BIS CRS series guidelines: how models are grouped, which model gets tested, and what changed in 2026

Under CRS you register models, not just a product type. Testing every model would be slow and costly, so MeitY lets manufacturers group similar models into a series. One model, the lead model, is tested in full. The others ride on that report.

BIS's grant guidelines say samples are chosen using the grouping guidelines for the product issued by the notifying authority, and that series models can be added by supplementary test reports that refer to an accepted original report^[9].

MeitY's first guidelines define a product family by its maximum configuration of components and how each model is built from it. Their core sampling rule is one test sample per ten models, and the sample must be the worst case from a safety-design view^[2].

Two words you will see everywhere:

• Lead model: the worst-case model that is actually tested.
• Series model: a model covered by the lead model's report because it meets the series criteria.

The series criteria are strict. They are about safety-relevant design: power supply layout, battery, enclosure, transformer, class of construction. Different colours or a new model name are usually fine. A different charger, PCB layout or battery capacity usually is not.

There is no single consolidated document. BIS's page of MeitY product guidelines lists five documents, and it was last updated on 10 June 2025^[1]. Which one applies depends on the CRO phase your product was added in.

BIS publishes a master list of product categories with a "total models in one series" column. In the March 2022 revision, the number is 10 for most electronics categories such as mobile phones, power banks, smart watches and laptops, 20 for lithium cells and batteries and several LED lighting categories, and "NA" for solar PV and low-voltage switchgear, where series guidelines were still "under preparation"^[3].

The phase documents say the same thing in their own words. Phase III allows up to 20 models for LED luminaire items 32 to 37 and one test per ten models otherwise^[4]. Phase IV caps keyboards, induction stoves, ATMs, external drives, wireless earphones, musical systems, SMPS, televisions and rice cookers at 10, and LED modules and rope lights at 20^[10].

One trap for battery makers: all lithium-system cells sit under one licence, but each application or inclusion may carry reports for only one chemistry, for example Li-ion or Li-phosphate. Other chemistries go in later inclusions^[12].

Find your product below; the cap is the maximum number of models one lead-model report can cover. The criteria column tells you where the grouping rules are, and each product page explains the rest of its approvals.

A phone brand wants to register 14 models from one factory. They use two battery sizes, so under MeitY's criteria they form at least two series^[5]. With a 10-model cap^[3], one battery group of 8 models and another of 6 fit in two series, needing two test reports.

Under the 2026 fee schedule, that application costs Rs 1,000 application, Rs 25,000 processing for the year, Rs 20,000 for the second report and Rs 1,000 licence fee: Rs 47,000 before GST in year one^[13]. If the same 14 models were each tested separately, the year-one BIS fees alone would be Rs 2,87,000: the base Rs 27,000 plus 13 extra reports at Rs 20,000. The yearly Rs 26,000 for processing and licence fee is the same either way; the extra reports are where series planning saves. Lab charges follow the same pattern, since each extra report is a separate test; IS 13252 labs declared a median of about Rs 63,750 on LIMS^[14].

The saving is real only if the grouping survives scrutiny. If BIS finds the series does not follow the guidelines, the report itself is the problem^[15]. Run your own numbers in the CRS fee calculator and see the fees page for each line.

Each product has its own list. These are the criteria for products importers ask about most. They are summaries; check the full text before you group models.

A few rules of thumb follow from the text of the guidelines:

• Batteries are the usual breaker. Mobile phones need the same battery capacity and charging current to share a series^[5]. A 4,000 mAh and a 5,000 mAh variant of the same phone are two series.
• Registered components are part of the criteria. Smart watch and earphone series assume a BIS-registered adapter, battery or power bank^[10]. If a component is not registered yet, look at parallel testing.
• SIM-enabled watches move category. A smart watch with a SIM is treated as a mobile phone unless it has no text input^[4].
• Cosmetic changes are usually fine. Most criteria say "same enclosure except for differences of decoration parts". Moving buttons on earphones is accepted only if the lab confirms safety is not affected^[10].
• Pick the true worst case. The tested model must be the worst case for safety^[2]. That is usually the highest power or largest battery, not the best-selling model.

The series logic runs through the test request, the lab report and the application.

• The test request fields (category, product name, models, brands) cannot be edited at application stage; cancel and redo the request before testing if they are wrong, and check the marking labels of lead and series models before they go to the lab^[16].
• BIS's January 2025 advisory asks applicants to make sure test reports follow MeitY's series guidelines^[15].
• Test reports must be no more than 90 days old when BIS receives the application^[9].
• Each test report beyond the first costs Rs 20,000 in BIS fees^[13]; adding models to an existing licence by inclusion costs Rs 30,000 including one report^[13].

