Safety Standards & Interpretations

In this section you will see:

  • Standards developments and amendments
  • Testing to standards for the UK and the EU
  • British Standards Online
  • UK standards interpretations

The BTHA provides information on any developments and amendments that are taking place for the EN71 series of toys standards, the PD EN 15371 electrical standard and the published documents PD 15371 concerning interpretations of toy standards. This information is normally updated three times a year. With regard to published standards, full members can benefit from the BTHA Standards Service which give full members access to toy safety related standards via British Standards Online (BSOL).Ā 

British Standards Online

The BTHA supports its members by providing free access to standards and providing regular updates to show how these are being changed and developed. In addition, the BTHA hosts the UKā€™s interpretations group and regularly publishes interpretations to standards.

The BTHA is pleased to offer our full membersā€™ view-only access to standards via the British Standards Online (BSOL) service. The British Standards Institute (BSI) is dedicated to helping organisations ā€˜make excellence a habitā€™ and through the partnership with the BTHA provides access to the key toy safety standards that can help the UK toy industry to develop and grow.

Using standards can offer a set of powerful business and marketing tools for organisations of all sizes. You can use them to fine tune your performance and manage the risks you face while operating in more efficient and sustainable ways. Standards allow you to demonstrate the quality of what you do to your customers and they help you to see how to embed best practice into your organisation.

Many members will spend a considerable sum each year on relevant BSI standards, and this service allows our members to access a selection of toy safety related standards as determined by BTHA with view-only access.

Full members are able to visitĀ login to BSOLĀ Ā to view a selection of standards that cover toys and toy safety. These standards will be available to view online but will not allow members to download or print the documents.

Access to BSOL allows members to:

  • Have view-only access to key British standards in the BTHA subscription
  • Set up notifications on key standards areas
  • Search and browse the bibliographical information for the full collection of 60,000 documents
  • Use the Toy Safety Advisory Service for advice on standards

What are the limitations?

  • View-only access means the printing and downloading functionality has been disabled for BTHA members
  • Access to BSOL is governed by itsĀ terms and conditionsĀ 
  • Authorised users (members) only are provided access and passwords and are not to be shared to non-members of the BTHA or others within your organisation

What standards can I see?

A list of up to 300 selected standards.
Preview the BTHA subscription list of standards below.

What happens if there is a standard I need but it is not on the BTHA subscription?

The list of accessible standards in the BTHA subscription should cover the majority of membersā€™ needs for toys, nursery and related electrical items. However, if an additional standard is requested it can be added to the list if considered useful for other members. Please contact Head of BTHA Compliance, Jerry Burnie,Ā to make your request. Where a standard cannot be added as it falls outside the toy safety related category, or you require a hard copy of the standard, please contact BSI to purchase it directly:
Ā cservices@bsigroup.com
Ā +44 (0) 845 086 9001

If you have a wider requirement for standards, a larger BSOL subscription or want to have full access instead of view-only please contactĀ cservices@bsigroup.comĀ or call 03450869001.

What else can I do?

In addition to the standards, members can create My Notifications, an e-mail notification service to track when standards change. This can help members to meet their legal requirements relating to monitoring and using the latest product standards.

What else can I see?

The full listing of more than 60,000 other standards and standards-related documents, including bibliographical information, can also be seen, and if needed, purchased directly from BSI.

Do I need a password?

Please see the registration guide for new users below if you are a new user to the system.

Why canā€™t I get access sometimes?

To keep costs acceptable, the BTHA subscription allows up to 10 members to use the service at the same time. There may be times when members will need to wait for a short time before getting access. This will be reviewed regularly with BS Online to ensure that members are not disadvantaged.

Why canā€™t I see EU Directives?

Directives are free to download from theĀ Europa website (this is where the most commonly used Directives that are often linked to toys can be found).

Why canā€™t I see UK Regulations?

UK Regulations and related guidance documents areĀ free to download from the Department for Business and Trade website.

How do I use BSOL?

Help documents exist on the BSOL website. The entry page has access to online demonstrations. If you have any questions there is a BSI helpline number and email address.

Ā +44 (0)845 086 9001
Ā tech.support@bsigroup.com

UK Interpretations Group

The BTHA hosts the UK Interpretations Committee and has invited test laboratories, manufacturers, importers and retailers to identify interpretation issues experienced when using published standards and Directives.

These deliberations result in published interpretations documents which are often forwarded to standardsā€™ committees for review. Where it is considered useful, an interim interpretation is given by the UK interpretation committee.

Users of interpretations should always refer to the latest standards first and should be aware that there are CEN reportsĀ CEN/TR 15371: Part 1 and Part 2Ā which should be read before using any interpretations published here as interpretations given in the CEN report take precedence over those given by the UK Interpretations Committee.

View Interpretations