ISI Mark Licence from BIS — Product Certification under the BIS (Conformity Assessment) Regulations, 2018

The ISI mark is the Standard Mark of the Bureau of Indian Standards, granted under the BIS Act, 2016 and Scheme I of the BIS (Conformity Assessment) Regulations, 2018. A licence lets a manufacturer mark a product that conforms to the relevant Indian Standard (IS) and is produced under a controlled system of inspection and testing. The mark carries the licence number (CM/L-xxxxxxx) and the IS number, and BIS verifies compliance through factory surveillance and market samples.

For most products certification is voluntary. Under Quality Control Orders (QCOs) issued by ministries it becomes compulsory: the product cannot be manufactured, imported, stored or sold without the ISI mark. The list has grown fast — 462 products were under QCOs in March 2023 and hundreds more have been notified since — covering cement, steel, LPG cylinders, pressure cookers, helmets, toys, footwear, electrical wires and cables, water-heaters, packaged drinking water, and many chemicals, textiles and building materials.

You need an ISI licence if you

• •Manufacture or import any product notified under a Quality Control Order
• •Supply to government, PSUs, railways or infrastructure projects that specify IS-marked goods
• •Want to sell in retail chains and marketplaces that de-list unmarked QCO products
• •Are a foreign manufacturer exporting a QCO product to India (Foreign Manufacturers Certification Scheme)

1. 1Week 1 — Standard and gap check: the IS number and its SIT are identified; the factory's test facilities and records are brought up to the SIT.
2. 2Week 1–2 — Sample testing: product sample tested at a BIS-recognised laboratory for the complete IS, so the application can use the simplified procedure.
3. 3Week 2 — Application: filed on Manak Online with documents, ₹1,000 application fee and the test report; the case is recorded by the branch office.
4. 4Week 3–4 — Factory visit: a BIS officer verifies manufacturing and testing infrastructure, witnesses tests, and draws samples for independent testing; inspection charges ₹7,000 per man-day.
5. 5Week 4–5 — Grant: on a satisfactory report and test results the licence is granted, on payment of the annual licence fee (₹1,000) and the minimum marking fee for the product.
6. 6After grant — Product marked with the ISI mark and CM/L number; BIS surveillance visits and market samples follow; licence renewed for 1–2 years at a time.

A company making HDPE pipes for water supply wants to bid for a Jal Jeevan Mission tender that specifies IS 4984-marked pipes. We map the product to IS 4984, set up the in-house tests the SIT requires (dimensions, density, MFR, hydrostatic pressure), send samples to a BIS-recognised laboratory, and file on Manak Online with the test report. The BIS officer's visit in the third week confirms the testing infrastructure; the licence is granted in the fifth week on payment of the ₹1,000 licence fee and the minimum marking fee for the product. As a small unit the company is eligible for the fee concession, and it can now mark pipes with CM/L and bid.

• •Applying against the wrong Indian Standard or an old version of it
• •Test equipment bought but not calibrated; the officer checks certificates
• •No in-house QC records; the SIT requires routine tests before dispatch
• •Marking products before the licence is granted, which is an offence under the BIS Act
• •Ignoring surveillance non-conformities; the licence can be suspended or cancelled

• •Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016 and BIS (Conformity Assessment) Regulations, 2018
• •Manak Online — product certification (ISI mark) applications and fees
• •Quality Control Orders (mandatory BIS certification) — DPIIT

Fees, thresholds and timelines above are taken from these Acts, Rules, notifications and official portals; where the authority's current notification differs, the notification prevails.