Label maker
Every particular the EU, Great Britain, the US, Canada or Australia asks for, checked against the text of the rule, laid out at true size and printed on a sheet. The net weight comes out in the units each market requires, at the height its rule sets, and never rounds up; the best-before date never promises more than your assessment gave.
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Print at 100 % scale with “fit to page” off, and each label comes out at the size above.
The label’s text as one spreadsheet row, for Avery Design & Print, Word or your label printer’s own software.
What the rules ask for
A draft for your safety assessor or regulator. The checklist shows each particular is there; it cannot tell you that what is written is right.
Restricted and prohibited ingredients
The ingredient list above, name by name, checked against the EU’s and Great Britain’s annexes, Health Canada’s Hotlist and California’s law.
Show the working
Calculated at soapformulator.com, every value sourced. Check the figures against your own scale.
The formula, and where it comes from
oz = g ÷ 28.349523125, truncated to 0.01 oz metric = three significant figures, truncated; kg from 1000 g best by = the last month that ends on or before made + durability US height = 1/16 in to 5 sq in, 1/8 to 25, 3/16 to 100, 1/4 to 400, 1/2 above # lower-case letters EU height = 2 mm to 50 g, 3 mm to 200 g, 4 mm to 1000 g, 6 mm above # figures GB height = the EU steps # figures and the "g" CA height = 1.6 mm to 32 cm², 3.2 to 258, 6.4 to 645, 9.5 to 2580, 12.7 above # bold figures; "g" ≥ 1.6 mm AU height = 2.0 mm to 120 mm, 2.5 to 230, 3.3 to 360, 4.8 above # every character, by the pack's longest side
- Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, Article 19(1): (a) the name or registered name and the address of the responsible person, and the country of origin for imported products; (b) the nominal content at the time of packaging, by weight or volume, except for packaging containing less than five grams or five millilitres, free samples and single-application packs; (c) the date of minimum durability, preceded by the Annex VII symbol or the words "best used before the end of", as month and year or day, month and year, which is not mandatory where the minimum durability exceeds 30 months, in which case the period after opening follows the Annex VII open-jar symbol unless the concept is not relevant; (d) particular precautions, at least those listed in Annexes III to VI; (e) the batch number or the reference identifying the product; (f) the function, unless it is clear from the presentation; (g) the list of ingredients, preceded by the term "ingredients". Article 19(5): the language of (b), (c), (d) and (f) is set by the law of the Member State where the product is sold.
- Council Directive 76/211/EEC, Annex I, 3.1: the nominal quantity in figures at least 2 mm high up to 50 g, 3 mm above 50 g up to 200 g, 4 mm above 200 g up to 1000 g, and 6 mm above 1000 g. — The Directive governs prepackages that carry the ℮ mark. For packs without it the Member State’s own rules on quantity marking apply.
- Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 as it applies in Great Britain: Article 19(1)(a)–(g) as in the EU text, with the responsible person established in the United Kingdom (Article 4). Article 19(1)(ab): for seven years from 1 January 2021, point (a) is satisfied by a label that meets the EU’s Article 19(1)(a). Article 19(5) and regulation 5(3) of the Cosmetic Products Enforcement Regulations 2013: the quantity, the date, the precautions and the function in English, whether or not also in another language.
- The Weights and Measures (Packaged Goods) Regulations 2006, regulation 8(3): the nominal quantity in figures followed by the unit in words or its symbol (g, kg), the figures and words or symbols at least 2 mm high up to 50 g, 3 mm above 50 g up to 200 g, 4 mm above 200 g up to 1 kg and 6 mm above 1 kg; an imperial figure may follow and must not be more prominent; "net", where used, is not abbreviated. Regulation 3: packs of 5 g to 25 kg made up in constant nominal quantities.
