BIS CRS documents: every form, affidavit and report the application needs

A CRS application is mostly paperwork around one core document: a test report from a BIS-recognised lab. The manufacturer files everything online on crsbis.in^[1], and the original notarised affidavit also has to be sent to BIS on paper^[3].

The documents fall into four groups:

1. To open the portal account: the factory's business licence^[1].
2. To prove the product conforms: the verified test report and Form II, the undertaking for the test report^[3].
3. To apply: Form I and the affidavit (Form III)^[8].
4. For foreign factories only: Form IV nominating the Authorised Indian Representative (AIR)^[2] and the AIR's own undertaking^[5].

Each document is described below in the order you will need it. A tick-list is at the end.

The core file is the same for everyone: business licence, test report, Forms I to III. What changes is who the manufacturer is and who owns the brand, because BIS licenses the factory^[9] and checks that the brand on the label belongs to someone who has authorised its use^[10].

Find your row, then read the sections below for each document. If you are not sure the product needs CRS at all, check it first with the approval checker and the main BIS CRS guide.

BIS numbers the CRS forms. You will use Forms I to III for a first application, plus Form IV for a foreign factory, and the others later in the life of the licence^[8].

Before anything else the manufacturer needs login credentials for crsbis.in. To get them, it uploads a business licence that^[1]:

• is in English, or comes with a certified English translation if it is in another language;
• establishes the factory's name and address; and
• shows manufacturing activity in its scope.

Trading companies should check this first. The licence is granted to the manufacturer, per manufacturing unit, not to an importer or trader^[9]. A business licence that shows only trading, or an office address instead of the factory, does not establish what BIS needs. Ask your supplier for the factory's own licence, not the export company's.

If the same product is made in two factories, each factory registers and holds its own licence^[9].

The test report is the heart of a CRS application. It must meet four conditions:

1. From an accepted lab. BIS accepts reports from labs it has set up, maintains or recognises for that product (including Group-2 labs under its Lab Recognition Scheme), government labs it has empanelled, and other labs approved by its Executive Committee^[2]. The current list is on the CRS portal.
2. Requested through the portal. You generate a test request on crsbis.in and send the sample with the request to the lab within 60 days, with the portal QR code stuck on the sample or packet^[1].
3. Verified. When the lab issues the report, you verify it on the portal before applying^[1].
4. Fresh. BIS must receive your online application within 90 days of the report's issue date^[2].

Which models to test. Sample selection follows MeitY's grouping and series guidelines for each phase of products. Series models can be added later with a supplementary report that refers to an accepted original report^[2]. Supplementary reports, for adding a brand or a series model, also have to be submitted within 90 days of their own issue^[2].

Samples must be unmarked. Do not put the Standard Mark on samples sent for testing; they are outside the scope of any licence^[13].

The report must match the portal exactly: model numbers as in the test request, product category and name as on the portal, and the marking labels of every applied model^[11]. BIS's January 2025 advisory lists the checks.

• Model numbers in the report match the test request^[11]. Product category, product name, models and brands in the test request cannot be changed at the application stage; if one is wrong, cancel the request before testing starts and generate a fresh one^[14].
• Marking labels of all applied models appear in the report, and the ratings on them match the product description^[11].
• No Standard Mark on samples. The samples photographed in the report must not carry the BIS mark^[13].
• Series rules followed. The models in the report must be grouped as MeitY's series guidelines allow^[11]; see our series guidelines page.
• No casual amendments. BIS has complained about applicants routinely submitting amended reports without justification, and asks you to check the uploaded report for labels, completeness and conformity before applying, as you undertake in Form II^[15].

Our guide on how to read a BIS test report walks through a report page by page, and the labelling guide shows what the marking label must carry.

Yes, where the Indian Standard requires critical components to conform. BIS accepts, in order of preference, the component's own BIS Standard Mark if it is under a QCO or CRO; a report from a BIS-accepted lab; an IECEE CB, UL or VDE certificate or the maker's certificate where no Indian Standard or facility exists; and finally testing within the equipment^[16].

