Before you begin. This procedure is general reference information, not professional advice. Equipment varies by manufacturer, model, and year. Always follow the documentation supplied with your equipment — where it differs from this page, follow the manufacturer. Verify that you have the tools, the working conditions, and the ability to do this task safely. If anything is unclear, if the equipment is damaged, or if the task exceeds your experience, stop and use a qualified professional. You are responsible for your own safety and for the outcome. This site accepts no liability for any loss, damage, or injury arising from the use of this information.
Specifications marked unverified could not be traced to a manufacturer source. Do not rely on them — obtain the value from your equipment documentation.
Summary
A free-standing gas or electric range that is not anchored can tip forward if enough weight lands on an open oven door — a child climbing up, a heavy pot, or an adult leaning on it. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says plainly that a range anti-tip bracket can save you or your child from serious injury or death, and it received reports of 13 fatalities associated with instability and tipover of stoves, ovens, and ranges between 2000 and 2008, many involving children younger than 10 years old. This page shows you how to find the anti-tip bracket behind or under your range and how to tell whether the range is actually held in it.
This is a look-only check. It does not cover moving a range that may not be anchored, and it does not print one screw size or one fastening method for every bracket, because the bracket, its fastener, and whether it goes into the wall or the floor are set by your range's manufacturer, not by one general rule. If the range has no bracket, or you cannot tell whether it is holding the range, this page tells you who to call: the range manufacturer for a replacement bracket, and a qualified appliance installer for anything you cannot confirm yourself.
Safety
DO NOT LOAD WEIGHT ONTO THE OVEN DOOR WHEN IT IS OPEN.
An unanchored range can tip forward and crush you or a child underneath it.
DO NOT USE THE OVEN DOOR AS A STEP OR A SUPPORT.
The range can tip forward under your weight and crush you or a child.
Necessary equipment
| Item | Note |
|---|---|
| Flashlight | The space behind and under the range is a dark space. |
| Pen and paper | Use these to record the date and what you found. |
| Installation instructions for your range optional | Manufacturers often publish these instructions on their own website. |
| Replacement anti-tip bracket kit material | Order this kit only from the range manufacturer. |
Prepare for the check
Estimated 1 min
- Find the model number and the serial number of the range.1mReport a problem with step 1, Prepare for the check
- The rating plate is often behind the storage drawer or inside the oven door frame.
SET EVERY BURNER AND THE OVEN TO OFF BEFORE YOU KNEEL NEAR THE RANGE.
A hot burner or a hot oven can burn your skin.
- Set every burner and the oven to off.<1mReport a problem with step 2, Prepare for the check
Find the anti-tip bracket
Estimated 2 min
- If the range has a storage drawer, remove it.<1mReport a problem with step 1, Find the anti-tip bracket
DO NOT MOVE THE RANGE FROM ITS POSITION TO FIND THE BRACKET.
An unanchored range can tip forward while you move it.
- Look at the back of the range from the side.<1mReport a problem with step 2, Find the anti-tip bracket
- Use a flashlight to see behind and under the range.<1mReport a problem with step 3, Find the anti-tip bracket
- Look for a metal bracket where the range meets the wall or the floor.<1mReport a problem with step 4, Find the anti-tip bracket
- The bracket is often near one rear leg of the range.
Examine the way the bracket holds the range
Estimated 3 min to 11 min
No tier-1 source was found for this value. Take it from the documentation supplied with your equipment.
No tier-1 source was found for this value. Take it from the documentation supplied with your equipment.
- Examine the bracket for a fastener into the wall or the floor.<1mReport a problem with step 1, Examine the way the bracket holds the range
- Examine the fit of the range inside the bracket.<1mReport a problem with step 2, Examine the way the bracket holds the range
- The bracket grips a leg, a slot, or a bar on the back of the range.
- The exact shape depends on the range model.
- If you cannot find the bracket, call a qualified appliance installer.1mReport a problem with step 3, Examine the way the bracket holds the range
- If you cannot tell whether the bracket holds the range, call a qualified appliance installer.1mReport a problem with step 4, Examine the way the bracket holds the range
After the check
Estimated 3 min to 6 min (partly estimated)
- If you removed the storage drawer, replace it.<1mReport a problem with step 1, After the check
- Record the date of the check and what you found.<1mReport a problem with step 2, After the check
- If the range has no anti-tip bracket, contact the range manufacturer.2mReport a problem with step 3, After the check
- Ask the manufacturer whether your range model needs a bracket.
- Some manufacturers give a free replacement bracket to affected owners.
- Install the replacement bracket exactly as the manufacturer instructs.Report a problem with step 4, After the check
- After you move or replace the range, examine the bracket again.<1mReport a problem with step 5, After the check
Terminology
This page uses one term for each item and holds it throughout, as ASD-STE100 requires. Equipment sellers and other guides use the names below for the same parts.