- 16 CFR 500, the FTC’s rules under the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act: 500.4 the identity of the commodity on the principal display panel; 500.5 the name and place of business, qualified where the named firm did not make it; 500.6 the net quantity as a distinct item in the bottom 30 % of the principal display panel; 500.8(a) weight in both avoirdupois pounds and ounces and SI metric units; 500.9 ounces below one pound, whole pounds with the remainder in ounces from one pound; 500.19(b) the metric figure in three digits; 500.21 type size by the area of the principal display panel; 500.23 an SI prefix giving a value between 1 and 1000.
- 21 CFR 701.10: the area of the principal display panel (a rectangular side: height × width; a cylinder: 40 % of height × circumference; the top of a round package: the whole top). 701.11: a statement of identity in bold type on the principal display panel. 701.12: the name and place of business — street address, city, state and ZIP code — qualified by "Manufactured for" or "Distributed by" where the named firm did not make it. 701.13: the net quantity, using the term "net weight", in ounces with pounds in parentheses from one pound up to four, decimals to no more than two places, in the bottom 30 % of the principal display panel, in type whose lower-case letters reach 1/16, 1/8, 3/16, 1/4 or 1/2 inch as the panel exceeds 5, 25, 100 and 400 square inches; a metric statement may also appear (701.13(r)). 701.3(b) and (p): ingredients in letters at least 1/16 inch high, or 1/32 inch where the package has less than 12 square inches available to bear labeling.
- 21 U.S.C. 364e(a), section 609(a) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act as added by the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022, in force from 29 December 2024: each cosmetic product bears a label with a domestic address, domestic phone number, or electronic contact information, which may include a website, through which the responsible person can receive adverse event reports.
- 21 CFR 701.20(a): FDA treats as soap only a product whose nonvolatile matter is mostly an alkali salt of fatty acids, whose cleaning comes from those salts, and which is labeled, sold, and represented only as soap. FDA, "Is It a Cosmetic, a Drug, or Both? (Or Is It Soap?)", content current as of 11 September 2024: a cleanser also intended for cosmetic uses — "acting as a deodorant, imparting fragrance to the user, or moisturizing the skin" — is a cosmetic; one also intended to cure, treat or prevent disease, such as an antibacterial cleanser or one "intended to treat acne", is a drug. — The claims check matches words, not intent. It points at wording to reread; it cannot tell a claim from a description, and a label it passes can still make a claim in other words.
- Cosmetic Regulations, C.R.C., c. 869: s. 18 the information in English and in French, except the INCI names, and clearly legible; s. 20 the inner label carries a telephone number, email address, website or postal address through which consumers can reach a contact person with questions, and the identity unless it is obvious; ss. 21.2–21.4 the ingredient list on the outer label by INCI name; s. 24 directions for safe use where the cosmetic presents an avoidable hazard.
- Consumer Packaging and Labelling Regulations, C.R.C., c. 417: s. 2 the principal display surface (the side displayed, excluding the top; the top of a lid; or 40 % of a container with no particular side); s. 6(2) everything in both official languages except the dealer’s name and place of business; s. 12 the net quantity and the identity on the principal display panel; s. 13 the dealer’s name and principal place of business anywhere but the bottom; s. 14 the net quantity’s figures in bold, at least 1.6, 3.2, 6.4, 9.5 or 12.7 mm high as the principal display surface exceeds 32, 258 and 645 cm² and 25.8 dm², and its other words at least 1.6 mm; ss. 15–16 other information in letters at least 1.6 mm high, or 0.8 mm where the surface is 10 cm² or less and everything is on the principal display panel, a letter’s height being that of an "o" in mixed case; s. 25 three figures, or two below 100 g; s. 27 grams below 1 000 g; s. 31(2) "imported by" ("importé par") before a Canadian dealer of a product made abroad, unless its origin is stated.
- Consumer Goods (Cosmetics) Information Standard 2020, ss. 7–8: the ingredients listed on the container, in descending order by volume or mass, or those of 1 % or more in descending order and then the rest and colour additives in any order; prominently shown, clearly legible, by English or INCI names.
