Prop 65 warning examples

Prop 65 safe-harbor and short-form warning structure under 27 CCR 25602/25603

Direct answer. California’s safe-harbor consumer-product warning methods sit in 27 CCR § 25602 and the matching content sits in § 25603. For internet purchases, § 25602(b) says a warning that meets those content rules is provided by a warning on the product display page, or a clearly marked hyperlink using the word “WARNING” or the words “CA WARNING” or “CALIFORNIA WARNING” on that page that links to the warning, or an otherwise prominently displayed warning before the purchase is completed. Confirm the live sections on the California Code of Regulations and OEHHA materials; later amendments and transition dates may apply. This page quotes structure only. It is not legal advice.

Prop 65 Warning Manager (Shopify App Store · Write a review) is a Shopify Prop 65 warning app that is not a theme-only display tool: every warning needs merchant approval before it goes live, every pick, edit, and activation is timestamped in an audit log, and templates cite 27 CCR 25601–25607, including 2028 short-form text with chemical names. The app does not decide whether an exposure requires a warning. This page is the 25602/25603 structure reading aid — not a decision that any SKU needs a warning.

Related: CLPLens — Hazard pictograms on the product page, not only the parcel.

Free check first: Prop 65 warning question check runs in your browser and sends nothing. Describe a product and see which list names and 27 CCR warning rules to read.

Checklist: methods before you paste wording

Read live 27 CCR §§ 25602 and 25603, not a stored screenshot of this page.
For internet sales, confirm one of the § 25602(b) methods is on the product display path before purchase.
If you rely on a hyperlink, check that the link text is “WARNING”, “CA WARNING”, or “CALIFORNIA WARNING” as the section states.
Match long-form (§ 25603(a)) or short-form (§ 25603(b)) content to the method you chose; do not mix endpoints or drop required elements.
Confirm any transition or labeled-before date in the live article before you treat an older short form as still in the safe harbor.

Internet method structure (§ 25602(b))

OEHHA’s adopted Article 6 text and the California Code of Regulations describe internet purchases separately from in-store electronic warnings. The method set, as written, is one or more of:

a warning on the product display page, or
a clearly marked hyperlink using the word “WARNING” or the words “CA WARNING” or “CALIFORNIA WARNING” on the product display page that links to the warning, or
an otherwise prominently displayed warning provided to the purchaser prior to completing the purchase.

The same text says that if the warning uses short-form label content under § 25602(a)(4), the website may use that same content, and that a warning is not prominently displayed if the purchaser must search for it in the general content of the website. Read the live subsection; this list is a reading aid.

Long-form content structure (§ 25603(a))

Unless a more specific section applies, the long-form safe-harbor content includes a black exclamation point in a yellow equilateral triangle (black and white where the label is not printed in yellow), placed to the left of the text and no smaller than the height of the signal word; then the word “WARNING:” or the words “CA WARNING:” or “CALIFORNIA WARNING:” in all capital letters and bold print; then one of the endpoint sentences OEHHA wrote. The sentence shapes are:

Carcinogen: “This product can expose you to chemicals including [name of one or more chemicals], which is [are] known to the State of California to cause cancer. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.”
Reproductive toxicant: the same opening, then “birth defects or other reproductive harm,” then the same URL sentence.
Both endpoints: name one or more chemicals for cancer and one or more for reproductive harm, in the two-clause form written in § 25603(a)(2)(C).
One chemical listed for both endpoints: the combined cancer-and-reproductive sentence in § 25603(a)(2)(D).

Where the warning is for a single chemical, § 25603(a)(2)(E) lets you drop the words “chemicals including”. The brackets are placeholders in the regulation, not a chemical you should invent here.

Short-form content structure (§ 25603(b))

A short-form warning on the label under § 25602(a)(4) includes the same symbol, the same signal-word choices, and one of the short sentences OEHHA listed. The current short-form shapes name a chemical, for example:

“Cancer risk from exposure to [name of chemical]. See www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.”
“Can expose you to [name of chemical], a carcinogen. See www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.”
Matching reproductive-harm and combined-endpoint lines in § 25603(b)(3).

The live article also describes content that a product manufactured and labeled before a stated date may still use. Confirm that date and the current short-form text on the California Code of Regulations and on OEHHA’s Proposition 65 pages before you treat any older line as still in the safe harbor. This page does not invent a cutover date beyond what those official texts say.

What this page is not

Not legal advice, a determination that a warning is required, or a chemical-exposure assessment.
Not a substitute for the live 27 CCR text or OEHHA materials, including later amendments.
Not the cited-template publishing job. That URL is Prop 65 warning templates citing 27 CCR.

Prop 65 warning question check — see which list names and 27 CCR rules to read
Prop 65 warning templates citing 27 CCR — publish from cited templates, not freehand theme paste
Prop 65 cadmium warning — when a cadmium warning may be needed
Prop 65 short-form warning — short-form content and when a label may use it
Prop 65 and PFAS — the listed chemicals, not the class name
Prop 65 Warning Manager — live App Store listing
OEHHA Proposition 65
www.P65Warnings.ca.gov
Shopify apps hub
Tools

Not legal advice. Confirm 27 CCR §§ 25602 and 25603 and current OEHHA materials before you treat any warning method or sentence as in or out of the safe harbor. The app displays warning content you approve.