In order to ensure the safety and quality of imported toy products and strengthen toy safety supervision, the GCC Standardization organization (GSO) issued the "GCC Technical Regulation on Children Toys” (BD-131704-01) in 2013, and implemented it in two stages. It is required that toy products must meet all requirements of the GCC Technical Regulation on Children Toys, and with the GCTS (GSO Conformity Tracking Symbol) mark can be admitted to access the Gulf region market.

Gulf Cooperation Council and Its Member States

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) was established in Riyadh in 1981 and includes member states: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, and the Kingdom of Bahrain. All children's toys must meet the requirements of the GCC Children's Toys Technical Regulations before they are put on the market of GCC member countries. Although the Republic of Yemen is not a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council, GCC certification is also recognized by it.

GCC Toys Technical Regulations Product Range

The technical regulation is for products designed or intended, whether or not exclusively, for use in play by children under 14 years of age.

Standards corresponding to Technical Regulations

The GCC Toy Technical Regulation is based on EU Toy Regulation and Conformity Assessment Procedures. The basic safety requirements for qualified toys include: physical and mechanical properties, flammability, adverse chemical effects on human health, electrical properties and hygiene request etc.

Reference Standard List

Category of Toys Exported to the Gulf

There are many types of toy products exported to the Gulf, which can be divided into the following 20 categories.

GCC Certification Process

1. The manufacturer or importer submits the application and required information to the Notified Body;

2. An authorized or accredited laboratory tests the toys in accordance with the Technical Regulations on Children Toys (BD-131704-01) and then the Notified Body assess them;

3. After evaluating the test report and technical documents, register the product and issue the certificate in the Gulf Conformity Tracking System, and obtain the GCTS mark;

4. Manufacturers or importers apply GCTS to products or packaging.

GCC Toy Certification Mark

Notes

• It is strictly forbidden to use the GCTS used for the certificate on the product；

• If the certificate is suspended, revoked or withdrew, the holder should stop using the GCTS mark;

• The GCTS mark should be applied to the main body of the product. When the product cannot even fit the minimum size label, only the GC mark can be affixed. If the GC mark cannot be affixed with the minimum size, then the finished product can be allowed to be unlabeled. The height of the GCTS mark cannot be less than 5mm;

• Arabic is required for instructions, safety information, warnings, declarations of conformity, etc.

• Products entering the Middle East Gulf region, regardless of their appearance, shape, pattern and packaging, must not violate Islamic teachings.

About BACL Toy Lab

BACL toy laboratory has been accredited by ISO/IEC 17025 by multinational accreditation bodies, and can provide technical assistance to the majority of enterprises/manufacturers in the quality category, and provide the latest regulatory update information to help you obtain GCC toy certification efficiently and conveniently. We can also provide you with a full range of consulting, testing and technical support services in accordance with regulations and related technical standards to help your products quickly meet the regulatory requirements of different countries toy market, and meet the requirements of major e-commerce platforms and your buyers.

BACL Service:

Bay Area Compliance Labs Corp.( BACL for short), with its headquarter in Silicon Valley, it is a professional and international third-party testing and certification body. Currently we have physical and chemical testing labs in the United States, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Xiamen and other places, and we have accredited the certifications by UKAS (Lab No.: 7827), CNAS (Registration No.: L2408, L6290, L9963, IB0343), CPSC(Lab ID:1112, 1415, 1647), CMA (No.: 2016192126Z, 2015192413Z) and other authorities. We offer a full range of testing service which cover footwear, toys, textile, clothing, leather, jewelry, groceries, food contact materials, cosmetics and electrical and electronic products, etc. We can help enterprises to complete the precise control of whole industry chain from raw materials to the finished products.