Cots, changing tables and nursery furniture

• Regulation (EU) 2023/988 — GPSR
• Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 — Article 4
• Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 — REACH

Who has to appoint one

Manufacturers and sellers outside the Union placing nursery furniture on the EU market. This is treated as a high-risk category because failures cause entrapment, falls and suffocation, and enforcement is correspondingly aggressive.

Thresholds and exemptions

None. Volume and price are irrelevant, and handmade or artisan cots are fully in scope.

What must appear on the label

Manufacturer and responsible person details with an EU address, model and batch identification, the age or weight range, mattress size and maximum thickness for cots, assembly instructions with all fittings identified, and the warnings required by the applicable standard, including the warning to lower the base as the child grows.

Marketplace fields

Marketplaces apply stricter checks here than for general furniture and usually require the full test report rather than a declaration before reinstating a listing.

Documentation you must hold

Technical documentation, risk analysis covering entrapment, suffocation, falls, stability and chemical exposure, complete test reports against the applicable EN standard, and traceability records identifying the manufacturing batch.

Standards and testing

EN 716 for cots and folding cots, covering gap dimensions, stability, base strength and the mattress fit. EN 12221 for changing units. EN 12227 for playpens. EN 1130 for cribs and cradles. Formaldehyde emission and REACH screening on coatings and composite panels.

Language requirements

Assembly instructions and warnings in the language of every member state of sale, without exception, since incorrect assembly is a direct cause of injury.

When it applies

Before the first unit is made available, and the safety-relevant warnings must also appear in the online listing before purchase.

How long records are kept

Ten years for the technical documentation and traceability records.

What happens if you do not comply

Recalls and Safety Gate alerts are frequent, and nursery products account for a disproportionate share of EU recalls. Where an infant is injured, several member states pursue criminal liability rather than administrative fines.

Who enforces it

National market surveillance authorities and customs.

Where the boundary lies

Bed rails, sleep positioners and cot bumpers sit in a contested space: several member states have restricted or discouraged them, and a product legal in one market can be challenged in another. A cot toy or mobile attached to the cot is a toy under the Toy Safety Directive, with CE marking and EN 71 testing.

Questions we are asked

Is a test report mandatory for a cot?

The law requires documented conformity. In practice authorities and marketplaces accept only an accredited test report for this category, because the risk analysis alone cannot demonstrate gap and strength compliance.

Does the mattress come with the cot obligations?

A mattress sold with or for a cot must fit the standard's dimensional requirements and carries its own flammability and chemical duties.