Curtains, blinds and window coverings

• Regulation (EU) 2023/988 — GPSR
• EN 13120 for internal blinds
• Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 — REACH
• National fire regulations for contract use

Who has to appoint one

Manufacturers and sellers outside the Union placing window coverings on the EU market. Corded blinds are one of the most fatal product categories for young children in the Union, and the standard imposes strict cord safety requirements.

Thresholds and exemptions

None. Made-to-measure blinds are placed on the market like any other product and are not exempt because they are bespoke.

What must appear on the label

Manufacturer and responsible person details, batch identification, and the child safety warnings and installation instructions for cord safety devices, which must be supplied with the product rather than offered separately.

Marketplace fields

Marketplaces remove corded blinds without safety devices, and this category has generated coordinated enforcement across several member states after strangulation deaths.

Documentation you must hold

Technical documentation, risk analysis focused on cord and chain strangulation, test reports against the blind safety standard, and REACH evidence for coatings and flame retardants.

Standards and testing

EN 13120 including the safety requirements for cords and chains, with the specific tests for breakaway devices, cord length and tension devices. Fire testing to the national requirement where the product is for contract use.

Language requirements

Safety warnings and installation instructions in the language of each member state of sale, prominently rather than in a folded leaflet.

When it applies

Before the product is made available, including bespoke orders.

How long records are kept

Ten years.

What happens if you do not comply

Recall and Safety Gate alerts, and prosecutions where a child has died. This is among the categories where authorities act fastest and most publicly.

Who enforces it

Market surveillance authorities and customs.

Where the boundary lies

Made-to-measure does not mean exempt, and an installer who shortens or modifies cords becomes responsible for the safety of the result. Contract installations add national fire performance requirements.

Questions we are asked

Are safety devices mandatory?

EN 13120 requires the product as supplied to be safe, which in practice means cord safety devices fitted or supplied and instructions to install them.

Do bespoke blinds escape the rules?

No. Each unit is a product placed on the market and must meet the same safety requirements.