Toys and games for children

• Directive 2009/48/EC — Toy Safety Directive
• Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 — market surveillance, Article 4
• Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 — REACH
• Regulation (EU) 2023/988 — GPSR, residual

Who has to appoint one

Three groups are caught. First, manufacturers established outside the Union that place toys on the EU market, whether through a distributor, a marketplace or their own website. Second, importers, who take on the manufacturer's obligations whenever they put the toy on the market under their own name or trade mark, or modify it in a way that affects conformity. Third, distance sellers shipping directly to EU consumers where no importer, no fulfilment service provider and no authorised representative is established in the Union: Article 4 of Regulation 2019/1020 then prohibits placing the toy on the market at all. A private-label brand that has a Chinese factory produce a toy under its own name is the manufacturer in law, with all the duties that follow, even if it never touches the product.

Thresholds and exemptions

There is no turnover, volume or company-size threshold. One toy sold to one consumer in one member state triggers the full regime. The only real boundary is the definition itself: a product designed or intended, whether exclusively or not, for use in play by children under 14. 'Not exclusively' matters, because a product marketed to adults that is obviously attractive to children can still be treated as a toy by an inspector.

What must appear on the label

The CE marking, at least 5 mm high, visible, legible and indelible, on the toy, an affixed label or the packaging. The manufacturer's name, registered trade name or registered trade mark and a single postal address at which it can be contacted. The name and EU postal address of the importer or authorised representative. A type, batch, serial or model number allowing the toy to be identified. Warnings preceded by the word 'Warning', including the age warning where applicable, and the specific wording set by Annex V for categories such as toys for water, functional toys and toys containing small parts. Warnings that determine the purchase decision must also appear before purchase in an online listing.

Marketplace fields

Amazon requires both the Manufacturer field and the Responsible Person field, each with an EU address, and enforces this automatically across all European stores. eBay, Etsy, Kaufland and TikTok Shop display an EU Responsible Person block in the listing and suppress offers where it is empty. Marketplaces also require the CE marking to be visible in at least one product image, and several now request the EN 71 test reports or the declaration of conformity as an uploaded document when a listing is challenged. Reinstatement typically takes hours once the details are saved, but only if the address is genuinely in the Union: a UK or Swiss address is rejected.

Documentation you must hold

An EU declaration of conformity, drawn up before the toy is placed on the market and translated into the language required by the member state concerned. The technical documentation under Article 21. A safety assessment analysing chemical, physical, mechanical, electrical, flammability, hygiene and radioactivity hazards, and the exposure to them, before the toy is designed and produced. Test reports supporting that assessment. Descriptions of the manufacturing and monitoring process, addresses of manufacturing and storage sites, and, where a notified body was used, its EC type-examination certificate. Also a register of complaints, non-conforming toys and recalls, and evidence that distributors were informed.

Standards and testing

EN 71-1 for mechanical and physical properties, including the small parts cylinder, drop and torque tests. EN 71-2 for flammability. EN 71-3 for the migration of nineteen elements from toy materials, in three material categories. EN 62115 for electric toys. EN 71-12 for N-nitrosamines in elastomer toys intended for children under three or for mouth contact. Applying the harmonised standards in full gives a presumption of conformity and allows self-declaration. Where a standard does not exist or is not applied fully, an EC type-examination by a notified body becomes mandatory.

Language requirements

Warnings, safety information and instructions for use must be in the official language or languages of every member state where the toy is made available. There is no English-only route: selling into Germany means German, into France French, into Poland Polish. The declaration of conformity must be translated into the language required by the state where the toy is placed on the market. This is the single most common ground for a listing takedown and for a border rejection, because it is the easiest thing for an inspector to check.

When it applies

The safety assessment must be carried out before design and production. The technical documentation and the declaration of conformity must exist before the first unit is placed on the market — not before the first complaint. For toys already in the supply chain, the obligation to inform authorities and take corrective action arises as soon as the manufacturer has reason to believe a toy does not conform, and it applies to units already sold, not only to stock on hand.

How long records are kept

The technical documentation and the EU declaration of conformity must be kept for ten years after the toy was placed on the market. The authorised representative must be able to produce both to a national authority on request, which is why the mandate has to give it access to the file rather than a promise of access. Traceability records identifying every economic operator who supplied a toy and every operator supplied must also be kept for ten years.

What happens if you do not comply

The practical consequences arrive in this order: a marketplace suppression, which is immediate and automatic; a customs refusal at the point of entry, where the consignment is held and often destroyed at the importer's cost; a withdrawal or recall order from a national authority; an alert in the Safety Gate rapid alert system, which is public, names the product and the brand, and is picked up by every other member state; and finally an administrative fine set by national law, ranging from a few thousand euros to six figures depending on the state. Toys are consistently the most-notified category in Safety Gate, so the probability of being checked is materially higher than for most goods.

Who enforces it

National market surveillance authorities in each member state, coordinated through the ICSMS information system and the Safety Gate. Customs authorities at the point of entry, who can suspend release of a consignment and refer it to market surveillance. Notified bodies where type examination applies. Marketplaces themselves act as a de facto first line of enforcement under the Digital Services Act and the GPSR.

Where the boundary lies

The single most misunderstood boundary in this category. An object sold as a family or garden game — giant Jenga, oversized dominoes, a lawn game — is a general consumer product under GPSR, needing a responsible person under Article 16 and no CE marking. The identical object presented for children under 14, shown with children in the images, or listed in a children's category, is a toy: CE marking, EN 71 testing, Annex V warnings and an Article 4 economic operator. The listing decides the regime, not the object. Two further edges: fancy dress and carnival costumes for children are toys, not textiles; and 'collector' figurines marketed to adults but sized and priced like children's toys are routinely reclassified by inspectors.

Questions we are asked

Does CE marking mean an EU body certified my toy?

No. For most toys the manufacturer self-declares conformity after applying the harmonised standards in full and testing against them. A notified body and an EC type-examination certificate are required only where no harmonised standard exists for the hazard, where the standard is not applied in full, or where the manufacturer chooses that route.

Can our fulfilment provider be the responsible person?

A fulfilment service provider established in the Union can hold the Article 4 role, and some large ones do. In practice most refuse, because the role carries duties to keep the declaration of conformity, cooperate with authorities and take corrective action. What matters legally is a written mandate accepted by that entity, not an assumption.

We already sell in the US with ASTM F963 testing — is that enough?

No. ASTM F963 and EN 71 differ on chemical migration limits, small parts criteria and warning wording. US test reports are not accepted as evidence of EU conformity, and the declaration of conformity must reference the EU standards.

What if the toy has already been sold and we discover a problem?

You must immediately take corrective action, and if the toy presents a risk you must inform the market surveillance authorities of every member state where you made it available, giving details of the non-conformity and the measures taken. Silence at that point is a separate infringement from the original defect.