Documents for an ISI mark licence: the domestic Form-V file and the FMCS file for foreign factories

You need Form-V with the documents it lists and a self-evaluation-cum-verification report, which BIS calls Annexure-I^[1]. On top of that BIS checks quality control staff, calibration certificates, raw-material test certificates, plant layout and location plan at the factory visit^[12]. Under option-2 you also submit a recent third-party test report.

The file is the same in substance for Indian and foreign factories. Foreign factories applying under the Foreign Manufacturers Certification Scheme add papers for the Authorised Indian Representative, the agreement, indemnity bond and a bank guarantee^[13].

Everything is filed online. BIS accepts Scheme-I applications and payments only through Manakonline^[2], and FMCS hard copies stopped on 31 May 2026^[9]. For the fees see ISI mark fees; for keeping the licence see ISI renewal.

Yes. You need a separate Scheme-I application for each product or Indian Standard and for each factory location^[2]. BIS grants one licence for one product and one standard, which can cover several varieties, grades or sizes listed in the licence scope^[14].

So a toy importer whose supplier makes both mechanical and electric toys needs two applications, one under IS 9873 (Part 1) and one for electric toys, and a cookware brand with two factories needs two. Plan the document set per application: some papers (company registration, AIR nomination) repeat; others (test reports, plant layout, machinery lists) are specific to that product and site.

FMCS works the same way: a separate application per product or Indian Standard^[15].

Yes. Under option-1 (normal procedure) BIS scrutinises the application, visits the factory and draws samples; under option-2 (simplified) you submit a test report with the application and BIS then verifies the factory^[16]. Option-2 is faster: BIS expects grant within 30 days, against 90 days for option-1^[6].

Option-2 needs a test report from a BIS, BIS-recognised or BIS-empanelled lab, and an undertaking that the licence will be suspended if the factory-visit sample fails^[17]. You first generate a test request and QR codes on Manakonline and choose a lab from its list^[18].

Option-2 is closed to two groups. Foreign manufacturers are always processed under option-1^[4]. And a factory whose previous licence for the product ended because samples failed may only use option-1^[19].

For an Indian manufacturer the file has three layers: the Form-V application, Annexure-I, and the records BIS checks at the factory. The checklist below combines the 2026 guidelines and BIS's application checklist.

Annexure-I asks for the plant layout, the raw materials used with each supplier and whether they carry BIS certification, packing and marking details with one set of labels, any previous BIS licence for the product and why it ended, quality control staff with qualifications and experience, and every brand name or trade mark you will use^[20].

The brand section is where importers' brands often go wrong. For each brand you state whether it is owned by you or someone else, whether it is registered and since when, and for another party's brand you attach the agreement authorising its use^[20]. BIS also makes you acknowledge that it does not approve brand names and the responsibility is yours.

If you are a brand owner having goods made by a contract factory, the factory is the applicant and your brand goes in its Annexure-I with your authorisation letter. Agree this before the factory files, because adding a brand later is a change BIS processes separately. Our private-label guide for D2C brands covers the commercial side.

Option-2 accepts test reports from BIS's own labs and BIS-recognised or empanelled labs^[2]. Product test reports must be no more than 90 days old from issue to receipt of the application; with several reports, the latest within 90 days and the oldest within 180^[3].

The report must be against the Indian Standard. For FMCS, BIS says it does not accept reports to IEC or other non-Indian standards^[11]. An IEC or EN report from your supplier's home lab is useful background but cannot replace the IS report.

Where a test takes 30 days or more, such as long-term ageing tests, you show evidence the test is under way and sign an undertaking that the licence will be processed for cancellation if the result fails or is not submitted within 30 days of the date the lab confirmed^[17]. Find recognised labs on the BIS labs pages and read our guide to BIS test reports.

Only where the product standard makes raw-material conformity mandatory. Where a standard mentions raw-material standards only for guidance, BIS should not insist on proof^[21].

Where it is mandatory, BIS accepts evidence in this order: ISI-marked raw material; a report from a BIS or recognised lab; the raw-material maker's test certificate or a NABL-accredited lab report; and, if none of those is possible, an in-house factory report. The reports go in with the application for both options^[21].

This bites for steel and aluminium cookware, where the input metal is itself under a QCO. Buying ISI-marked input is the simplest evidence, and the steel QCO page explains why unmarked imported input steel creates problems further down the chain.

BIS verifies the self-evaluation report and the supporting records on site: QC personnel, calibration certificates, raw-material test certificates, samples of product and components, hygiene reports where relevant, the plant layout and location plan, a declaration of sub-contracted tests, the quality assurance plan if it differs from BIS's Scheme of Inspection and Testing, and the undertakings^[12].

A visit normally lasts one day for Indian factories and two days for foreign ones^[6]. Inspection is charged at Rs 7,000 per man-day^[2], and foreign visits also carry travel and per-diem charges^[8].

Have originals ready, in the order of the list, with an English translation for anything in another language. Calibration certificates are a common snag: BIS checklists ask that they remain valid at least three months after the application is recorded^[5]. Renew any that expire within that window before you apply.

You no longer always need an in-house lab. A December 2025 BIS circular allows shared, cluster or sub-contracted testing for most products^[22], but you must show the agreement.

