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How to Check the BIS Mark on a Toy Box Before You Buy
The ISI mark on a toy box is only useful if you can check it. Where it sits, what the licence number means, and a two-minute test.
A toy box can say anything. It can say “BIS certified” in type larger than the brand name, with a licence number underneath that belongs to nothing.
The mark is regulated, printed in a particular place, and checkable in about two minutes, longer than most of us spend on packaging.
Here is where the BIS mark on toys sits, what the number beside it means, and what to do when a seller cannot show you either.
The short answer
Find the printed ISI mark on the box and the licence number beside it. Photograph the label. Type the number into the BIS Care app and see whether a licence comes back for the manufacturer named on the box. If the number returns nothing, or the seller only has a photo of the toy, do not buy it. That is the whole check, and it takes two minutes.
What the BIS mark on toys actually is, and who applies it
The mark is the ISI mark, applied under a licence from the Bureau of Indian Standards. For toys it is not optional.
The toys Quality Control Order, 2020, issued by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade under the BIS Act, 2016, makes it mandatory for children’s toys to conform to seven Indian Standards and bear the ISI mark under a BIS licence. It came into effect on 1 January 2021 and covers manufacture, import, sale, distribution, storage and exhibiting for sale. BIS’s own note on the order sets this out plainly.
The licence is granted to the factory, not the shop. BIS visits the unit, tests the toys in a BIS laboratory or a BIS-recognised laboratory, then lets that unit print the mark. Later it draws samples from factories and the market and tests those too.
So the mark is a statement about the manufacturer. No shop can apply it, and no shop can certify a toy on its own. Tukoy is not BIS-licensed. What we can show you is the box.
Where the mark sits on the box
It is printed on the outer box or a label fixed to it, not on the toy inside. A toy sold loose, in a poly bag with a photocopied card, has no label to check.
Around the mark you should find the licence number, the manufacturer’s name and address, the standard reference, an age marking and a batch number.
In a shop, turn the box over before you agree to anything. Online, ask for a photograph of the back panel; a seller with stock can send it in minutes. A listing that only shows the front is showing you a marketing image.
The licence number is the part you can verify
BIS calls it the CM/L number. It identifies the licence, and the licence identifies the manufacturer. The BIS Care app, which BIS provides free, has a feature for verifying licence details: enter the number and it returns the licensee’s details.
Do it once and you will know what a real label looks like. If the number returns nothing, stop. If it returns a licence, read the manufacturer’s name and check it matches the name printed next to the mark. A number that belongs to somebody else is worse than none.
Screenshot the result before you pay. It is the only part of this you can prove later.
What the standards cover, and what they do not
Seven standards sit behind the mark.
| Standard | What it covers |
|---|---|
| IS 9873 (Part 1): 2019 | Choking hazards, sharp edges, gaps that crush fingers |
| IS 9873 (Part 2): 2017 | Flammability |
| IS 9873 (Part 3): 2017 and IS 9873 (Part 9): 2017 | Limits for toxic elements such as cadmium and mercury, and certain phthalates |
| IS 9873 (Part 4): 2016 | Activity toys such as swings and slides |
| IS 9873 (Part 7): 2017 | Finger paints in craft kits |
| IS 15644: 2006 | Electrical safety of toys |
The mark does not tell you that a toy suits your child. It does not cover a seller’s claim in a listing title. It is not a promise about wear and tear, the cells you put in it, or a toy that arrives broken. It is a floor, not a guarantee.
It does not replace supervision either. A marked toy can still have small parts, and the age marking matters more than the mark. The magnet question is separate: magnetic toys for kids in India covers what the mark cannot.
The five-step check
For a shop counter or a product page.
Find the printed mark. On the box, not in a listing image.
Read the number. The licence number sits with the mark.
Read the rest of the label. Manufacturer, standard reference, age marking, batch.
Verify the number in the BIS Care app. It is free and takes a minute.
Match the licence to the product. The manufacturer named on the box should be the licensee the app returns.
When the seller cannot show it
Ask once, plainly: can you send a photo of the back of the box. A seller holding stock can; a seller working from a warehouse photo often cannot.
If the answer is no, or the photo arrives with the label cropped, do not argue. A missing number is not a discount opportunity. Buy something else.
In our own catalogue, fourteen product pages mention a BIS or ISI standard or licence number, including the Chu Chu Bath Toys — 12-Piece Squeeze & Squirt Set for Babies at ₹349, the Bubblitz Electric Bubble Gun — 12-Hole Bubble Maker with Light at ₹469, the Dancing Monkey — Light-Up Musical Toy for Toddlers at ₹599 and the Crawling Soldier Toy with Motion Sensor — Sound & Light at ₹699. Where a page shows a standard but not a licence number, ask us for a photograph of the back of the box and we will send it. Where a page shows nothing, it does not claim anything.
What to skip
Listings with “BIS certified” in the title and no number in any photograph. The words cost nothing.
Products sold loose, or in a bag with no printed label. There is nothing to check.
A seller who answers with a slogan. A blanket claim is not a licence number, and one number per manufacturer is what you can verify.
Marketplace listings using another brand’s box photograph. The label in that photo is not the one you will receive.
Quick questions
What does the ISI mark on a toy look like?
It is a printed certification mark, and the part that matters is not the artwork but the licence number printed with it. That number is what BIS can look up. A mark with no number is less than you need, and worth asking about.
What is a CM/L number?
It is the licence number BIS issues to a manufacturer, and the number the BIS Care app searches on. A licence is granted for a factory and its products, after inspection and testing, so the number tells you who made the toy.
Is the ISI mark compulsory for toys in India?
For children’s toys covered by the toys Quality Control Order, yes. The order makes conformity with the seven Indian Standards and the ISI mark under a BIS licence mandatory, and it has been in force since 1 January 2021. Selling a toy that does not conform is not allowed.
Can a shop call itself BIS certified?
No. Certification sits with the manufacturer and the licence. A shop can tell you the box carries a mark and show you the label; it cannot be licensed on a toy’s behalf. Treat “we are BIS certified” as a sentence, not a fact.
What if a toy arrives without an ISI mark?
Return it and say why. Then report it: the BIS Care app has a complaints option for misuse of the ISI mark. If you bought it from us, send us the photograph of the label and we will look into it; our returns policy has the 7-day window.
If a listing photo is not enough, ask us for the back of the box before you order. The catalogue is on the products page; the educational and learning toys category is where most marked toys sit.
Related reading
Wooden toys for kids: what to look for, and what to skip — because the material does not change the label.
Educational toys for kids in India, by age — because the mark tells you a toy is legal, not that it suits your child.
Prices were checked on 2 November 2026.