CLP labels for candles and wax melts

CLP labels for candles and wax melts: classify the mixture, then apply Art. 17

Direct answer. Official EU guidance treats candles, including wax melts, as chemical mixtures under REACH and CLP. If that mixture is classified as hazardous under Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 (for example because of an added fragrance), the pack must carry the Article 17 label elements. Classification is formulation-specific; this page does not classify any SKU and is not legal advice. For Great Britain, the UK HSE CLP labelling pages are the GB authority pages to read alongside GB CLP.

CLPLens: CLP Hazard Display (Shopify App Store · Write a review) creates product hazard profiles with GHS pictograms and statements, reviews missing hazard fields before publishing, and syncs app-owned metafields for theme-block storefront display. It does not classify mixtures or decide legal compliance. The Art. 17 element list is CLP label elements checklist.

Related: Prop 65 Warning Manager — Prop 65 warning with a chemical name on 2028 product pages.

Free check first: CLP label element checker runs in your browser and sends nothing. Paste CLP label text and see which Article 17 label elements it mentions or lacks.

Mixtures first, then the Art. 17 set

The Publications Office note Complying with CLP when making or importing candles states that candle products are chemical mixtures under REACH and CLP, and that a candle classified as hazardous (due to an added fragrance, for example) must meet CLP before it is placed on the EU market. That note includes wax melts with candles. It does not say every unscented wax is hazardous, and this page does not invent that either.

If the classified mixture is in packaging, Article 17 of CLP lists the on-pack elements: supplier name, address and telephone number; nominal quantity for general-public packages (unless specified elsewhere on the package); product identifiers; hazard pictograms; a signal word; hazard statements; precautionary statements; and supplemental information where applicable. Walk the full set on CLP Art. 17 label elements. Read the live article on EUR-Lex.

Which of those items apply follows from the classification and from the rest of CLP, not from a product type name such as “candle” or “wax melt.” A reading aid such as the CLP label element checker can only flag words and codes in pasted text; it cannot classify the mixture.

Your fragrance SDS describes the oil, not the candle

A supplier SDS classifies the fragrance oil at full strength. The candle is a different mixture, so its classification follows the CLP mixture rules in Annex I of Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 applied to the finished formulation, using the concentrations in the candle. Hazard statements on the oil’s SDS do not automatically carry over to the candle label; where a sensitiser falls below its classification limit, see the EUH208 statement. This page does not classify any formulation.

UFI and poison-centre notification — EU and Switzerland

In the EU, a UFI and poison-centre notification under CLP Annex VIII apply to mixtures classified for health or physical hazards (EUR-Lex). Switzerland has its own rule: the Swiss Notification Authority FAQ states that chemical products classified as hazardous for health or physical effects (H3xx or H2xx) must carry a UFI on the label and that it must be recorded in the Chemicals Product Register (RPC), with the obligation to be met by 1 January 2026 at the latest. For products sold only in Switzerland, the Swiss manufacturer, importer or licence holder generates the UFI with a Swiss VAT number and specifies it in the RPC (FOPH); for products imported from the EU, the current EU UFI can also be used in Switzerland (UFI generator page). To read a UFI, see what a UFI code means; for the storefront, see UFI on a Shopify product page. CLPLens does not classify mixtures or generate UFIs.

Exporting candles into the EU: CLP label and UFI step by step

A candle maker in r/candlemaking (thread, 8 October 2026) described being stuck on UFI numbers and paperwork when exporting candles. The steps below follow the official sources cited on this page. They do not classify any candle.

  1. Classify the finished candle, not the oil. Apply the CLP Annex I mixture rules to the candle formulation at its real fragrance concentration (Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008). The Publications Office note Complying with CLP when making or importing candles covers candles and wax melts.
  2. If it is not classified, stop here for CLP hazard labelling — but check whether a sensitiser below its limit still triggers EUH208.
  3. If it is classified, build the Article 17 label: supplier name, address and telephone number; nominal quantity for general-public packages; product identifiers; pictograms; signal word; hazard and precautionary statements; supplemental information. Walk it on the CLP label elements checklist.
  4. Check whether Annex VIII applies. A UFI and a poison-centre notification apply to mixtures classified for health or physical hazards. A mixture classified only for environmental hazards is a different case — confirm the live Annex VIII text.
  5. Agree who in the EU holds the duty. CLP Article 45 places the poison-centre submission on importers and downstream users who place the mixture on the EU market. A maker outside the EU is not the importer; agree in writing with your EU importer who generates the UFI and who submits the notification.
  6. Generate the UFI with ECHA’s tool, never by hand. ECHA’s UFI generator takes a company VAT number (or a company key from the same tool) and a mixture-specific formulation number. See what a UFI code means.
  7. Print it on the label preceded by “UFI:”, and submit the notification through ECHA’s Poison Centres route before the candle is placed on the market.
  8. Online shop. Until 31 December 2027, Article 48(2) requires an advert that lets the public buy without seeing the label to mention the hazard types on the label. From 1 January 2028, Article 48a requires distance-sale offers to show the Article 17 label elements; see UFI on a Shopify product page.

CLPLens: CLP Hazard Display can store the pictograms, statements and the UFI you already have, and show them on the product page. It does not classify the candle, generate the UFI or submit the notification.

Great Britain: HSE and GB CLP

For substances and mixtures placed on the GB market, HSE is the GB CLP agency. HSE states that classification is the supplier’s duty, that a chemical is a substance or a mixture, and that mixture classification is generally based on what is known of the constituent substances. See HSE: how classification works and HSE: duties of a GB-based manufacturer. The HSE labelling and packaging hub covers the hazard label, statements, signal words, and pictograms. Confirm GB CLP as it stands; this page does not equate every EU amendment with GB law.

The pack label is not the product-page block

Art. 17 is the on-pack set. Showing pictograms and statements on a distance-sale product page is a related but separate surface. Walk that job on CLP hazard pictograms on the product page. CLPLens stores the hazard profile you enter and displays it on the product page; it does not write the pack label or classify the candle or wax melt. Open the CLPLens: CLP Hazard Display listing when you want that storefront path.

What this page is not

Related pages

Not legal advice. Confirm Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 as amended, the live HSE GB CLP pages where you sell in Great Britain, and counsel before you treat a candle or wax-melt label as in or out of scope. The app displays hazard content you enter; it does not classify the mixture.