Head and neck restraints: the standards, recertification and tethers.

What it does

An FIA safety bulletin explains that a frontal head restraint holds the head in place relative to the torso in frontal and angled-frontal impacts, to reduce the loads on the neck. The device sits on the shoulders under the harness, and tethers connect it to anchors on the helmet. That makes it a system: the device, the tethers, the helmet anchors and the harness all have to work together.

Who requires one

• FIA international competitions. Appendix L 2026 (Chapter III, Article 3) makes FIA-approved head and neck restraints mandatory for drivers and co-drivers in all international competitions, with listed exceptions such as some historic categories. Any head or neck device attached to the helmet in an international competition must be homologated to FIA 8858 and appear on FIA Technical List 29.
• SCCA road racing. SCCA says head and neck restraints are required in road racing. SCCA Race Experience accepts devices certified to SFI 38.1, FIA 8858-2002 or FIA 8858-2010, with the label on the device.
• SCCA Time Trials. The national safety rules page calls a head and neck restraint "highly recommended" at Safety Levels 2 and 3 where the seat and belts allow, and permits 2-inch shoulder belts only with one. It does not name a standard or a recertification date.
• NASA and IMSA. We could not read the current rule text for either. Check your event's rules.

The two standards and how they treat age

SFI 38.1 recertification

The SFI Foundation's specifications page lists a five-year recertification period for SFI 38.1, effective 1 January 2012. Makers describe how it works for their own devices:

• HANS (Simpson) says an SFI 38.1 device must be recertified every five years to keep its SFI certification, and a device that passes gets a new dated sticker good for another five years. It lists service levels from inspection with a new SFI tag, through replacing the rubber shoulder pads (which it says most devices need), up to replacing the tethers.
• Zamp says its Z-Tech head and neck restraints need recertification every five years from the date on the SFI label (manufacturer policy).

Simpson's recertification page gives the same five-year cycle for its HANS and Hybrid devices. Check the date on your SFI label and your own maker's recertification page.

FIA 8858 devices

FIA Technical List 29 gives each approved system only a homologation start and end date, and its footnote says the end date is the last date the system may be made. Unlike the FIA's clothing list, it has no "valid until" column. Appendix L 2026 gives no age limit for 8858 devices or tethers and says they are valid when used as its compatibility chart shows. So an FIA-only 8858 device has no FIA expiry date. List 29 also notes that the FIA label changed on 1 January 2013.

Dual labels

A device can carry both an SFI 38.1 label and an FIA 8858 label. Because the SFI label carries a five-year recertification period and the FIA label carries none, which rule applies depends on whose rules the event uses. At US events in particular, check your event's rules for a dual-labelled device.

Tethers and anchors must match

Appendix L 2026 (Article 3.3) sets out which FIA tethers go with which devices:

• An FIA 8858-2010 device takes only 8858-2010 tethers. An 8858-2002 tether may not be used on it.
• An FIA 8858-2002 HANS may use 8858-2010 tethers and 8858-2010 helmet anchorages.
• An 8858-2002 tether works with an 8858-2010 helmet anchorage only if the two are mechanically compatible.

FIA Technical List 29 adds that a tether from one maker may attach to another maker's helmet anchorage if they are mechanically compatible. An FIA bulletin says that in FIA Calendar competitions the device, the tether, the helmet and the helmet's M6 terminals must all be FIA approved. See helmets for which helmet standards the FIA accepts with a head and neck restraint.

Fit and harness angles

Appendix L 2026 sets a minimum HANS collar angle of 60 degrees from horizontal, and limits any padding between the driver and the yoke to 15 mm thick and 8 mm wider than the yoke on each side.

Devices come in different collar angles. UK retailer GSM Performance, giving HANS sizing guidance, says to measure the chest angle from vertical in the normal driving position: under 25 degrees calls for a 20-degree device, and 25 degrees or more for a 30-degree device. It says 20-degree devices suit most saloon, GT, touring, rally and oval cars, and 30-degree devices suit single-seaters and prototypes. Have a device fitted in your own seat and car.

The harness has to suit the device. National bodies word this differently:

• Motorsport UK recommends that, with a device such as a HANS, shoulder straps run no more than 20 degrees below horizontal and never angle upward.
• Motorsport Australia says the shoulder-strap adjuster must sit within 70 mm of the lower edge of the yoke, with straps at about 20 to 25 degrees.

Our seats and harnesses page covers the belts themselves.

Before every event, check the current rules of the event you are entering, the labels on your device and tethers, and the date on any SFI label. Our gear expiry checker shows the published rule for each label.