Toy Safety Regulation 2025: what your EU mandate must cover
10 min read
Toy Safety Regulation 2025: what the mandate of your EU Authorized Representative must cover today and from 1 August 2030, including the product passport.
You make toys in Asia or North America and sell them to families in the EU through your own online shop, a marketplace or a European retailer. The new Toy Safety Regulation 2025 has been in force since 1 January 2026 but applies only from 1 August 2030; until then, Directive 2009/48/EC governs your toys. The mandate you sign with an EU Authorized Representative today must work under both.
Toy Safety Regulation 2025: what applies until and from August 2030
Regulation (EU) 2025/2509 (opens in a new tab) replaces the Toy Safety Directive 2009/48/EC and applies directly in every member state, without national transposition. It entered into force on 1 January 2026 and applies from 1 August 2030 (Article 59); only Articles 28 to 44 and 49 to 55 apply earlier, mainly the rules on notified bodies, delegated acts and penalties.
Until 31 July 2030, the Directive governs every toy you place on the market, including the EC Declaration of Conformity. Toys placed on the market in conformity with the Directive before 1 August 2030 may still be sold afterwards, with no sell-off deadline (Article 57(1)).
| Date | What happens | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2026 | Regulation in force; rules on notified bodies and penalties apply | Article 59 |
| 1 August 2029 | Commission guidelines for SMEs on the digital product passport due | Article 24 |
| 1 August 2030 | Regulation applies; the Directive is repealed | Articles 56 and 59 |
| 1 February 2031 | EC type-examination certificates under the Directive expire at the latest | Article 57(3) |
Who needs an EU representative for toys, and who does not
Toys fall under Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 (paragraph 5 lists Directive 2009/48/EC), and the Toy Safety Regulation keeps it that way (Recital 77). A toy may only be placed on the market if an economic operator established in the EU is responsible for the tasks in Article 4(3). That operator can be:
- an EU manufacturer;
- an importer, where the manufacturer is outside the EU;
- an Authorized Representative with a written mandate for these tasks;
- a fulfilment service provider in the EU, only where none of the others exists (Article 4(2)).
If a European retailer buys and imports your toys, it is the importer. If you ship parcels from outside the EU directly to consumers, there is no importer. According to the Commission's guidelines on Article 4 (opens in a new tab), only a representative mandated in writing can then fill the role, and without one, the toy may not be offered to EU end users (2021/C 100/01, Box 1, step 6). Our article on Authorized Representative or importer compares both roles.
Authorities watch toys closely: they made up 16% of the 4,671 Safety Gate alerts on dangerous non-food products in 2025 (European Commission, 5 March 2026).
For toys, Articles 9 to 18 of the General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988 (GPSR) do not apply (Article 2(1)(b)), including the Responsible Person in Article 16; your EU operator comes from Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020. The GPSR rules on online offers (Article 19) and accident notifications (Article 20) do apply to toys (see our guide to the Safety Business Gateway).
What the mandate must cover today and from August 2030
You may appoint an Authorized Representative by written mandate (Article 5(1) of the Directive, Article 8(1) of the Regulation). If it is to be your Article 4 operator, the mandate must include all tasks of Article 4(3) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 (Article 5(1) of that Regulation; from 2030 also Article 8(4) of the Toy Safety Regulation). The Commission recommends reviewing older mandates, in particular the tasks for toys that present a risk (2021/C 100/01, section 4.3).
| Task | Until 31 July 2030 | From 1 August 2030 |
|---|---|---|
| Keep documents for 10 years | EC Declaration of Conformity and technical documentation (Directive, Art. 5(3)(a)) | Technical documentation; keep the digital product passport available (Art. 8(3)(a)) |
| Answer authority requests | Information and documents showing conformity (Directive, Art. 5(3)(b)), in a language the authority easily understands (Art. 4(3)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020) | The same (Art. 8(3)(b)) |
| Act on risks | Cooperate (Directive, Art. 5(3)(c)); report risks and make sure corrective action is taken (Art. 4(3)(c) and (d) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020) | Cooperate; report measures through the Safety Business Gateway if the manufacturer has not; report non-compliance or risk at once (Art. 8(3)(c), (d) and 8(5)) |
| Never part of the mandate | Design, manufacture and drawing up the technical documentation (Directive, Art. 5(2)) | The same (Art. 8(2)) |
The digital product passport: what changes for you and your representative
From 1 August 2030, the digital product passport replaces the EC Declaration of Conformity for toys (Recital 54) and states that compliance has been demonstrated (Article 19(2)(b)). Before placing a toy on the market, the manufacturer creates the passport, affixes the data carrier and the CE marking and uploads the product and operator identifiers to the EU registry (Article 7(2)). The passport must:
- cover one specific toy model (Article 19(2)(a));
- be available in the languages the member state requires (point (e));
- stay available for 10 years, even if the operator that created it becomes insolvent or stops its EU activity (point (g));
- be reachable through a data carrier on the toy or an affixed label, visible before purchase, also in distance sales (Article 19(7));
- have a back-up copy with a passport service provider (Article 19(13)).
