Check your pool's anti-entrapment drain cover against the Virginia Graeme Baker Act & ANSI/APSP/ICC-16 — certification, expiration, dual-drain protection & SVRS.
Self-assessment aid only — not a certification, inspection, or legal determination. Only a qualified pool professional or local code official can confirm compliance. Dates are computed from your device clock.
This free checker tells you whether your pool or spa's main-drain cover meets the federal Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act (VGB) and the ANSI/APSP/ICC-16 anti-entrapment standard. Suction entrapment can drown a child or seriously injure a swimmer, so the law requires certified, date-stamped covers — and those covers expire. The tool checks four things at once: that the cover is certified and marked, that it is within its printed service life, that a single main drain has a required second layer of protection, and what the rules mean for your setting (home vs. public). It outputs a headline verdict, a replace-by date, an itemized pass/fail checklist, and a next-actions list you can act on.
A residential in-ground pool has a plastic cover marked ANSI/APSP/ICC-16, stamped 06/2021, with the life figure rubbed off. The pump has a single main drain, the owner is "not sure" if it's unblockable, and there is no SVRS.
Compliant covers are stamped with a manufacture/install date and a service life in years. Expiration is the stamped date plus the service-life years — a common mistake is reading the stamp itself as the expiration. The tool uses the printed life when you enter it, otherwise the conservative material default, and if only a year is known it assumes January (so it expires sooner, never later).
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Yes. Anti-entrapment drain covers are date-stamped with a service life — plastic/polymer covers are typically 5 years and metal or composite covers 5 to 7 years. After that date the cover is considered non-compliant even if it looks intact, and it must be replaced.
Federal VGB enforcement applies to public and commercial pools and spas. Residential pools are generally governed by state law (for example California HSC §115922) or triggered at the point of a real-estate sale or rental. For a home pool the checker's verdict is a strong safety recommendation; check your state and local code for what is legally required.
A single blockable main drain is the highest entrapment risk because one body can seal it and create deadly suction. The VGB Act requires a second layer: a second drain at least 3 feet apart, an unblockable outlet, or a certified secondary system such as an SVRS (ASME A112.19.17 / ASTM F2387), suction-limiting vent, gravity drainage, automatic pump shut-off, or drain disablement.
The stamp shows the manufacture or installation date and a "Life: __ Years" service life. The expiration is the stamped date PLUS the service-life years — not the stamped date itself. For example a cover stamped 06/2021 with a 5-year plastic life expires 06/2026.
Covers made on or after 5/24/2021 should be marked ANSI/APSP/ICC-16 (2017) and/or VGBA-2017. Older covers marked ANSI/ASME A112.19.8 were valid when made, but many are now past their service life. An unmarked or illegible cover cannot be verified and is treated as non-compliant.
No. It is a free self-assessment aid, not a certification, inspection, or legal determination. Only a qualified pool professional or local code official can confirm VGB / ANSI-APSP-ICC-16 compliance. Results are only as accurate as the values you enter. No measurements, photos, or addresses leave your device — the checker is fully client-side.
Privacy: everything runs in your browser. No photos, measurements, or addresses leave your device.