On April 20, 2024, the mandatory toy standard ASTM F963-23 in the United States came into effect!

On January 18, 2024, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in the United States approved ASTM F963-23 as a mandatory toy standard under the 16 CFR 1250 Toy Safety Regulations, effective April 20, 2024.
The main updates of ASTM F963-23 are as follows:
1. Heavy metals in the substrate
1) Provide a separate description of the exemption situation to make it clearer;
2) Add accessible judgment rules to clarify that paint, coating, or electroplating are not considered inaccessible barriers. In addition, if any size of a toy or component covered with fabric is less than 5 centimeters, or if the fabric material cannot be properly used and abused to prevent internal components from being accessible, then the fabric covering is also not considered inaccessible barriers.
2. Phthalate esters
Revise the requirements for phthalates, requiring toys to have no more than 0.1% (1000 ppm) of the following 8 phthalates that can reach plastic materials: di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP); Dibutyl phthalate (DBP); Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP); Diisononyl phthalate (DINP); Diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP); Dipentyl phthalate (DPENP); Dihexyl phthalate (DHEXP); Dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP), consistent with federal regulation 16 CFR 1307.
3. Sound
1) Revised the definition of vocal push-pull toys to provide a clearer distinction between push-pull toys and tabletop, floor, or crib toys;
2) For toys aged 8 and above that require additional abuse testing, it is clear that toys intended for use by children under 14 years old must meet the sound requirements before and after use and abuse testing. For toys used by children aged 8 to 14 years old, the use and abuse testing requirements for children aged 36 to 96 months old are applicable.
4. Battery
Higher requirements have been placed on the accessibility of batteries:
1) Toys over 8 years old also need to undergo abuse testing;
2) The screws on the battery cover must not come off after abuse testing;
3) The accompanying special tool for opening the battery compartment should be explained in the instruction manual: reminding consumers to keep this tool for future use, indicating that it should be stored out of reach of children, and indicating that it is not a toy.
5. Expansion materials
1) Revised the scope of application and added expanded materials with a receiving status of non small components;
2) Corrected the error in the size tolerance of the test gauge.
6. Ejection toys
1) Removed the previous version's requirements for the storage environment of temporary catapult toys;
2) Adjusted the order of the terms to make them more logical.
7. Identification
Added requirements for traceability labels, requiring toy products and their packaging to be labeled with traceability labels containing certain basic information, including:
1) Manufacturer or proprietary brand name;
2) The production location and date of the product;
3) Detailed information about the manufacturing process, such as batch or run numbers, or other identification features;
4) Any other information that helps determine the specific source of the product.