What does the new fuel additive ruling mean for your gas can?

The rule draws a line between fuel and additive

The Portable Fuel Container Safety Act of 2020 requires flame mitigation devices on portable containers meant for flammable liquid fuels with a flash point below 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Gasoline, kerosene, diesel, ethanol, methanol, denatured alcohol, and biofuels are listed explicitly. The statute never said whether a bottle of fuel injector cleaner or a can of stabilizer falls under the same definition. The new interpretive rule says it does not. Containers intended solely for additives that improve engine performance, clean engine components, extend engine life, stabilize fuel, prevent weather effects, or serve another purpose unrelated to creating heat or power are not portable fuel containers under the Act. They do not need flame arrestors.

A court decision forced the change

In December 2024 Auto-Mark, Inc., doing business as Sea Foam Sales Company, sued the Commission in Minnesota federal court. Sea Foam argued its products are not fuel because they do not create heat or power on their own. In September 2025 the district court agreed. It cited dictionary definitions of fuel as combustible matter used to maintain fire or produce heat or power by burning. The court concluded the fuel additive products at issue do not meet those definitions. The Commission had previously taken the opposite view. In January 2023 staff wrote that any liquid with a flash point below 140 degrees Fahrenheit intended to be used as or in a fuel mixture to support combustion is a fuel under the Act. That interpretation relied on Chevron deference, which required courts to accept an agency's reasonable reading of an ambiguous statute. The Supreme Court overturned Chevron in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo in 2024. The Commission now says the ultimate authority for interpreting the Act lies with the courts, and the district court has provided its interpretation.

The amendment adds a single paragraph to the regulation

The Commission amends 16 CFR 1461.2 by adding paragraph (b). It states the Commission does not interpret the phrase flammable liquid fuels in the statutory definition of portable fuel container in paragraph (a) to include fuel additives intended to be added to flammable liquid fuels for the sole purpose of improving engine performance, cleaning engine components, extending engine life, stabilizing fuel, preventing weather effects from fuel, or another purpose unrelated to creating heat or power. The rule is effective October 19, 2026. Because it is an interpretive rule, no notice of proposed rulemaking was required. The Administrative Procedure Act exemption applies. The Commission voted 3-0 to publish.

The cost avoidance is measured in billions

Staff estimates the clarification avoids approximately $545.7 million in annual compliance costs that otherwise would be incurred by manufacturers of fuel additive products. Discounted over 10- and 30-year periods using OMB-recommended discount rates of 3 and 7 percent, the present value of these avoided costs ranges from approximately $3.8 billion to $10.7 billion. The Commission calls the rule a deregulatory action under Executive Order 14192, which directs agencies to alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens. The interpretive rule contains no new information collection requirements and has no preemptive effect.

What stays the same for the red can in your garage

A container marketed for gasoline, kerosene, diesel, or any listed fuel still must meet the flame mitigation device requirements in 16 CFR part 1461. The mandatory standards — ASTM F3429/F3429M-24, ASTM F3326-21, and section 18 of ANSI/CAN/UL/ULC 30:2022 — remain in force for those containers. The rule only removes the requirement for containers whose sole intended use is the type of additive described in the new paragraph. If a container is labeled for both gasoline and a fuel stabilizer, the Commission has not addressed that scenario in this document.