The requirements in ISO 8124-1:2014 apply to all toys, i.e. any product or material designed or clearly intended for use in play by children under 14 years of age. They are applicable to a toy as it is initially received by the consumer and, in addition, they apply after a toy is subjected to reasonably foreseeable conditions of normal use and abuse unless specifically noted otherwise.

The requirements of ISO 8124-1:2014 specify acceptable criteria for structural characteristics of toys, such as shape, size, contour, spacing (e.g. rattles, small parts, sharp points and edges, and hinge-line clearances) as well as acceptable criteria for properties peculiar to certain categories of toy (e.g. maximum kinetic energy values for non-resilient-tipped projectiles and minimum tip angles for certain ride-on toys).

ISO 8124-1:2014 specifies requirements and test methods for toys intended for use by children in various age groups from birth to 14 years. The requirements vary according to the age group for which a particular toy is intended. The requirements for a particular age group reflect the nature of the hazards and the expected mental and/or physical abilities of a child to cope with them.

ISO 8124-1:2014 also requires that appropriate warnings and/or instructions for use be given on certain toys or their packaging. Due to linguistic problems which may occur in different countries, the wording of these warnings and instructions is not specified but given as general information in Annex B. It should be noted that different legal requirements exist in many countries with regard to such marking.

ISO 8124-1:2014 does not purport to cover or include every conceivable potential hazard of a particular toy or toy category. Except for labelling requirements indicating the functional hazards and the age range for which the toy is intended, ISO 8124-1:2014 has no requirements for those characteristics of toys which represent an inherent and recognized hazard which is integral to the function of the toy.