Block out the real world entirely instead of layering information over it, and you've moved from AR into a different corner of BIS's Extended Reality Products category: the VR Headset. It sits alongside AR Glasses in the same 2026 classification circular, but it's judged as its own named product with its own registration requirement, not a variant of anything else in this series.

Like AR glasses, VR headsets don't get the benefit of an older, product-specific safety standard to fall back on while a transition period runs. It's IS/IEC 62368-1:2023 from the outset, and the compliance clock on this one has already run out rather than being something to plan around for later. This piece covers what counts as a VR headset for BIS, what the standard tests, and what building or importing one into India actually requires right now.

What Makes a Product a "VR Headset" for BIS

BIS's wearable and Extended Reality classification circular draws a clean line between VR and the AR/MR side of the category: a VR Headset is a fully immersive device with no see-through element – the wearer's view of the physical world is completely replaced by the display, not overlaid with it. That's the opposite design philosophy from AR Glasses, which are built around keeping the real world visible while adding information on top of it.

The same circular places neighbouring products differently: AR Glasses for see-through overlay devices, MR Glasses for products built around blending digital content with the physical environment interactively, and catch-all entries such as Other AR/MR Devices for anything that doesn't cleanly fit either Glasses definition. We've covered the see-through side of this category separately in our piece on BIS registration for AR Glasses.

If your product has a camera and audio but no display at all, it likely belongs in our earlier pieces on Smart Glasses (Video Camera) or Audio Glasses instead. The full classification map sits in our breakdown of the wearable-glasses circular and the more detailed companion guide to the 2026 AR/MR classification.

Why VR Headsets Fall Under IS/IEC 62368-1:2023

A VR headset packs a high-resolution display (often two, one per eye), dedicated graphics processing, motion-tracking sensors, a battery, and usually onboard audio into a single wearable unit – frequently with more raw computing power than the audio and camera glasses covered elsewhere in this series. BIS placed the whole Extended Reality Products category, VR headsets included, directly under IS/IEC 62368-1:2023, the hazard-based safety standard for audio, video, and IT equipment, without an older-standard alternative.

That's consistent with how BIS has treated increasingly complex electronics elsewhere: the more energy sources and subsystems packed into a device, the more it makes sense to evaluate it under a standard built to assess hazards holistically rather than through a narrower, older template designed for simpler single-purpose products.

What the Standard Actually Tests

IS/IEC 62368-1:2023 evaluates a VR headset the same way it evaluates any other product under its scope – by looking at the energy sources inside it and whether they're safely contained, rather than checking boxes against a fixed template.

What's outside the standard's scope: display resolution, refresh rate, tracking latency, field of view, or how comfortable the headset is over a two-hour gaming session. Those are product-quality questions, not safety ones, and BIS certification says nothing about them either way.

Also Read: BIS Mandates CRS Registration for Reality Devices in India

This Is Already in Force – Not a Future Deadline

The same point that applies to AR glasses applies here: the compliance dates for AR, VR, and MR devices under this classification have already passed. Reporting on the mandate cites an effective date of 5 December 2025, alongside a related note that the older audio-video and IT-equipment standards this category could otherwise have leaned on – IS 13252 (Part 1):2010 and IS 616:2017 – stopped being a usable option here around 1 May 2026.

We're presenting both dates rather than picking one because public sources on this specific mandate don't fully agree on which marks the precise cut-off, and BIS moved quickly on this category through 2026. What isn't in question is the direction: a VR headset without valid CRS registration against IS/IEC 62368-1:2023 shouldn't be entering the Indian market at this point, whichever date you treat as the binding one. If you're mapping a compliance timeline for a VR product, verify the current status directly with BIS or a testing lab rather than assuming either date, and treat this as urgent, not upcoming. Our IS 62368 certification guide covers the broader migration this standard is driving across BIS's electronics categories.

Who Needs to Register

• Manufacturers building VR headsets in India

• Importers bringing finished VR headsets in from overseas, which covers most of what's currently sold in the Indian market

• Foreign manufacturers selling into India directly or through distributors, who need an Authorised Indian Representative to hold the registration

• Brand owners and private-label sellers whose VR headset is built by a third-party manufacturer

Our general guide to BIS CRS certification is a good starting point if your team hasn't handled a CRS application before.

VR Headsets Already on the Market

This isn't a hypothetical product category in India. Meta's Quest line (Quest 3 and Quest 3S) is the standalone VR headset most widely available through online retail and grey-market import channels. Sony's PlayStation VR2 serves the console-gaming side, tethered to a PlayStation 5. HTC's Vive lineup continues to target enterprise and higher-end PC-tethered VR use cases. PICO, under ByteDance, has pushed standalone headsets aimed at the same consumer space Meta's Quest competes in.

Any of these – standalone or tethered, gaming-focused or enterprise-focused – fits BIS's VR Headset definition once it fully replaces the wearer's view of the real world with a display. The tethering method or the use case doesn't change the classification.

What to Do Before You Apply

• Confirm your product is fully immersive with no see-through element, distinguishing it from AR or MR glasses

• Treat this as urgent – there is no older-standard grace period left to rely on

• Pull together full design documentation covering the display, processing unit, battery, and wireless or tethered connectivity components

• Book testing at a BIS-recognised laboratory that covers IS/IEC 62368-1:2023

• Appoint an Authorised Indian Representative if you manufacture outside India

• File under the specific "VR Headset" product name rather than a general electronics or gaming-accessory listing

• Don't assume a licence for an AR or smart-glasses product extends to a VR headset – each named product needs its own registration

About Absolute Veritas

Absolute Veritas is a leading Testing, Inspection, and Certification (TIC) consultancy with over 15 years of expertise, headquartered in New Delhi, India. We help manufacturers and importers of VR headsets and other XR wearables confirm the right BIS classification and carry a BIS CRS registration against IS/IEC 62368-1:2023 through testing, documentation, and approval.

Contact us today at cs@absoluteveritas.com or call +91-7303215033 for guidance on registering VR headsets or other Extended Reality Products under BIS CRS.

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