Fee details are on BIS CRS fees.

If the new model fits an existing series, you do not need a full retest. A lab issues a supplementary test report that refers to the original report BIS already accepted. That supplementary report is dated from its own issue date and must reach BIS within 90 days^[6]. You then add it to your licence by inclusion^[17].

If the new model breaks a series criterion, for example a bigger battery, it is a new series and needs a full test of its own lead model.

If a lead model fails and the licence is cancelled, BIS may accept older reports for the other models in a fresh application filed within three months, but the failed model and its series need fresh testing^[6].

Yes, if the product and the factory are the same. Each brand is registered separately, but the registrations can rest on a common test report; samples of every brand are not needed, though every brand and model must be listed and each brand's label placed in the report^[18].

To add a brand later, a lab can issue a supplementary report referring to the accepted original. Like a series supplementary, it is dated from its own issue date and must be submitted within 90 days^[6]. A separate application is still needed for each brand with a different owner^[9], so the report saves testing, not filing. The documents guide covers brand authorisations, and the labelling guide explains why each brand's label must appear in the report.

A clear series plan, so the lab tests the right model and documents the rest. BIS checks that the report follows MeitY's series guidelines and contains the marking labels of every applied model^[15].

• The model list and grouping. Which model is the lead and why it is the worst case for safety^[2].
• Bill of materials differences. Battery, PCB, enclosure and adaptor for each model, since those are the usual grouping criteria^[5].
• Label artwork for every model and brand^[18].
• Component certificates. R-numbers for cells and adaptors, or CB, UL or VDE certificates where BIS accepts them^[6].
• Exactly the right test request. Models and brands cannot be changed at application stage^[16].

Shortlist labs recognised for your standard on the BIS-recognised labs pages, read about sample logistics in importing samples for BIS testing, and check the finished report with our guide to reading a BIS test report.

Two 2026 changes force lead models to be tested again.

IS/IEC 62368-1:2023 migration. BIS's 9 March 2026 guidelines require existing licensees in 38 CRS categories (laptops, mobile phones, power banks, smart watches, wireless earphones, TVs, Bluetooth speakers and more) to submit complete IS/IEC 62368-1:2023 reports for every lead model, identified using MeitY's revised series guidelines, plus an undertaking for the series models, by 1 November 2028. After that date IS 13252 (Part 1) and IS 616 are withdrawn for those categories^[7]. BIS's FAQ adds that one representative sample per licence is not enough, that an end-of-life lead model can be withdrawn and replaced by the next lead model in the series, that migration through the Standard Revision module has no fee, and that each factory needs its own reports^[19].

MeitY's new series guidelines for 62368 are reported to have been issued on 20 May 2026, allowing one lead model plus up to nine series models, with the lead model being the highest power rating or worst case and the highest-TDP processor where processors differ^[11]. We could not open the MeitY document itself, so treat these details as reported.

Lithium cell and battery rated capacity. From BIS guidelines of 10 February 2026, lithium cells and batteries under IS 16046 (Part 2) must also have rated capacity verified under IS 16047 (Part 3). Existing licensees must submit reports for all lead models and an undertaking for the rest by 30 April 2027, or by their licence validity date if later; no new licence is granted without this test after 30 April 2027^[8].

Track other standard changes on new rules 2026.

For categories added since 2025, check with the lab before you assume a 10-model series: the Annexure-2 caps we have seen date from March 2022^[3]. Extended reality products (AR, VR and MR) joined the CRO under IS/IEC 62368-1:2023^[20], smartphone screen protectors under IS 19348:2025 apply from 1 April 2027^[21], and standalone hard disk drives were deferred to 1 May 2027^[22].

Wearables need extra care. BIS's August 2026 guidance puts audio glasses under wireless earphones and headphones, camera glasses under digital or video cameras and AR or MR glasses under extended reality products, with a separate licence for each product name^[23]. Models from different categories can never share a series. Upcoming start dates are on the QCO tracker and the electronics CRS order page.

The failure can pull the whole licence down. If a licence is cancelled because one model failed, a fresh application filed within three months may reuse the older accepted reports for the other models^[6], but the failed model and its series need new tests. BIS can also direct a licence holder to stop supply and recall non-conforming marked goods^[24].

That is why the lead model has to be the true worst case: a market sample of a series model that fails tells BIS the grouping was wrong. How BIS samples products after grant is covered in CRS surveillance, and how renewals interact with the 62368 migration is on the renewal page. For a second opinion on a series plan, a BIS consultant or our free compliance check can review it before you book the lab.

More fixes for common queries are on BIS CRS rejections.