EU · Directive 2009/48/EC; transition to Regulation (EU) 2025/2509
Toy safety and age-specific testing
Identify the market and product category first. Each dossier separates legal duties, referenced standards, evidence and the comparison needed for an award.
Product Scope
Products designed or intended, whether exclusively or not, for play by children under 14. Not all childcare articles or sports products are toys. Age grading, accessibility, foreseeable behaviour and the Directive’s exclusions determine the assessment.
Requirements
Assess physical and mechanical hazards, flammability, chemical risks, electrical hazards, hygiene and radioactivity where relevant. The EN 71 series and electrical-toy standards provide product-specific routes only within their cited scope. Chemical migration categories, under-36-month rules and mouth-contact materials cannot be collapsed into a single heavy-metal scan.
Required Evidence
Provide safety and chemical assessments, age-grading rationale, complete reports for all relevant parts and functions, technical documentation, declaration, warnings and CE marking. If harmonised standards are absent, restricted or not fully applied, check the Directive’s EC-type-examination triggers and the notified body’s scope.
Comparison for the Awards
Only a relevant, quantitative safety or quality requirement with a valid comparison method can support a margin. A higher recommended age, a small-parts warning or a passed certificate is not a quality improvement.
Version & Transition
In October 2026 the Directive remains the principal placing-on-market basis. Regulation 2025/2509 generally applies from 1 August 2030. Check current Decision 2023/740 amendments, including the September 2026 publication, before claiming an EN edition provides a presumption.
Official Sources
Applicability depends on the product classification, intended use, configuration and actual sales territory. Manufacturing, placing-on-the-market and testing dates, together with transition provisions, are checked as required by each applicable rule. The directory identifies sources; it does not replace assessment of the specific model. Standards are identified by reference, and their authoritative texts remain with the issuing bodies. Official source documents retain their original language.