CE Marking (CE Mark), Safety of Toys: EU Council Directive of 3 May 1988 (88/378/EEC) & Annex I, II, ... IV

Brief Introduction of
Directive 88/378/EEC
Safety of Toys
& Annex I, II, ... IV

Official Journal L 187 , 16/07/1988 p. 0001 - 0013

This directive has been amended by the following Council Directives:

1. 92/59/EEC of 29 June 1992 (General Product Safety);
2. 93/68/EEC of 22 July 1993 (CE Marking directive).

* The term 'EC Mark' appeared in this directive is out of date and has been officially replaced by term 'CE Marking' in 1993 in the CE Marking directive 93/68/EEC.

The Toys Directive has become mandatory since January 1, 1990. This means that from that date, NO toy can be placed on the EU single market if it does not bear the CE Marking.

COUNCIL DIRECTIVE of 3 May 1988 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning the safety of toys (88/378/EEC)

Article 1

1. This Directive shall apply to toys.
A toy shall mean any product or material designed or clearly intended for use in play by children of less than 14 years of age.
2. The products listed in Annex I shall not be regarded as toys for the purposes of this Directive.

Article 2

1. Toys may be placed on the market only if they do not jeopardize the safety and/or health of users or third parties when they are used as intended or in a foreseeable way, bearing in mind the normal behaviour of children.
2. In the condition in which it is placed on the market, taking account of the period of foreseeable and normal use, a toy must meet the safety and health conditions laid down in this Directive.
3. For the purposes of this Directive, the expression ´placed on the market' shall cover both sale and distribution free of charge.

Article 3

Member States shall take all steps necessary to ensure that toys cannot be placed on the market unless they meet the essential safety requirements set out in Annex II.

Article 4

Member States shall not impede the placing on the market on their territory of toys which satisfy the provisions of this Directive.

Article 5

Article 6

Article 7

Article 8

1. (a) Before being placed on the market, toys manufactured in accordance with the harmonized standards referred to in Article 5 (1) must have affixed to them the EC mark by which the manufacturer or his authorized representative established within the Community confirms that the toys comply with those standards;
(b) The manufacturer or his authorized representative established within the Community shall keep the following information available for inspection:
- a description of the means (such as the use of a test report or technical file) whereby the manufacturer ensures conformity of production with the standards referred to in Article 5 (1) and, as appropriate: an EC type-certificate drawn up by an approved body; copies of the documents the manufacturer has submitted to the approved body; a description of the means whereby the manufacturer ensures conformity with the approved model,
- the addresses of the places of manufacture and storage,
- detailed information concerning the design and manufacture.
Where neither the manufacturer nor his authorized representative are established within the Community, the above obligation to keep a dossier available shall be the responsibility of the person who places the toy on the Community market.
2. (a) Toys which do not conform in whole or in part to the standards referred to in Article 5 (1) must have affixed to them, before being placed on the market, the EC mark by which the manufacturer or his authorized representative established within the Community confirms that the toy concerned conforms to the model examined in accordance with the procedures laid down in Article 10 which an approved body has stated complies with the essential requirements referred to in Article 3;
(b) the manufacturer or his authorized representive established within the Community shall keep the following information available for inspection:

- a detailed description of manufacture,
- a description of the means (such as the use of a test report or technical file) whereby the manufacturer ensures conformity with the approved model,
- the addresses of the places of manufacture and storage,
- copies of the documents the manufacturer has submitted to an approved body in accordance with Article 10 (2),
- the test certificate for the sample or a certified copy thereof.

Where neither the manufacturer nor his authorized representative is established within the Community, the above obligation to keep a dossier available shall be the responsibility of the person who places the toy on the market in the Community.
3. In the event of non-observance of the obligations laid down in paragraphs 1 (b) and 2 (b), the competent Member State shall take appropriate measures to ensure that those obligations are observed.
Where non-observance of the obligations is obvious, it may in particular require the manufacturer or his authorized representative established within the Community to have a test performed at his own expense within a specified period by an approved body in order to verify compliance with the harmonized standards and essential safety requirements.

Article 9

Article 10

Article 11

1. The EC mark referred to in Articles 5, 7 and 8 and the name and/or trade name and/or mark and address of the manufacturer or his authorized representative or the importer into the Community shall as a rule be affixed either to the toy or on the packaging in a visible, easily legible and indelible form. In the case of small toys and toys consisting of small parts these particulars may be affixed in the same way to the packaging, to a label or to a leaflet. Where the said particulars are not affixed to the toy, the consumer's attention must be drawn to the advisability of keeping them.
2. The EC mark shall consist of the symbol ´CE'.
3. The affixing to toys of marks or inscriptions that are likely to be confused with the EC mark shall be prohibited.
4. The particulars referred to in paragraph 1 may be abbreviated provided that the abbreviation enables the manufacturer, his authorized representative or the importer into the Community to be identified.
5. Annex IV sets out the warnings and indications of precautions to be taken during use that have to be given for certain toys. Member States may require that these warnings and precautions, or some of them, together with the information specified in paragraph 4, be given in their own national language or languages when the toys are placed on the market.

Article 12

Article 13

Article 14

Article 15

Article 16

ANNEX I
PRODUCTS NOT REGARDED AS TOYS FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS DIRECTIVE (Article 1 (1))

Christmas decorations
Detailed scale models for adult collectors
Equipment intended to be used collectively in playgrounds
Sports equipment
Aquatic equipment intended to be used in deep water
Folk dolls and decorative dolls and other similar articles for adult collectors
´Professional' toys installed in public places (shopping centres, stations, etc.)
Puzzles with more than 500 pieces or without picture, intended for specialists
Air guns and air pistols
Fireworks, including percussion caps (¹)
Slings and catapults
Sets of darts with metallic points
Electric ovens, irons or other functional products operated at a nominal voltage exceeding 24 volts
Products containing heating elements intended for use under the supervision of an adult in a teaching context
Vehicles with combustion engines
Toy steam engines
Bicycles designed for sport or for travel on the public highway
Video toys that can be connected to a video screen, operated at a nominal voltage exceeding 24 volts
Babies' dummies
Faithful reproductions of real fire arms
Fashion jewellery for children (¹) With the exception of percussion caps specifically designed for use in toys without prejudice to more stringent provisions already existing in certain Member States.

ANNEX II
ESSENTIAL SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR TOYS

I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES
II. PARTICULAR RISKS

ANNEX III
CONDITIONS TO BE FULFILLED BY THE APPROVED BODIES (Article 9 (1))

ANNEX IV
WARNINGS AND INDICATIONS OF PRECAUTIONS TO BE TAKEN WHEN USING TOYS (Article 11 (5))

Please click the following links to learn more about every CE-Marking-related European Union Directive, Guidelines to Directives, Frameworks of implementation of Directives, and Agreements on Mutual Recognition of conformity assessment between European Union and other countries such as USA, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Israel:-

What is CE marking (CE mark)?

The CE marking logo (Free download CE mark logo)

Download of the EC Rep symbol/logo

CE Marking (CE mark) EU/EC Declaration of Conformity: definition and required content

What is a manufacturer? What are the responsibilities of a manufacturer?

Is the Own Brand Labeller or Private Labeller considered as the legal Manufacturer?

Why is CE marking called "European passport"?

Does my product need CE Marking in order to be sold/exported on/to the European Market?

How to obtain CE Marking for my product?

How can Wellkang Tech Consulting help me to obtain CE Marking for my product?

Wellkang can be your Authorized Representative in Europe for CE Marking purpose !

Complete list of all CE Marking Directives and Guidelines to Directives