for benefits as 

the stepparent’s adopted child. 

DATES: This final rule will be effective 

September 27, 2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Peter White, Office of Income Security 

Programs, Social Security 

Administration, 6401 Security 

Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235–6401, 

(410) 594–2041. For information on 

eligibility or filing for benefits, call our 

national toll-free number, 1–800–772– 

1213 or TTY 1–800–325–0778, or visit 

our Internet site, Social Security Online, 

at http://www.socialsecurity.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Version 

The electronic file of this document is 

available on the date of publication in 

the Federal Register at http:// 

www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html. 

Determining Stepchild Dependency 

A stepchild may be entitled to receive 

Social Security child’s benefits based on 

a stepparent’s Social Security earnings 

record if the stepchild is dependent on 

a stepparent and the stepparent is 

entitled to Social Security benefits 

because he or she is disabled, retires, or 

dies.1 In those situations, the stepchild’s 

benefits help replace the lost support 

from the stepparent. Prior to the 

CAAA,2 we considered a stepchild to be 

dependent on a stepparent if the 

stepchild was either ‘‘living with’’ or 

receiving at least one-half support from 

the stepparent. The CAAA revised the 

Social Security Act (Act) so that a 

stepchild’s living with a stepparent is 

not a basis for determining that a 

stepchild is dependent on the 

stepparent.3 Now, we consider a 

stepchild to be dependent on a 

stepparent only if the stepchild is 

receiving at least one-half support from 

the stepparent.4

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