🧸 Testing of mechanical and physical properties of toys (PN-EN 71-1)

Materials and polymers PN-EN 71-1

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS — ACCORDING TO THE CATALOGUE CARD. The scope quoted from the PKN card (reading of 22.09.2026): "W niniejszym dokumencie określono wymagania i metody badań właściwości mechanicznych i fizycznych zabawek. Niniejszy dokument dotyczy zabawek dla dzieci, produktów bądź materiałów zaprojektowanych jako zabawki lub przeznaczonych do zabawy, wyłącznie lub nie tylko, dla dzieci w wieku poniżej 14 lat. Odnosi się do nowych zabawek z uwzględnieniem przewidzianego czasu normalnego użytkowania zakładając, że zabawki są użytkowane zgodnie z przeznaczeniem lub w sposób przewidywalny biorąc pod uwagę zachowanie dzieci. Zawiera szczegółowe wymagania dla zabawek przeznaczonych dla dzieci w wieku poniżej 36 miesięcy, dla dzieci w wieku poniżej 18 miesięcy oraz dla dzieci zbyt małych, by mogły siedzieć bez pomocy. […] W niniejszym dokumencie określono również wymagania dotyczące pakowania, oznakowania i etykietowania." [This document specifies requirements and test methods for the mechanical and physical properties of toys. This document applies to toys for children, products or materials designed or intended for use in play by children, whether or not exclusively, under 14 years of age. It refers to new toys, taking into account the foreseeable and normal period of use, and assuming that the toys are used in the intended manner or in a foreseeable way, bearing in mind the behaviour of children. It contains specific requirements for toys intended for children under 36 months, for children under 18 months and for children who are too young to sit up unaided. […] This document also specifies requirements for packaging, marking and labelling.]

THE STANDARD CHANGED THREE MONTHS AGO. PN-EN 71-1:2026-06 was published on 23-06-2026 (223 pages). On the same day PN-EN 71-1+A1:2018-08 was WITHDRAWN, as confirmed by both cards: the new one gives "Zastępuje PN-EN 71-1+A1:2018-08" [Replaces], the old one has the header "Wycofana i zastąpiona przez PN-EN 71-1:2026-06" [Withdrawn and replaced by] and the row "Data wycofania: 23-06-2026" [withdrawal date]. MEASUREMENT (22-09-2026): IN THE DATABASE OF ACCREDITATION SCOPES THE 2026 EDITION DOES NOT APPEAR EVEN ONCE. All 76 entries concerning part 1 cite earlier editions — 66 entries the +A1:2018-08 edition (withdrawn three months ago), 17 entries the 2015-01 edition (withdrawn 31-08-2018, also confirmed by the card). THIS IS NOT A REPROACH TO THE LABORATORIES: an accreditation scope describes the state on the date of its issue, and a change of scope is a separate procedure. It is, however, a number that will change without our involvement — and at the next reading of this entry it may already be different.

THE TRAP OF THE "LABORATORIES" TAB FOR THIS ENTRY — WE MENTION IT DIRECTLY BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT REMOVED IT. The tab searches for laboratories with the PREFIX "PN-EN 71-1" and will show 87 entries, whereas 76 concern part 1. The difference is made by SEPARATE PARTS OF THE SERIES whose number begins with the same characters: PN-EN 71-10 "Organiczne związki chemiczne — Przygotowanie próbki i ekstrakcja" [Organic chemical compounds — Sample preparation and extraction] (9 entries) and PN-EN 71-11 "Organiczne związki chemiczne — Metody analizy" [Organic chemical compounds — Methods of analysis] (8 entries). These are CHEMICAL tests, not mechanical ones — a different field, different equipment, different laboratories. A reader who sees them on the list has the right to know how they got there.

CITATION OF THE EUROPEAN STANDARD INSTEAD OF ITS POLISH IMPLEMENTATION. Sixteen entries (one laboratory) give the document as "EN 71-1:2014+A1:2018" — without the PN prefix. The card of PN-EN 71-1+A1:2018-08 gives in the "Wprowadza" [Implements] row exactly "EN 71-1:2014+A1:2018 [IDT]", that is, identical. IT IS THE SAME DOCUMENT WRITTEN IN TWO WAYS, but a search for "PN-EN 71-1" WILL NOT FIND these sixteen entries. With this standard, the form of notation therefore decides not only convenience but whether the laboratory appears on the list at all.

