Racing helmets: the standards, the labels and the dates.

Three organisations write the standards found on most car racing helmets: the Snell Memorial Foundation, the FIA and the SFI Foundation. A helmet can carry more than one label. Which label counts, and until when, is set by the body running the event, not by the helmet. This page gives each body's published position with its date, as of October 2026.

Snell SA helmets

Snell's FAQ describes SA as its standard for competitive auto racing and M as its motorcycling standard, and says SA includes a flammability test that M does not. Snell also lists K for kart racing and EA for what it calls "elite" automotive sports.

SA2025 and the end of SA2020 production

Snell issues a new auto racing standard every five years. Its published dates for the current change are:

• SA2025 took effect on 1 October 2025, and SA2025-labelled helmets could be sold from that date (Snell press release, 30 September 2025).
• Snell stops shipping SA2020 labels to makers on 30 October 2026, and production and shipping of SA2020-labelled helmets must end by 31 December 2026 (Snell's transition schedule, revised 25 April 2025).

Some earlier articles gave different dates. A February 2025 NASA Speed News piece said the last SA2020 labels would go out in June 2025, and retailer Competition Motorsport (June 2025) gave 30 June 2025 for the last labels and 31 March 2026 for the end of production. Snell's revised schedule and its press release both put the end of SA2020 production at the end of 2026, and Snell is the source we follow.

These are manufacturing dates. They say when SA2020 helmets stop being made, not when an SA2020 helmet you own stops being accepted.

On the technical side, Snell says SA2025 lowers the peak acceleration limit from 300 g to 275 g on most headforms and raises the first-impact test speed from 8.50 to 8.70 m/s on most headforms. Snell says it chose these values to be compatible with FIA 8859-2024, matching or exceeding it.

How long an SA helmet is accepted

Snell's FAQ says Snell sets no expiry for racing use. Associations, tracks and events set their own cutoffs, and Snell says most require the current or immediately previous Snell standard. In practice some accept one more and some accept fewer, so there is no single rule. What our sources show for US events in 2026:

• SCCA Time Trials (national safety rules web page, read October 2026): Safety Levels 2 and 3 accept Snell SA2025, SA2020, EA2016 and SA2015.
• Single tracks can be stricter. SCCA's 2026 Track Night listing at New Jersey Motorsports Park accepts only SA2020 or SA2025, and SCCA's Virginia International Raceway page says only SA2020 or SA2025 helmets are permitted at that track.
• NASA racing: NASA's own magazine, NASA Speed News (27 January 2026), reports that SA2015 is no longer accepted for NASA racing from 1 January 2027. We could not read NASA's rulebook (the CCR) itself.
• SCCA club racing, NASA's CCR and IMSA: we could not read the current rule text. Check your event's rules and your helmet's label.

Snell's separate advice to replace a helmet after about five years of normal use is a recommendation based on wear of the pads and liner, not a rule. Snell says unused, well-stored helmets do not automatically expire.

FIA helmets and Technical List 25

For events run under FIA rules, the reference is FIA Technical List 25, "Recognised Standards for Helmets". The version dated 11 December 2024 is still the current one on the FIA's technical lists page as of October 2026. Its footnote says FIA Appendix L, Chapter III adds further conditions, so we give both.

In short, at an event that applies List 25, no Snell helmet of any year is currently recognised. Snell helmets remain a matter for national and club rules.

The FIA can also withdraw single homologations. Technical List 49 (20 November 2025) withdrew three 8859-2015 helmet approvals with immediate effect, regardless of their validity date. The list also says a product's validity is whatever its own label states.

Series that require more

Appendix L 2026 (Chapter III, Article 1.1.1) sets stricter requirements for some championships:

• FIA 8860-2018-ABP in Formula 1, F2, F3, Formula Regional and Formula E.
• FIA 8860-2018 or its ABP version in the World Endurance Championship, the FIA GT World Cup, international GT3 series, the Motorsport Games GT Cup and for World Rally Championship Priority 1 and 2 crews in 2021-rules World Rally Cars.
• Amendments already published add Formula 4 (8859-2024-ABP or 8860-2018-ABP) from 2027 and international open-cockpit series from 2028.

ABP stands for Advanced Ballistic Protection. Under FIA 8859-2024 it is an optional full-face version with a reinforced forehead panel.

From 1 January 2026, Appendix L Article 1.3 requires full-face helmets with a chin bar integral to the shell for open-cockpit cars, for closed-cockpit cars designed without a windscreen, and for all WEC drivers. The FIA's December 2025 safety note (FIASDH-25-011) records that this article changed on that date; the windscreen wording is the new part.

Other FIA helmet conditions

Appendix L 2026 also says:

• Full visors on helmets from the FIA lists need an FIA sticker if made from 1 January 2016.
• Modifications or accessories the FIA has not approved, such as cameras, void the homologation.
• Total helmet mass, accessories included, may not exceed 1,900 g full-face or 1,700 g open-face.
• Paint and decoration must follow the helmet maker's guidelines.

SFI helmets

The SFI Foundation publishes helmet specs 31.1 and 41.1 for motorsport. Its specifications page lists no recertification period for either. SCCA Time Trials Safety Levels 2 and 3 accept SFI 31.1/2015 or 31.1/2020.

Labels, dual labels and anchors

• Snell label. Snell says its label is usually inside the helmet, often under the comfort padding, and that a helmet without it is not in the Snell program. Snell warns that counterfeit labels have been sold online.
• FIA 8859-2024 label. The standard requires a label inside the helmet that is destroyed if removed: yellow for ABP helmets, white otherwise. It shows the maker, model, size, homologation number, month and year of manufacture, and serial number.
• Both labels on one helmet. UK retailers Merlin Motorsport and Demon Tweeks both say the FIA standard governs at FIA and Motorsport UK events. For US club events, check your event's rules.
• Head and neck restraint anchors. Speedway Motors says Snell SA2015 and SA2020 require M6 threaded anchors, and FIA 8859-2024 requires two rear M6 terminals. Demon Tweeks advises fitting posts only to an in-date helmet with pre-threaded inserts, and not drilling older helmets.

Fit and care

Snell's FAQ says to choose a snug fit and check that the fastened helmet cannot be rolled forward or back. It says to replace any helmet that has taken an impact in use, because the crushable liner cannot protect a second time, and to keep helmets away from high heat and chemical cleaners. Snell also says after-market accessories can invalidate certification. Follow the maker's own instructions for your helmet.

Helmet rules change, and individual tracks can be stricter than their club. Before every event, check the current rules of the event you are entering and the label inside your helmet. Our gear expiry checker shows the published rule for a given label, and head and neck restraints covers the device your helmet anchors attach to.