The practical consequence: a power bank or a laptop usually contains lithium cells, and cells are themselves a CRS product under IS 16046^[17]. The cell maker's R-number goes into your file. Ask your cell and adaptor suppliers for their registration details before you book the lab, and verify them on the BIS Care app^[18]. The same logic applies to the adaptor shipped with mobile phones and to the battery in lithium-ion battery packs.

Components and the finished product can be tested at the same time under BIS's voluntary parallel testing option, but BIS grants the licences in sequence and the manufacturer carries the risk if a component fails^[19].

The affidavit is the one document that has to be right on paper as well as online.

• Stamp paper: execute it on Rs 100 non-judicial stamp paper^[4].
• Notarised: it must be notarised^[4].
• Matching Form I: every detail must match Form I^[4]. Fill in Form I first, then copy its details across exactly.
• Upload, then courier: upload the duly filled, signed and notarised affidavit after payment^[3], then send the original to BIS by post or courier. If BIS does not receive it within 30 days of online submission, the application, or a licence already granted, is liable to be cancelled^[3].

Keep the courier receipt and tracking record with the application number. If the affidavit arrives late, it is the licence that is at risk, not just the application.

A foreign manufacturer must nominate an Authorised Indian Representative on Form IV, with additional requirements in Forms IIIA and IIIB^[2]. The nomination letter is uploaded with Form I after payment^[3].

Which supporting papers the AIR provides depends on who it is. Each route needs a notarised affidavit-cum-undertaking on Rs 100 non-judicial stamp paper (Format A or B) and ID proof of the person signing^[5].

Whichever route you choose, the AIR must be an Indian resident who agrees to be responsible for compliance with the BIS Act, Rules, Regulations and licence terms on the foreign manufacturer's behalf^[12]. An AIR may represent only one foreign manufacturer, except manufacturers in the same group of companies, or a related importer nominated as AIR^[12].

Being an AIR carries legal weight. When a company commits an offence under the BIS Act, its responsible officers and its authorised representative are also deemed guilty^[20]. An importer that agrees to act as AIR should read the undertaking it is signing.

Changing the AIR later costs Rs 5,000 plus GST^[21]. See our page for foreign manufacturers for the wider picture.

Yes, in most cases. BIS requires a separate application for each brand name unless the brand-name owner is the same^[2]. Plan the paperwork for each application separately.

If you add a brand to products already tested, a supplementary test report can be used, but it must be submitted within 90 days of its own issue^[2]. Where the AIR is a third-party Indian entity, the brand owner's declaration that it has no proprietor or registered user of the brand in India is part of the file^[5].

BIS wants the brand status and name in Form I to match the trade mark document you upload^[11]. A missing brand registration certificate, a brand on the certificate that differs from the label in the test report, and a missing authorisation from the brand owner are all on BIS's list of frequent deficiencies^[10].

Three practical rules follow:

1. Spell the brand once, then copy it. Use the exact spelling, spacing and capitalisation from the trade mark document in Form I, the test request and the product label.
2. Get the authorisation before testing. If the factory is not the brand owner, the authorisation letter should exist before the test request is raised, because brands entered in the request cannot be changed later^[14].
3. Choose the AIR route that matches the brand. Point 7(b) of Form I is for an AIR authorised by the brand owner; point 7(c) is for an unrelated Indian AIR and needs the brand owner's declaration^[11].

Brand problems are the most common reason we see files bounce; the rejections guide explains the pattern in more detail.

By hand, by the authorised person, with the company seal. Form I must be sealed and signed by the authorised people of both the manufacturer and the AIR^[11]. BIS's list of frequent deficiencies includes unsigned annexures, missing or unsigned AIR nominations and signature stamps used in place of real signatures^[10].

At the login stage BIS also sees business licences altered to change the name, address or scope, and missing or conflicting translations^[22]. Never edit a scanned licence; get a fresh certified translation instead. Keep the factory name and address identical across the business licence, the test report and every form^[10].

