Checklist
Selling toys in the EU: a compliance checklist
Toys are one of the most heavily regulated consumer categories. Here is the compliance path from design to shelf.
- 01
Confirm your product actually counts as a toy
EU toy safety rules apply to products designed or intended, whether or not exclusively, for use in play by children under 14. Some products are excluded, so check the scope before assuming toy rules apply.
- 02
Run a safety assessment against the essential requirements
Before placing a toy on the market, carry out a safety assessment covering the mechanical, chemical, electrical and other hazard categories the essential requirements set out.
- 03
Work out whether self-declaration or third-party testing applies
Self-declaration is available where you have applied harmonised standards covering every essential safety requirement in full. Where standards do not exist, are only partly applied, or you consider third-party verification necessary, a notified body must carry out type examination instead.
- 04
Add chemical compliance on top of toy-specific rules
Restricted-substance rules for electrical and electronic equipment apply on top of the toy safety directive's own chemical migration limits, particularly for electronic and battery-powered toys.
- 05
Check labelling and warnings requirements
Toys need instructions, safety information and age-appropriate warnings, plus manufacturer and batch identification, before they can legally reach a shelf.
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