SNELL SA2025 Helmet Certification, Information, and release date. (SA) Special Applications Standard for Protective Headgear for use in Competitive Automotive Sports.

We will have a full line of SA2025 Helmets ready to ship on October 1st, 2025. They will not be posted on our website until October 1st. Check our Social Media pages for images and information. 

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Timeline Transition Schedule for SA2025 Helmets:

• Certification testing to SA2025 will begin once a final version of the standard is completed.
• April 1, 2025 – The Snell office will begin to ship stocks of SA2025 certification labels to certified manufacturers who request them. However, SA2025 labeled helmets may not be made available for sale until the Standard takes effect.
• October 1, 2025 – Snell SA2025 will take effect, the first SA2025 labeled helmets may be advertised, displayed and sold as of this date. There should be no SA2025 labeled headgear or claims for such until this date.
• June 30, 2025 – Shipments of SA2020 certification labels will cease. Production of SA2020 labeled helmets may continue through March of 2026.
• March 31, 2026, production and shipping of SA2020 labeled units must cease.

Special Note to Helmet Users There are four reasons for you to be interested in this Standard:

1. Auto racing imposes risks of death or permanent impairment due to head injury.
2. The proper use of protective helmets can minimize the risk of death or permanent impairment.
3. The protective capacity of a helmet is difficult to estimate, particularly at the time of purchase or use. Protective capability is currently measured by destructive testing which is beyond the means of most helmet wearers.
4. Snell certification backed by ongoing destructive testing samples taken randomly from dealers and distributors identifies those helmet models providing and maintaining the highest levels of head protection.

Six of the most critical elements affecting a helmet's protective properties are:

1. Impact management - how well the helmet protects against collisions with large objects.
2. Helmet positional stability - whether the helmet will be in place, on the head, when it's needed.
3. Retention system strength - whether the chinstraps are sufficiently strong to hold the helmet throughout a head impact.
4. Extent of Protection - the area of the head protected by the helmet.
5. Flame Resistance - whether the helmet will withstand exposure to direct flame. This flame resistance may well mean survival for well belted drivers and passengers in a crashed vehicle where a few seconds of additional time may enable escape or rescue.
6. Frontal Head Restraints – whether the helmet is appropriate for use with tether systems intended to divert the inertial load of the wearer’s head and helmet away from the cervical spine in crash impact conditions.

Extent of Protection

 Extent of Protection Parameters

Information provided on this page and much more on the SNELL SA2025 can be found on the Snell Foundation page here.