Check your association's rules
This tool reads a sticker; it does not certify a helmet. Your association's current rules decide what you may wear, and a helmet in poor condition should be replaced whatever its sticker says.
How it works
In the United States, USA Hockey's 2013 memorandum explains that HECC added an expiry date to its helmet sticker. A helmet past that date is no longer HECC certified and is not eligible in USA Hockey sanctioned games that require a HECC helmet. The memorandum says HECC set a certification life of six and a half years to match how long a helmet keeps its protective qualities. CSA's 2010 letter to Hockey Canada adds that the period was originally five years, and that it describes the certification term rather than how long the helmet lasts.
In Canada, Hockey Canada's 2022 reminder says the HECC sticker does not apply, only the CSA sticker is checked, there is currently no expiry on CSA certification, and the date on the CSA sticker is the year the helmet was made.
The tool compares months only. When the date of play falls in the same month as the HECC sticker's date, it says so rather than guessing, because our sources do not say whether a helmet counts as certified until the end of that month.