Which CPSC rules apply to a toy for children 12 or under?
Which CPSC rules apply to a toy for children 12 or under, which certificate it needs, the citation codes to put on it, and how the data is eFiled at entry. From CPSC's own citation code list.
Last checked: 2026-09-22 · Source: CPSC eFiling citation code list CPSC and CPSC's certificate guidance CPSC · Licence: CC BY 4.0
A toy for children 12 or under is a children's product, so it needs a Children's Product Certificate (CPC) based on testing at a CPSC-accepted third-party laboratory, and the CPC data must be eFiled with the entry since 8 July 2026. The rules CPSC lists for it: ASTM F963 (ASTM F963, the toy safety standard, incorporated at 16 CFR part 1250). Sources (3)CPSCCPSC: eFiling Citation and Testing Exception Codes (Excel, Dec 2025)CPSCCPSC: Update on Certificates of Compliance and eFilingFederal Register: CertificatFederal Register: Certificates of Compliance, 90 FR 1800 (8 Jan 2025)
The citation codes
Every code below is one CPSC publishes in its own eFiling citation code list. The certificate names the codes the product was tested and certified to.
| Code | Regulation | When it applies | Testing |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASTM F963 | ASTM F963, the toy safety standard, incorporated at 16 CFR part 1250 | Always, for this product type | Third-party testing at a CPSC-accepted lab |
| 1278a | 15 USC 1278a: Total Lead Content for Children's Products | always for children's products: total lead content | — |
| 1303 | 16 CFR 1303: Ban of Lead-Containing Paint and Certain Consumer Products Bearing Lead-Containing Paint | if the product has paint or a surface coating | — |
| 1307 | 16 CFR 1307: Prohibition of Children's Toys and Child Care Articles Containing Specified Phthalates | if it is a toy or a child care article (sleep, feeding, sucking, teething) | — |
| 1501 | 16 CFR 1501: Method for Identifying Toys and Other Articles Intended For Use By Children Under 3 Years of Age Which Present Choking Aspiration, Or Ingestion Hazards Because of Small Parts | if intended for children under 3 (small parts) | — |
| 1505 | 16 CFR 1505: Requirements for Electrically Operated Toys or Other Electrically Operated Articles Intended for Children | if electrically operated | — |
| 1262 | 16 CFR 1262: Safety Standard for Magnets | if it contains magnets | — |
| 1263.3 | 16 CFR 1263.3: Requirements for Button Cell or Coin Batteries and Consumer Products Containing Such Batteries | if it contains button or coin batteries | — |
ASTM F963 is certified section by section: every applicable section is its own citation code.
ASTM F963 is certified section by section
A toy certificate does not cite "ASTM F963" once: it cites each applicable section as its own code.
| Code | Section |
|---|---|
| 4.1 | Material quality |
| 4.3.5.1(2) | Paint and Similar Surface Coating Materials |
| 4.3.5.2 | Toy Substrate Materials |
| 4.3.6 | Cleanliness of Liquids, Pastes, Putties, Gels, and Powders |
| 4.3.7 | Stuffing Materials |
| 4.5 | Sound Producing Toys |
| 4.6 | Small Objects |
| 4.7 | Accessible Edges |
| 4.8 | Projections (except bath toy projections) |
| 4.9 | Accessible Points |
| 4.1 | Wires or Rods |
| 4.11 | Nails and Fasteners |
| 4.12 | Plastic Film |
| 4.13 | Folding Mechanisms and Hinges |
| 4.14 | Cords, Straps, and Elastics |
| 4.15 | Stability and Overload Requirements |
| 4.16 | Confined Spaces |
| 4.17 | Wheels, Tires, and Axles |
| 4.18 | Holes, Clearances, and Accessibility of Mechanisms |
| 4.19 | Simulated Protective Devices |
| 4.20.1 | Pacifiers with Rubber Nipples |
| 4.20.2 | Toy Pacifiers |
| 4.21 | Projectile Toys |
| 4.22 | Teethers and Teething Toys |
| 4.23.1 | Rattles |
| 4.24 | Squeeze Toys |
| 4.25 | Battery-Operated Toys |
| 4.26 | Toys Intended to Be Attached to a Crib or Playpen |
| 4.27 | Stuffed and Beanbag-Type Toys |
| 4.3 | Toy Gun Marking |
| 4.32 | Certain Toys with Nearly Spherical Ends |
| 4.35 | Pompoms |
| 4.36 | Hemispheric-Shaped Objects |
| 4.37 | Yo-Yo Elastic Tether Toys |
| 4.38 | Magnets |
| 4.39 | Jaw Entrapment in Handles and Steering Wheels |
| 4.4 | Expanding Materials |
| 4.41 | Toy Chests |
| 5 | Labeling Requirements (as applicable) |
| 6 | Instructional Literature (as applicable) |
| 7 | Producter's Markings (as applicable) |
All 41 sections, with their CPC and GCC flags, are in the citation codes dataset.