WHY ALMOST EVERY ENTRY GIVES A CLAUSE NUMBER. The standard has 223 pages (card), and in the accreditation scopes there are 65 different test names with it (76 entries at 5 laboratories; measurement of 23.09.2026 on the copy of the scope database of 11.09.2026, test name without distinguishing upper and lower case). This is directly visible: alongside citations of the whole standard there are entries "PN-EN 71-1+A1:2018-08 punkt 8.14", "punkt 8.4.2.4.2", "punkt 4.17.3.5" [punkt = clause] — each concerns one test. This is the same situation as with PN-88/B-04481 (testing of soil samples): with a collective standard, A CITATION WITHOUT A CLAUSE NUMBER DOES NOT SAY WHICH TEST WAS PERFORMED.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We did not have the text of the standard (223 pages, English-language version, catalogue price PLN 455.60). WE DO NOT GIVE: any numerical requirement, the dimensions of templates and test fixtures, the forces, heights and numbers of cycles in the strength tests, the assessment criteria or the content of the requirements concerning marking. Nor have we established whether and since when the 2026 edition has been published as a harmonised standard under the Toy Safety Directive — the check covered the catalogue cards and the scope database, not the Official Journal of the EU. For a manufacturer invoking the presumption of conformity, this is a separate question and more important than the publication date.

Method principle

According to the card: the standard specifies requirements and test methods for the mechanical and physical properties of toys for children under 14 years, when used in the intended manner or in a foreseeable way bearing in mind the behaviour of children, with separate requirements for children under 36 and 18 months and for those too young to sit up unaided. In accreditation scopes with this standard there are, among others, sharpness of edges and points, small parts, drop, tension, torque and compression tests, impact resistance and leakage of liquid-filled toys. WE DO NOT GIVE the course of the tests, numerical requirements or conditions — we did not have the text of the standard.

Applications

• Testing a toy before placing it on the market in the European Union
• Assessment of toys intended for children under 36 months, for which the standard has separate requirements
• Reading an accreditation scope in which each entry indicates a different clause of the same standard
• Checking whether a report cites the edition current on the date of the test

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-EN 71-1:2026-06 (wersja angielska; wprowadza EN 71-1:2026 [IDT])

Title (PL)

Bezpieczeństwo zabawek — Część 1: Właściwości mechaniczne i fizyczne

Title (EN)

Safety of toys — Part 1: Mechanical and physical properties

Step-by-step procedure

1. Establishing for what age the toy is intended

   This determines which set of requirements applies: the standard has separate requirements for children under 36 months, under 18 months and too young to sit up unaided. Age classification is part of the test, not of the client's data.

2. Checking which edition of the standard applies

   Since 23-06-2026, PN-EN 71-1:2026-06 has been in force. A report and an accreditation scope citing the +A1:2018-08 edition describe the state before this date — correct in its time. For a test performed today, it must be established which edition is the basis of the order.

3. Choice of tests and indication of the clauses of the standard

   In the accreditation scopes with this standard there are 65 different test names (76 entries at 5 laboratories; measurement of 23.09.2026, copy of the database of 11.09.2026). The order and the report should indicate the clauses — as the accreditation scopes do ("punkt 8.14", "punkt 4.17.3.5" [punkt = clause]).

4. Performing the tests according to the indicated clauses

   Conditions, forces, heights, numbers of cycles, assessment criteria and the order of the tests are the content of the standard — WE DO NOT GIVE them, because we did not have the text.

5. Recording the result with the edition and the clause stated

   In the report, give the edition of the standard (year) and the clauses according to which the testing was done. Without this, the recipient will not distinguish a test according to the 2026 edition from a test according to the edition withdrawn in June of the same year.

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• Strength tests lead to tearing and fragmentation of the sample — station guards and eye protection
• Plastic fragments produced in strength tests can be sharp

Frequently asked questions