Importing motorcycle helmets

This page contains information for commercial importers and retailers on importing motorcycle helmets into New Zealand.

• Legal requirements for helmets
• Legal responsibilities of retailers

Legal requirements for helmets

There are legal requirements that motorcycle helmets must comply with. You should be aware of these if you're intending to:

• import a motorcycle helmet for sale in New Zealand
• offer a motorcycle helmet for sale in New Zealand.

International standards

All motorcycle helmets sold in New Zealand for road use are required to comply with one or more approved international standards. These are:

• UN/ECE Regulation No. 22: Protective helmets and their visors for drivers and passengers of motor cycles and mopeds (Europe)
• Australian Standard AS 1698: Protective helmets for vehicle users
• New Zealand Standard NZ 5430: Protective helmets for vehicle users
• Snell Memorial Foundation: Helmet Standard for use in motorcycling
• Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 218: Motor-cycle helmets*
• British Standard BS 6658: Specification for protective helmets for vehicle users (for type A helmets only)
• Japan Industrial Standard T8133.

* Because of the lack of a formal certification system for the US FMVSS 218 standard, this standard only applies to motorcycle helmets that have been manufactured and purchased in the USA.

Standards marks

Any helmet complying with one of the above standards will be labelled with a standards mark, such as one of the following:

AS 1698	UN/ECE 22 (example only)
NZS 5430	BS 6658
JIS T8133	Snell Standards

Helmets complying with FMVSS 218 will be marked with the letters 'DOT'.

Legal responsibilities of retailers

Motorcycle helmet retailers are responsible for making sure that any helmet they sell for road use complies with the requirements set out above. This means that if you're a retailer of motorcycle helmets, you must be able to produce, on request, appropriate documentation proving compliance with one of the approved standards. (These documents will be available from the helmet manufacturer.)

Anyone selling motorcycle helmets that do not comply with approved standards can be fined up to a maximum of $500 per offence. They may also be required to recall any non-compliant helmets that have been sold.

The legislation relating to motorcycle helmet standards is set out in Land Transport (Road User) Rule 2004.

Last updated: 10 May 2005