What is EU Toy Standard EN 71-3:2019+A2:2024

On October 31, 2024, the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) approved the revised European toy safety standard en 71-3:2019+A2:2024 "Safety of Toys - Part 3: Migration of Certain Elements", and officially published the official version of the standard on the CEN website on December 4, 2024.

Standard Background

With the development of technology, the types of toy materials continue to increase, and the ways children use toys are constantly evolving. Therefore, standards need to be continuously updated to ensure toy safety. Since the implementation of the Toy Safety Directive (2009/48/EC) in 2009, the EU's focus on toy safety has continually deepened. This standard update is intended to adapt to the ever-changing toy market and better protect children's safety.

On December 4, 2024, the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) approved the revised version of the toy safety standard EN 71-3: EN 71-3:2019+A2:2024 "Safety of Toys - Part 3: Migration of Certain Elements".

The new standard will be given the status of a national standard in CEN member states, and any conflicting national standards will be withdrawn by the end of June 2025 at the latest.

This standard is expected to be approved by the European Commission. Upon publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU), it will replace the current version EN 71-3:2010+A1:2021 and become the harmonized standard for the EU Toy Directive 2009/48/EC.

Main Updates

1. Deleted the dewaxing step during the pretreatment process, as the dewaxing step was found to affect the reproducibility of test results.

2. Emphasized that mixed testing is a modification to the test method, and mixed testing may lead to deviated results.

3. Allowed the use of total chromium (Cr) migration results to presume whether a product complies with the migration limits for trivalent chromium (Cr(III)) and hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)).

4. Allowed the use of total tin (Sn) migration results to presume whether a product complies with the migration limit for organic tin.

5. Added CEN/TS 17973 as the classification method for slime.

EN71-3 Tested Elements and Limit Requirements

The standard tests for 19 different chemical substances, including aluminum, antimony, arsenic, barium, boron, cadmium, chromium (III), chromium (VI), cobalt, copper, lead, manganese, mercury, nickel, selenium, strontium, tin, organic tin, and zinc.

Different categories of toys have different limit requirements for the relevant chemical substances. For example, liquid toys (such as paints, bubble solutions, etc.) are easily swallowed by children, so their category has the strictest limit requirements; plastic toys have a low risk of being swallowed, so they belong to the category with the most relaxed limit requirements.

Toy EN71-3 Certification Process

1. Fill out the application form

2. Send samples

3. Sample testing

4. Pass the test, issue a draft report, and confirm information

5. Issue the formal report/certificate

Toy en71 certification Turnaround Time

The turnaround time is approximately 5-7 working days after the samples arrive.