Colombia has published a completely new piece of legislation for toy testing and certification. The new law will become effective on March 5, 2019.

SAFEGUARDS | Consumer Products NO. 071/18

On March 5, 2018, the Colombian Ministry of Health and Social Protection published Resolution 686 of 2018 [1] to establish new specifications for toys and their accessories that are intended for children under 14 years of age.

This new piece of legislation has repealed Resolution 3388 of 2008 [2] on sanitary requirements for toys, their components and accessories and its amended conformity assessment requirements under Resolution 3117 of 2015 [3].

The new law contains, inter alia, the following elements:

  • The provisions apply to toys and accessories falling under Harmonized Tariff Schedule Codes 9503.00.10.00, 9503.00.22.00, 9503.00.28.00, 9503.00.29.00, 9503.00.30.00, 9503.00.40.00, 9503.00.91.00, 9503.00.92.00, 9503.00.93.00, 9503.00.94.00, 9503.00.95.00, 9503.00.96.00, 9503.00.99.10, 9503.00.99.90 and 9505.90.00.00
  • The aforementioned codes are not exclusive as product characteristics will also be considered
  • The use of Norma Técnica Colombiana (NTC) standards or their (acceptable) equivalents for mechanical and physical properties, flammability and migration of certain elements. It is interesting to note that the restriction requirements for 19 soluble elements are essentially identical to those under Directive 2009/48/EC [4], as amended by Regulation (EU) 681/2013 [5] (barium) and Directive 2012/7/EU [6] (cadmium)
  • Restriction of six phthalates (BBP, DBP, DOP or DEHP, DNOP, DINP and DIDP) in toys for children under three years of age
  • Product certification using Schemes 1b, 4 or 5, and in accordance with NTC-ISO/IEC 17067

Resolution 686 of 2018 will become effective on March 5, 2019. Prior to this date, toys are obliged to meet the specifications and conformity assessment requirements under Resolutions 3388 of 2008 and 3117 of 2015.

Highlights of acceptable standards for mechanical and physical properties, flammability and migration of (19) elements are summarized in Table 1.

Resolution Number 686 of 2018 dated March 5, 2018
Toys and Their accessories
Item Toy Property Standard Acceptable Equivalent Standard
1 Mechanical and Physical NTC-EN 71-1
  • EN 71-1
  • ASTM F963
  • ISO 8124.1
2 Flammability NTC-EN 71-2
  • EN 71-2
  • ASTM F963
  • ISO 8124.2
3 Migration of Certain Elements
(19 soluble elements) 		NTC-EN 71-3

Table 1

Stakeholders are advised to comply with the latest requirements with toys for the Colombian market.

SGS is committed to providing information about development in regulations for consumer products as complimentary services. Through a global network of laboratories, SGS provides a wide range of services including physical/mechanical testing, analytical testing and consultancy work for technical and non-technical parameters applicable to a comprehensive range of consumer products. Please do not hesitate to contact us for further information.

For enquiries, please contact:

Hingwo Tsang
 Global Information and Innovation Manager
t: +852 2774 7420

Camilo E. Ramírez R
 Certification Director - SGS COLOMBIA S.A.S
t: +57 1 606 92 92 Ext. 1419

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SGS SA published this content on 24 May 2018 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 24 May 2018 06:22:06 UTC