CLP signal words

CLP has two signal words: Danger for the more severe categories, Warning for the less severe

Direct answer. The consolidated text of Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008, CELEX 02008R1272-20260701, defines two signal words in Article 2, point 4. ‘Danger’ indicates the more severe hazard categories. ‘Warning’ indicates the less severe hazard categories. Article 20 says the label shall include the relevant signal word in accordance with the classification, that the word for each classification is set out in the tables of label elements for each hazard class in Parts 2 to 5 of Annex I, and that where the signal word ‘Danger’ is used on the label, the signal word ‘Warning’ shall not appear. Article 17(1) lists the signal word with the supplier’s name, address and telephone number, the nominal quantity, product identifiers, hazard pictograms, hazard statements, precautionary statements, and supplemental information. Points (d) to (h) of that paragraph, including the signal word, say “where applicable”. The full element list is the CLP Art. 17 checklist. This page is not legal advice.

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 choose the signal word. This page is the Article 20 reading aid — not classification and not the pictogram-size table.

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.

Checklist before you print Danger or Warning

Article 2 and Article 20, as the consolidated text states them

Article 2, point 4, says a signal word indicates the relative level of severity of hazards to alert the reader to a potential hazard, and distinguishes two levels: (a) ‘Danger’ means a signal word indicating the more severe hazard categories; (b) ‘Warning’ means a signal word indicating the less severe hazard categories.

Article 20(1) says the label shall include the relevant signal word in accordance with the classification of the hazardous substance or mixture. Article 20(2) says the signal word relevant for each specific classification is set out in the tables indicating the label elements required for each hazard class in Parts 2 to 5 of Annex I. Article 20(3) is the hierarchy: where the signal word ‘Danger’ is used on the label, the signal word ‘Warning’ shall not appear on the label. The consolidated text opened for this page does not place that hierarchy in a separate numbered Annex I section. The annex job Article 20 names is the Parts 2 to 5 tables. Confirm the live article before you treat a category as Danger or Warning.

The signal word sits in the Article 17 set

Article 17(1) says a substance or mixture classified as hazardous and contained in packaging shall bear a label including the supplier’s name, address and telephone number; the nominal quantity in the package made available to the general public, unless specified elsewhere on the package; product identifiers; and, where applicable, hazard pictograms, signal words, hazard statements, precautionary statements, and a section for supplemental information. Hazard statements are Article 21. Their wording is Annex III. This page does not paste a list of H-codes. The element checklist is CLP label elements. Pictogram size is Annex I section 1.2.1. The UFI is a different code: what a UFI code means.

Language of the label

Article 17(2) of the same consolidated text says the label shall be written in the official language or languages of the Member State or Member States where the substance or mixture is placed on the market, unless the Member State or Member States concerned provide otherwise. Suppliers may use more languages on their labels than those required by the Member States, provided that the same details appear in all languages used. That is the language rule this page cites. It is the Regulation’s sentence. Confirm it on EUR-Lex.

The product page is a different surface

Showing pictograms and statements on a distance-sale offer is not the same job as choosing the on-pack signal word. Walk that surface on CLP hazard pictograms on the product page. This page does not restate Article 48. CLPLens creates the hazard profile you enter, with the pictograms and statements you supply, and can display it on the product page. It does not classify the mixture or choose the signal word. Open the CLPLens: CLP Hazard Display listing for that storefront path.

What this page is not

Related pages

Not legal advice. Confirm Articles 2, 17, and 20, and the Annex I tables, on the live consolidated text before you treat a signal word as the one the label must carry. The app displays hazard content you enter.