Your product needs BIS certification only if the Central Government has made the relevant Indian Standard compulsory for it, usually through a Quality Control Order (QCO) or a registration order. To check, match your product to the BIS lists of products under compulsory certification, read the actual order and standard scope, and look ahead at orders that are notified but not yet in force. The method below takes most businesses less than an hour.
Start with the basics: voluntary vs compulsory
BIS certification is voluntary in principle. The BIS compulsory certification page explains that the government makes compliance compulsory on grounds such as public interest, health, safety, environmental protection, prevention of unfair trade practices and national security. When it does, the product must carry the Standard Mark under a BIS licence or certificate of conformity.
Which certification you need depends on the scheme the order specifies:
| Scheme | What it is | Typical products | Where to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scheme-I | ISI mark licence after factory assessment and testing | Cables, appliances, steel, cement, toys, many industrial goods | Scheme-I list |
| Scheme-II (CRS) | Registration on self-declaration backed by a BIS-recognised lab report | Electronics and IT goods, solar PV products | Scheme-II list |
| Scheme-IV | Certificate of Conformity | Specific notified products | Scheme-IV list |
| Scheme-X | Licence or certificate route used for certain electrical equipment | Low-voltage switchgear and controlgear | Scheme-X list |
A five-step check
1. Describe the product precisely
Write down what it is, what it does, its rated voltage or capacity, where it will be used (household, commercial, industrial) and its customs tariff (HS) code. Coverage often turns on details such as voltage range, end use or whether the item is sold separately.
2. Search the BIS lists
Search each scheme list for your product name and likely Indian Standard. Do not rely on product names alone: the lists are organised by Indian Standard and order, so the same product may appear under a technical description rather than a trade name.
3. Read the order itself
The lists link to the Gazette notification for each order. Read:
- the schedule of products and standards,
- the date of commencement,
- exemptions, for example goods for export, R&D samples or small enterprises where provided, and
- the conformity assessment scheme specified.
BIS’s guidance on QCOs notes that exemptions apply only where the order itself says so.
4. Check the scope of the standard
The Indian Standard’s scope clause decides whether your variant is covered. BIS offers free downloads of many Indian Standards through its standards portal, and you can check available test labs by IS number on BIS LIMS.
5. Look ahead
Check the BIS page of upcoming QCOs notified and due for implementation. At the time of writing, it lists items such as household and similar electrical appliances under IS 302 (Part 1):2024 (from 1 October 2026), aluminium conductors and products for electrical purposes (from 1 December 2026) and glass screen protectors under MeitY’s registration order (from 1 April 2027). BIS describes this list as advance information, so confirm dates against the Gazette.
CRS: electronics and IT goods
If your product is electronic, check the Electronics and Information Technology Goods (Requirement of Compulsory Registration) Order, 2021 and its amendments on the Scheme-II page. The page lists 66 MeitY entries at the time of writing, including recent additions such as standalone hard disk drives and screen protectors. Items like adaptors, power banks, LED products, IT equipment, audio-video products and certain batteries are typical examples.
Two points catch people out:
- Components and built-in parts. Some items, such as certain cells and batteries, need registration even when supplied for integration into a host product. BIS publishes product-specific guidance and FAQs on crsbis.in.
- Standard migrations. BIS has been migrating IT and AV equipment to IS/IEC 62368-1:2023, which affects new and existing registrations.
Scheme-X: low-voltage switchgear
Scheme-X currently lists low-voltage switchgear and controlgear notified by the Ministry of Heavy Industries under the Electrical Equipment (Quality Control) Order, 2020, covering products such as circuit breakers, switches and disconnectors, contactors and motor starters, and control circuit devices under the IS/IEC 60947 series. The BIS page cites a notification of 6 November 2025 (S.O. 5038(E)) deferring an upcoming phase, so check the current implementation date for your specific item.
Note: The Ministry of Heavy Industries had issued a broader Machinery and Electrical Equipment Safety (Omnibus Technical Regulation) Order, 2024, which was to be certified under Scheme-X. The ministry’s OTR page now lists a notification dated 16 January 2026 titled “Withdrawal of the Machinery and Electrical Equipment Safety (Omnibus Technical Regulation) Order, 2024”. If you were preparing for the OTR, read that notification and check for any replacement order before investing further.
Worked example: a wireless speaker with a power adaptor
Consider an importer planning to sell a Bluetooth speaker supplied with a plug-in adaptor and a rechargeable lithium battery inside:
- The speaker. Bluetooth speakers appear on the MeitY list under the Scheme-II page, so the speaker needs CRS registration by its manufacturer.
- The adaptor. Power adaptors for IT equipment are a separate entry on the same list, so the adaptor’s manufacturer must also hold a registration if the adaptor falls within that entry.
- The battery. Sealed secondary cells and batteries for portable use are listed under IS 16046. Whether the built-in battery needs its own registration depends on BIS’s guidance for cells used in host products, which should be checked on crsbis.in.
- Beyond BIS. The Bluetooth radio points to WPC equipment type approval, and the importer should check whether the product falls within Schedule I of the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022, which would trigger EPR registration.
The same method, applied product by product and component by component, avoids the most expensive surprise: finding out at customs that one part of the shipment is not certified.
Grey areas and how to resolve them
- Multi-function products. A product may fall under two standards (for example, a safety standard and an energy-efficiency requirement) or two schemes. Each obligation applies independently.
- Spare parts. Spares sold separately can be covered even if the original equipment was not.
- Industrial vs household use. Several appliance standards apply by rated voltage and use; marketing a product as “industrial” does not by itself take it out of scope.
- Other regimes. BIS is not the only requirement. Appliances may need a BEE star label, wireless products may need WPC equipment type approval, and electrical and electronic equipment may trigger EPR registration under the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022.
If you are still unsure, BIS’s QCO guidance says to approach the line ministry that issued the order on applicability, exemptions and stock-in-hand, and to approach BIS on whether a product falls within the Indian Standard.
How Aaditech can help
Aaditech regularly carries out product applicability reviews for manufacturers and importers, mapping each product to the relevant order, standard and scheme before any testing money is spent. Our team includes former BIS Directors, so the review reflects how BIS and the ministries actually read coverage questions. If your product is under CRS, our BIS CRS registration service can take it from applicability check to registration.