Amazon Toy Safety and Direct Validation

Amazon no longer lets sellers upload their own safety documents for children's toys. Since September 2025, an Amazon-approved testing lab must send them for you, under the Amazon Direct Validation Program. Bureau Veritas, the lab we work with, is one of these labs. Approval takes 6 to 9 business days, and the validation fee is USD 150. This guide explains which games need it and how it works, step by step.

Which Games Need It

Amazon treats a product as a children's toy if it is made for children aged 12 or younger. It may also treat a product as a toy if it looks like it is meant for children. In practice, any board game listed for an age under 12 or 14 must show a safety certificate. Amazon's own rules come on top of each market's toy rules: your game still needs the right test for every market, such as the CPSC certificate for the US.

Why Amazon Changed the Rules

Amazon changed the rules to stop fake certificates. Before, sellers uploaded their own reports, and some were forged. Now only a few approved labs can upload safety documents, so Amazon compliance documents for toys come straight from the lab, and every report is sent by the lab that issued it. This makes the lab accountable for what it sends.

How the Amazon Direct Validation Program Works

1. Get your game tested. An approved lab tests your game, or checks a test report you already have.
2. Fill in the test request form. The Amazon Direct Validation Program test request form asks for your company and product details.
3. Ask the lab for verification. Send the lab your test report form ID (TRF ID) and the link to your Amazon listing.
4. The lab submits to Amazon. The lab uploads your safety documents directly to Amazon.
5. Amazon approves your listing. Approval takes 6 to 9 business days from submission.

Have these ready before you start: the test request form, your packaging artwork, the safety test report number, your Amazon listing link, your company registration document and the TRF ID number.

Cost and Timing

The validation fee is USD 150, and you can pay it to us together with the safety testing fee. Approval takes 6 to 9 business days after the lab submits. Amazon only accepts safety test reports issued within the last year, so an older report needs a new test. Plan for the test itself too: about 9 working days. Our guide to how board game safety testing works explains the test and its price.

Common Problems

• The age on the listing does not match the box. Use the same age everywhere.
• The labels are wrong. A missing warning or address can fail the test. Our guide to board game box labels and warning signs lists every line.
• The report is too old. Reports older than one year are refused.
• The names do not match. The company on the report, the box and the Amazon account should be the same.

Amazon toy safety rules change from time to time, so check your Seller Central compliance page for the latest. If you are unsure, contact us and we will help you through it.