About CertHub
BSI Membership & Primary Authority Partnership
Two relationships that help us stay informed, work responsibly, and give you confidence in what we do.
Two different relationships, two different jobs
3D CertHub is a BSI Member and has a Primary Authority Partnership with the Heart of the South West Trading Standards Service.
These are two separate relationships that do different things. BSI Membership helps us stay closely connected to the standards our business relies on. Primary Authority gives us access to assured, tailored regulatory advice from a named local authority.
Neither relationship means that BSI or Trading Standards has tested, certified or approved any individual product we sell. What they do mean is explained below.
What BSI Membership means
BSI (the British Standards Institution) is the UK's National Standards Body. BSI Membership is an annual subscription for organisations that use standards and want closer access to them, alongside additional support and resources.
As a BSI Member, we get:
- Direct, discounted access to British Standards, including the EN71 toy safety standards our work is built around
- A Member Enquiry Service to help us find and understand the standards relevant to our work
- The ability to review standards before relying on them
- Access to BSI events, webinars and updates covering changes to standards and best practice
In practical terms, this means we're working from the real, current wording of the standards that govern toy safety and material testing — not a summary, a forum post, or an outdated copy — and we hear about changes to those standards as they happen.
Membership is not certification
BSI Membership is a subscription relationship, not an audit or a certification of our business or products. It doesn't mean BSI has inspected or approved anything we sell — it means we have direct, reliable access to the standards themselves and the support to use them properly.
What our Primary Authority Partnership means
Primary Authority is a government-backed scheme that allows a business to form a formal, legal partnership with a local authority for regulatory advice covering matters like product safety, fair trading and standards.
Our Primary Authority is the Heart of the South West Trading Standards Service. Through this partnership, we work with named Trading Standards Officers who understand our business and can provide advice that is assured — meaning any other local authority in the UK is legally required to take that advice into account if our compliance is ever questioned.
In practice, our partnership provides:
- Tailored regulatory advice specific to our products and processes, not generic guidance
- Direct contact with named Trading Standards Officers, rather than a general enquiry line
- Reviews of our products, processes and website against the applicable regulations
- Updates on legislative and regulatory changes relevant to toy safety and material testing
- A consistent point of contact if a compliance question is ever raised about our business
This partnership is publicly listed on the government's Primary Authority Register, which you can search for confirmation.
Assured advice, not a guarantee
A Primary Authority Partnership means we receive expert, tailored regulatory advice and that this advice is legally recognised across the UK. It does not mean Trading Standards has tested or certified our products, or that every customer's individual use of our certificates or app has been reviewed.
Why this matters to you
You're relying on us to understand toy safety requirements correctly, keep up with changes to the standards, and run our business responsibly. These two relationships are part of how we do that:
- BSI Membership means our understanding of EN71 and related standards is built on direct access to the real, current standards — not second-hand summaries.
- Our Primary Authority Partnership means our processes have been reviewed by named Trading Standards Officers, and that we have an ongoing, accountable relationship with a real regulator, not just a one-off registration.
- Together, they reflect an ongoing commitment to getting this right, not a one-time badge we earned and stopped thinking about.
Neither relationship replaces your own responsibility as the manufacturer of your toys. The material evidence we provide and the Technical File app we build are tools to help you meet that responsibility properly — not a substitute for it.
Learn more
Read more about us
These relationships are part of a bigger story about why we started 3D CertHub and how we try to run it.