It names the manufacturer, the Authorized Representative where there is one, and the Article 4 operator (Annex VI, Part I, points (b) and (c)). Retailers and marketplaces can request a digital copy of the data carrier, due within 5 working days (Article 19(12)), and customs release a toy only once its registration identifier matches the registry (Article 23(3)). Technical details, including who may create or update passport data, follow in delegated acts (Article 49(1)).
Seven steps to check your toy mandate
- Map your sales channels. Direct parcels, an importing EU retailer, an EU fulfilment warehouse: who is the Article 4 operator for each?
- Check the mandate. Written, naming the toys, covering Article 5(3) of the Directive and all four tasks of Article 4(3) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020.
- Hand over the documents. Your representative needs the EC Declaration of Conformity; the technical documentation must exist in an official EU language (Article 21(2) of the Directive), and authorities can set a 30-day deadline for it (Article 21(3)).
- Label correctly. Your name and contact address go on the toy, otherwise on the packaging or an accompanying document (Article 4(6) of the Directive); the EU operator's name and postal address go on the product, packaging, parcel or an accompanying document (Article 4(4) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020).
- Complete your online offers with manufacturer, EU operator, product identification with a picture and warnings in the local language (Article 19 GPSR).
- Agree on incidents. Who notifies accidents through the Safety Business Gateway (Article 20 GPSR), and who informs authorities when a toy presents a risk?
- Add a 2030 clause for passport availability and Safety Business Gateway reports (Article 8(3)(a) and (d)), and plan per unit what you place on the market before 1 August 2030.
Practical example: an Asian toy maker with three sales channels
A maker of wooden and plush toys in Asia has no EU subsidiary. In 2026 it appointed an EU Authorized Representative for all its toys, which it sells through three channels.
| Sales channel | Article 4 operator | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Own online shop, parcels from Asia to consumers in Germany and France | The representative; without one, the toys may not be offered to EU consumers | 2021/C 100/01, Box 1, step 6 |
| A Spanish retailer buys and imports containers | The representative, as the mandate covers all toys; the retailer keeps its own duties as importer | Box 1, step 1; Directive, Art. 6 |
| Stock shipped to a fulfilment warehouse in Poland for marketplace orders | The representative; without one, and with no importer, the fulfilment service provider | Box 1, steps 1 and 5; Art. 4(2)(d) |
The label carries the representative's name and postal address, and the Spanish retailer adds its own as importer (Article 6(3) of the Directive). For the Polish stock, the release for free circulation marks the placing on the market (Blue Guide 2022, section 2.12, example 7). From 1 August 2030, each model's passport also names the representative (Annex VI, Part I, point (b)).
Common mistakes with toy mandates
- Waiting for 2030. A mandate signed today will still be running when the Regulation applies.
- Applying the 2030 rules too early. Until 31 July 2030, every toy needs its EC Declaration of Conformity (Article 4(2) of the Directive).
- Looking for a GPSR Responsible Person. For toys, Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 applies, not Article 16 GPSR.
- Treating the passport as the label. Article 4(4) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 does not list it as a place for the EU operator's address.
- Discarding old files after 2030. Authorities can still act against toys placed on the market under the Directive (Article 57(2)); keep their files for the full 10 years.
Conclusion: one mandate that works in 2026 and 2030
The new Toy Safety Regulation changes little about whom you need in the EU, but adds to what that partner must do: passport availability and Safety Business Gateway reports. Check your mandate against both regimes now; until 31 July 2030, the Directive still governs every toy you place on the market.
As your EU Authorized Representative, Representa GmbH acts under a written mandate within the agreed scope: we provide our name and address for packaging and the Declaration of Conformity, keep your technical documentation for 10 years and handle authority inquiries. Our CE marking service helps you identify the applicable legislation and harmonized standards for your toys. You remain the manufacturer.
Frequently asked questions
When does the new EU Toy Safety Regulation apply?
Regulation (EU) 2025/2509 entered into force on 1 January 2026 and applies from 1 August 2030 (Article 59). Until then, Directive 2009/48/EC governs toys placed on the market. Since 1 January 2026, only Articles 28 to 44 and 49 to 55 apply, mainly on notified bodies, delegated acts and penalties.
Do I need an EU Authorized Representative to sell toys in the EU?
You need an economic operator in the EU under Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020: an EU manufacturer, an importer, an Authorized Representative or, as a fallback, a fulfilment service provider. If you ship directly from outside the EU to consumers, only an Authorized Representative with a written mandate can fill that role.
Does the digital product passport replace the EC Declaration of Conformity for toys?
Yes, for toys placed on the market from 1 August 2030 (Recital 54 of Regulation (EU) 2025/2509). The passport states that compliance has been demonstrated and must stay available for 10 years. Until then, the EC Declaration of Conformity under Directive 2009/48/EC remains required.
Can toys made under the Toy Safety Directive still be sold after August 2030?
Yes, if each unit was placed on the market in conformity with Directive 2009/48/EC before 1 August 2030 (Article 57(1) of Regulation (EU) 2025/2509). Units placed on the market from that date must meet the new Regulation, even if the model is unchanged.
Does the GPSR apply to toys?
Only in part. For toys, Articles 9 to 18 of Regulation (EU) 2023/988 do not apply (Article 2(1)(b)), including the Responsible Person in Article 16. The rules on online offers (Article 19) and accident notifications (Article 20) do apply.