What goes on the certificate
The certificate is Children's Product Certificate (CPC). It carries the seven data elements that get eFiled at entry: the product identified, each citation code above, date and place of manufacture, date of testing, the testing laboratory and a point of contact. How eFiling works sets out the two filing routes; the Product Registry guide covers storing the certificate once and referencing it.
For a toy for children 12 or under the laboratory must be one CPSC has accepted for this rule, not merely on the list. There are 737 accepted laboratories: check yours, and its scope, in the labs dataset.
CPSC flags HTS codes in its Toys category, 13 codes in all, which is how CBP knows to expect CPSC data on the entry line (flagged HTS dataset). A flagged code is a signal, not the test: the certificate obligation follows the product, not its classification.
What CPSC has actually recalled here
Since 2016, 192 CPSC recall notices carry this product type in their title, 181 of them for China-made goods (94.3%), covering about 7,830,274 units. The hazards cited most often: Fall / general injury (103), Choking (87), Poisoning / lead / chemical (86), Battery / ingestion of magnets or batteries (59).
Most recent
- Colerinsec Recalls Jerify Magnetic Stick Figure Toy Sets Due to Risk of Serious Injury or Death from Magnet Ingestion; Violate Mandatory Standard for Toys — 2026-09-17
- Esjay US Recalls Toddler Busy Board Montessori Toys Due to Risk of Serious Injury or Death from Choking; Violates Small Parts Ban — 2026-09-17
- Melissa & Doug Recalls Fire Truck Activity Board Toys Due to Risk of Serious Injury from Choking Hazard; Sold Exclusively at Target — 2026-09-17
Matched on the words that name this product type, against the titles in CPSC's recall database, 3,374 notices from 2016-01-05 to 2026-09-17. Full dataset: recalls. A recall is an enforcement outcome, not a rule: it shows what has gone wrong with this product type before.
Limits of this page
- This is our mapping of CPSC's citation codes to a product type: the rules most likely to apply, not every rule that could. Materials, age grading and features change the answer.
- Tracking labels under CPSA section 14(a)(5) also apply to this product. They are a marking duty, not a citation code.
- Confirm against the regulation text and with your testing laboratory before you certify. Independent. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) or U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
How to cite this dataset
CPSC Comply, CPSC requirements for toy for children 12 or under, version 2026-09-22. https://cpsccomply.com/data/product-requirements/. Licensed CC BY 4.0.
Machine-readable twin for assistants: https://cpsccomply.com/data/product-requirements.md
Founder of CPSC Comply. Publishes open data on product-compliance regimes (also eprfrancerep.com and eprgermanyrep.com). Every figure here links to the government file or provider page it was read from.
Razvan Toma on LinkedIn ↗Importing consumer products into the US?
Certificate data is now filed with every entry. Check which CPSC rules your product falls under, then keep every product's certificate data complete, current and provable.