A foreign factory files the same technical documents plus papers on its Indian presence and representative. BIS's FMCS list asks for proof of the Indian branch, liaison office or agent with RBI permission where applicable, the AIR nomination, process flow chart, quality assurance system, other certifications, raw material and component details, machinery and test equipment lists with calibration, product drawings, appointment papers of permanent QC staff (not consultants), test reports, layout and location plans, the application fee and past licence history^[23].

The application must be signed by the CEO or a representative he authorises, sealed and countersigned by the AIR, with certified English or Hindi translations of other-language documents^[15]. The applicant must be the foreign manufacturer itself; an importer cannot apply on its behalf^[11].

BIS's 2025 FMCS checklist adds undertakings: to bear inspection travel and stay costs, to arrange a translator during the visit, and to sign BIS's agreement, an indemnity bond and a US$ 10,000 performance bank guarantee^[13].

The AIR must be an Indian resident, at least a graduate, free of conflicts of interest with testing labs, nominated in Form VI, and is named on the licence^[10]. An AIR may represent only one foreign manufacturer, except within a group of companies or where a related importer is nominated; if the manufacturer has an Indian branch, its in-charge or a senior person should be nominated^[10].

The AIR's papers are checked as closely as the factory's: a graduate certificate, nationality and address proof, contact details, and for a company AIR its registration certificate or memorandum with an authorisation letter naming the person acting as AIR^[13].

The AIR carries duties after grant too, including facilitating market samples from imported consignments^[10]. Many importers act as AIR for their own supplier, which the related-importer exception allows. Our AIR glossary entry and foreign manufacturers guide go further.

Uploads are spread across the form's sections rather than in one bundle. For a domestic licence, BIS's manual runs: complete the organisation profile, choose Apply for New Licence, select the Indian Standard, accept the marking fee and Scheme of Inspection and Testing, pick normal or simplified procedure, then enter management, test equipment, production, brand, testing and inspection, test report and declaration details, review and pay^[16].

FMCS has its own login and manual. The profile must show 100% complete before you can apply; then come sections for management details, manufacturing process, packing and brand, testing and inspection, test report, and declaration and undertaking, each with uploads. The fee is calculated in INR and paid offline in USD, with proof uploaded^[24].

See our Manakonline portal guide for screens and common errors.

They need translation. FMCS guidance asks for certified Hindi or English translations of documents in any other language^[15], and the 2025 checklist asks whether English translations of all non-English documents are available^[13].

Translate the business licence, the factory address proof and calibration certificates first, because those are matched word for word against the application. A factory name that is translated differently in two documents is one of the commonest reasons BIS sends a query. The same issue drives many CRS rejections on the electronics side.

The official sources we checked do not require notarisation for FMCS documents. That is different from CRS, where the affidavit must be on Rs 100 stamp paper and notarised^[25].

To claim the concession you show that you are a micro, small or medium enterprise as defined in the MSMED Act, 2006, a start-up under the Income Tax Act, 1961, or a women-led enterprise with at least 51% of capital owned and controlled by a woman^[26]. In practice that means a current Udyam certificate or start-up recognition, plus shareholding proof for the women-entrepreneur extra.

The concession is large: until 31 May 2029, 80% off the minimum marking fee for micro, 50% for small, 80% for start-ups and a further 10% for women-led enterprises^[27]. For a toy maker under IS 9873 (Part 1), the large-enterprise minimum is Rs 98,000 against Rs 19,600 for a micro enterprise^[28].

Foreign manufacturers are generally not MSMEs under the Indian Act, so FMCS applicants pay the large-enterprise rate. See ISI fees for more rates.

After grant the paperwork continues. The licence letter requires you to cover all production under the licence scope, display the licence at the factory and mention it in advertising^[29]. Before an FMCS licence takes effect the manufacturer signs the agreement and indemnity bond and furnishes the bank guarantee^[7], and pays the licence fee and advance minimum marking fee^[7].

From then on you upload month-wise production and consignee details every quarter^[30], and at renewal a CA-certified production statement and self-compliance report^[31]. Keep the original grant file: the renewal report asks you to declare every change since grant.

Every marked unit shows the licence number with the mark, preferably below it, as CM/L followed by ten digits^[32]. Our product label checklist and label checker cover the full label.

Delays usually come from mismatches, not missing pages. The table lists the gaps BIS's checklists look for and how to close them before filing.

As an importer you are not the licensee, but customs and marketplaces will ask you to prove the goods are covered. The BIS Act bars importing notified goods without a valid licence and Standard Mark^[34].

Collect, per product: a copy of the licence showing the CM/L number, validity and the varieties in scope^[11]; photos of the marked product and carton; and the supplier's invoice naming the same model. Check the licence on Manakonline's licence search^[35].

These go into your clearance file with the bill of entry. Our customs clearance documents checklist and documents required for import list the rest, and the QCO tracker shows which products need an ISI licence today.

BIS's 2026 guidelines expect grant within 90 days under option-1 and 30 days under option-2, or 45 days for an all-India first licence, if documents, assessment and product conformity are satisfactory first time^[6]. BIS's FAQ gives averages of about one month for option-2 and four months for option-1^[2].

FMCS takes longer: BIS says the average is generally six months from recording a complete application^[7], because of the overseas visit and independent testing of samples drawn there^[7].

The word 'complete' carries the weight. Every query BIS raises restarts part of the clock. A complete, consistent document set is the single biggest thing that shortens the timeline. If you want a second pair of eyes on the file, our BIS consultants directory and free compliance check can help.