If you claim the MSME fee concession, upload the current year's MSME certificate^[11]; the fees page explains what the concession covers.

The paperwork does not stop at grant.

• Adding models: generate a test request, get the lab report and apply on Form VIII A referring to it^[7].
• Removing models: use Model Withdrawal online and pay the fee^[23].
• Changing licence details: Form VIII B covers changes to other details in the scope^[8]. Name, address, management, AIR, contact and email changes cost Rs 5,000 each^[21].
• Annual fee and production details: under the 2026 rules, the annual fee and production details are due every year; missing the due date can lead to suspension and cancellation^[24].
• Renewal: Form VI with a production report, preferably three months before the validity date^[6]. See CRS renewal.

Three changes mean extra test reports for existing licensees, with fixed deadlines.

• IS/IEC 62368-1 migration. MeitY replaced IS 13252 (Part 1) and IS 616 with IS/IEC 62368-1:2023 in the CRO schedule^[25]. Existing licensees in 38 categories must submit complete 62368 test reports for every lead model, plus an undertaking covering the series models, by 1 November 2028^[26]. Separate reports are needed for each manufacturing location^[27]. See the IS/IEC 62368-1 page.
• Rated capacity for lithium cells. Licensees under IS 16046 (Part 2) must submit rated-capacity reports for all lead models plus an undertaking by 30 April 2027, or their validity date if later; after that date no new licence is granted without it^[28].
• Annual fee and production details. Since the 2026 amendment, the annual fee and production details are due every year, and missing them triggers suspension and cancellation provisions^[24].
• One licence per product name for wearables. BIS's August 2026 guidance places audio glasses, camera glasses and AR glasses in different categories and needs a separate licence for each product name^[29].

We log each change with its date on new rules for 2026.

Customs checks the BIS registration in its system; marketplaces usually ask for the licence and a labelled product photo. A CBIC instruction of December 2023, as reported, directs officers to check BIS registration for every consignment under the electronics CRO and to sample some consignments at random^[30]. A DGFT notification, also as reported, makes BIS registration or a MeitY exemption letter a condition of import for these goods^[31].

Keep a shipment pack with the R-number, the licence copy with the model list, the product label photo and the invoice showing the same model numbers. The customs clearance documents checklist lists the rest of the import file, including the bill of entry. Buyers and platforms can check your registration on crsbis.in by R-number, model or brand^[32]; our guide to verifying a BIS licence shows how. BIS's post-grant market checks are covered in CRS surveillance.

A factory in China wants to register two power bank models for an Indian brand owner, who will act as AIR. The clocks that matter are 60, 90 and 30 days.

• Week 0. Factory uploads its business licence with a certified English translation and gets portal credentials^[1]. The brand owner signs the authorisation; the trade mark document is ready^[11].
• Day 1. Test request raised for both models, grouped as one series if they meet the power bank criteria^[33].
• By day 60. Samples, with the QR code and no BIS mark, reach the lab^[1][13].
• Report issued. Lab uploads the report within 7 days of finishing testing^[34]. The 90-day clock starts on the report's issue date^[2].
• Application day. Form II accepted, fees paid, Form I, Form IV and the notarised affidavit uploaded^[3]. Original affidavit couriered the same day.
• By day 30 after submission. Affidavit received by BIS^[3].
• Queries. Any deficiency notice gives at least 30 days to respond^[2].

For the product-specific rules, see our power banks import guide and the China import guide.

If BIS finds a deficiency, it sends a rejection notice giving at least 30 days to put it right^[2]. These are the document rules most easily missed.

Many manufacturers file themselves; the forms are standard and the portal is in English^[1]. A consultant earns their fee on the brand, AIR and test-report checks, where most queries arise^[10]. If you hire one, ask them to show you each document before upload, because the affidavit and Form I are your sworn statements, not theirs. Compare providers on our BIS consultants page, estimate the whole budget with the compliance cost estimator, or send us your file list for a free compliance check.

Tick these off before you press submit. The list follows the order of the official steps^[1].