There is no law that says how often they need to be tested nationally. However, there is a law (
NFPA 701) that says what the test is that they have to pass in order to determine them flame retardant. There are a few companies in the industry that make the chemical to treat fabric. All the manufactures that I know of state that with proper treatment the good is flame retardant for 5 years and will pass
NFPA 701 at anytime within that 5 year period. In New York City, they do mandate that
goods be treated every 3 years, at least according to the guy that did our
goods a few weeks ago.
So, what does that leave us at? Essentially it means all AHJs will look at your
goods and decide if it will pass a test based on their last treatment date. So, if it has been longer then 5 years since your
goods were last treated, its time to get them sent out and done. Its not something you can do yourself. When your
goods are treated, they should be individually tagged saying the treatment date along with the company that did the treatment. Along with the
goods, you should get back a certificate saying what was treated, who treated it, and when it was treated. The drapery company will also
send a sample to a testing lab that will run the
NFPA 701 small scale test on the good and report back the results of that test.