United States: CPC built on real tests
For the US market, a Children's Product Certificate (CPC) must cite passing test results from a CPSC-accepted lab against the applicable rules — for electronic toys that typically includes ASTM F963 (toy safety), plus FCC Part 15 for the radio/noise side and CPSIA lead/phthalates limits. Demand the actual lab reports, with your product's photos in them, before mass production ships.
European Union: CE is self-declared — but only with a file
CE marking is not a certificate a factory can hand you; it is a declaration the importer is legally responsible for, backed by a technical file. For kids' electronics the core standards are EN71 parts 1–3 (mechanical, flammability, chemical migration) plus RoHS for the electronics and the EMC/Radio Equipment Directives where radios are inside. Ask for the DoC (Declaration of Conformity) and the test reports behind it.
Labels and paperwork that travel with the product
US retail programs require CPSIA tracking labels (batch identifiers on the product and carton). The EU requires the CE mark, the importer's name and address on the product or packaging, and warnings in the destination languages. None of this is optional, and all of it is cheaper to design in before tooling than to retrofit after.
Three red flags in supplier quotes
First, "we have CE" with no standard version or lab named — push for the report. Second, test reports bearing a different product's photos — that is someone else's certificate, not yours. Third, a quote with zero compliance line items — the testing has not been scoped, and it will surface later as a delay. A serious factory quotes the compliance pack as its own line.
Build compliance into the schedule, not around it
Ask for the testing plan at quotation: which lab, which standards, at which production stage (pre-production samples are standard). This keeps certification off your critical path — and if a factory cannot produce this plan in writing, that is your answer about the factory.