- anti-tip bracket
- Also called: stove anchor kit, anti tip bracket, range anchor bracket, tip-over bracket, stove anchor
- range tipover
- Also called: stove tipped over, oven tips forward when door open, stove fell over, range fell on me
- free-standing range
- Also called: stand alone stove, freestanding stove, kitchen stove, kitchen range
- storage drawer
- Also called: bottom drawer, broiler drawer, warming drawer
- rating plate
- Also called: model plate, serial tag, data plate
When to use a professional
If you cannot find the anti-tip bracket, call a qualified appliance installer. Do not guess whether the range is safe.
If the range has no anti-tip bracket, contact the range manufacturer. Ask the manufacturer whether your model needs a bracket.
Do not install a bracket without instructions from the range manufacturer. Follow those instructions exactly.
Do not move a range that has no anti-tip bracket. Call a qualified appliance installer to move it.
Common questions
Why do stoves and ranges tip over?
A free-standing range is front-heavy once its oven door is open, and if enough weight lands on that open door — a child climbing up, a heavy pot, someone leaning on it — the whole range can tip forward. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says a range anti-tip bracket can save you or your child from serious injury or death, and it recorded 13 fatalities associated with instability and tipover of stoves, ovens, and ranges between 2000 and 2008, many involving children younger than 10. The bracket engages the back of the range and holds it to the wall or the floor, so an open door has nothing to lever the range forward against.
What is an anti-tip bracket, and is that the same as a stove anchor kit?
Yes. 'Anti-tip bracket,' 'anti-tip device,' and 'stove anchor kit' all describe the same piece of hardware: a small metal bracket that attaches to the wall or the floor behind the range and holds the range so it cannot tip forward. Voluntary safety standards for gas and electric ranges require manufacturers to supply this bracket with every new range.
My oven door pulls the whole stove forward slightly when I open it. Is that normal?
No. A range that is properly anchored should not move when its oven door is opened, even with weight on the door. Movement like that is a sign that the range has no anti-tip bracket, or that the bracket is not engaged, and it is exactly what this page's check is written to find. Follow the check on this page, and do not use the oven door as a step or a support until you know the range is anchored.
How do I know if my range is anchored?
Follow the steps on this page: open or remove the storage drawer if the range has one, look behind or under the range with a flashlight, and look for a metal bracket where the range meets the wall or the floor. If you cannot find the bracket, or cannot tell whether the range is held in it, call a qualified appliance installer rather than guess.
My range has no anti-tip bracket. What do I do?
Contact the range manufacturer directly and ask whether your model should have a bracket. CPSC notes that some manufacturers will send a replacement bracket at no charge, and installation should follow the manufacturer's own instructions exactly, because the fastener, and whether it goes into the wall or the floor, vary by range model.
Are older stoves required to have anti-tip brackets?
Voluntary safety standards for gas and electric ranges require manufacturers to supply an anti-tip bracket with new ranges, and this requirement has been in place for a long time, so most ranges sold new already include one. An older range, a range that changed hands, or a range reinstalled without its original hardware may not have the bracket engaged even though the standard covers it. The check on this page works the same way regardless of your range's age.
Can I install the bracket myself?
The bracket, the correct fastener, and whether it goes into the wall or the floor are all set by the range manufacturer for your specific model, not by one general rule, so this page does not give one instruction that fits every range. CPSC's own guidance is simply to properly engage your range in the anti-tip bracket once it is installed. Follow the installation instructions that come with a replacement bracket from your range's manufacturer.
Related procedures
- How to find and record the model and serial number of every appliance in the house
- Is it safe to run the self-cleaning cycle on my oven?
- How do I change the light bulb inside my oven?
- How to check if your oven runs hot or cold, and fix the temperature setting
- How to clean a greasy range hood filter
- How to check if something you own has been recalled
Sources
Every specification on this page is traced to one of these sources. Tier 1 is a manufacturer document, a published standard, or a government safety authority. See Standards for the full tiering rule.
Revision history
Current version 1 · updated 2026-08-04 · next review due 2027-08-04
- v1 · 2026-08-04First draft. Sourced entirely to CPSC Publication #5007, 'Range Tipover Safety Alert — Check, Install, and Stay Safe,' read directly at cpsc.gov on 2026-08-04. This is a look-only check: no step moves the range, and the bracket's fastener, load rating, and wall-or-floor placement publish as instructions to consult the range manufacturer, with no digit in either value, because those are set per range model and not by CPSC's general alert. The do-not-load-the-open-door instruction and the referral to the manufacturer for a missing bracket are the two general, sourced instructions the alert supports for every reader in scope.
Corrections to this page are listed in the public corrections log. Reports that are credible and not yet verified are listed in the public errata register, and an open one renders above the step it concerns.
Comments and corrections
Found an error? A correction with a manufacturer source is applied and logged publicly. You can also write to corrections@fixchecklist.com.
Every step above carries its own report control, which tags the report with that step so a correction reaches the right place. For anything about the procedure as a whole — the order of the sections, a step that is missing, something that did not match your equipment — use this: report something about this whole procedure.