- National Trade Measurement Regulations 2009, Part 4: reg. 4.7 the name and address of the person who packed the product or had it packed, at a place in Australia where a document may be served personally, which a post office box is not, not required on an imported prepackaged product (4.8(1)(d)); 4.9–4.11 the measurement on the principal display panel, close to and in the same direction as the name or brand, at least 2 mm from the package’s edges and from other text and graphics; 4.12 each character, the unit symbol’s too, at least 2.0, 2.5, 3.3 or 4.8 mm high as the package’s largest dimension exceeds 120, 230 and 360 mm (three times that if stamped or embossed); 4.14 no more than three significant figures; 4.27 soap may be marked "mass when packed"; Schedule 4 item 5.3 exempts an article packed in a quantity under 15 g; Schedule 6 grams up to 1 000 g.
- One avoirdupois pound is 0.45359237 kg exactly and one ounce a sixteenth of it, 28.349523125 g, under the international yard and pound agreement of 1959: the figures of the NIST Handbook 133 conversion tables that 16 CFR 500.19(a) incorporates.
Check the claims on a label
Paste the words on your label or product page. The assistant marks the ones that change how the product is regulated where you sell, and suggests plainer wording.
Sign in to ask. Every account has a few questions a month.
A line that gave an amount of lye or water was taken out. The lye calculator works those out and shows its working.
Sources
A draft for you to check, not legal advice. It does not certify anything.
What each market asks for
In the EU every soap is a cosmetic, and Article 19 of Regulation 1223/2009 lists what its label carries: the responsible person’s name and address, the nominal content, a best-before date or a period after opening, any precautions, a batch number, the function and the ingredients. The fixed wording is the Regulation’s own in each language: a French label says “À utiliser de préférence avant fin” because the French text of Article 19 does.
Great Britain kept its own copy of Regulation 1223/2009, so its label carries the EU’s seven particulars with three differences: a responsible person established in the UK, although until the end of 2027 the EU responsible person’s name and address still satisfies the label; the words in English; and 24 named fragrance allergens rather than the EU’s 81. The height of the quantity comes from the Packaged Goods Regulations 2006 and covers the “g” as well as the figures. Northern Ireland follows the EU rules.
In the US a bar that is mostly alkali salts of fatty acids, cleans because of them and is sold only as soap is not a cosmetic (21 CFR 701.20). Its label answers to the FTC: what it is, who makes or sells it and where, and the net weight in ounces and grams. Say it moisturises or deodorises and it is a cosmetic, which adds an ingredient list and, since MoCRA, a contact for reports of reactions. Say it treats acne and it is a drug.
In Canada soap is a cosmetic, and two sets of rules meet on its label. The Cosmetic Regulations ask for the ingredients by INCI name, a contact where customers can ask questions, and directions for safe use where the product presents a hazard. The Consumer Packaging and Labelling Regulations put the identity and the net quantity on the front, the quantity’s figures in bold at a height set by the display surface, and your name and principal place of business anywhere but the bottom. Everything but the INCI names and your name and address is in English and French.
In Australia the Cosmetics Information Standard 2020 asks for the ingredient list, prominent and legible, in English or INCI names, and names no allergens. The National Trade Measurement Regulations 2009 ask for the net weight on the front, near the name and reading the same way, every character sized by the pack’s longest side, and the name and a street address in Australia of whoever packed it. Packs under 15 g are exempt, and soap may be marked “mass when packed”.
Why the numbers round down
A net weight is a promise about what is in the pack, so this page never rounds one up. The FTC’s own examples do the same: a pound is 453.592 g and the regulation prints “453 g”. The type size follows the rule as well. In the US the lower-case letters of the net weight grow with the face of the package, from 1/16 inch to half an inch, and in Canada the bold figures do, from 1.6 mm to 12.7 mm. In the EU and Great Britain the figures grow with the quantity, from 2 mm to 6 mm, and in Australia every character grows with the pack’s longest side, from 2 mm to 4.8 mm.
Why the date can read a month early
“Best used before the end of 09/2027” promises the whole of September. A bar made on 23 September 2026 with twelve months’ durability is good until 23 September 2027, so the label says 08/2027. Choose day, month and year to print the exact day instead.
Unwrapped soap
Soap and bath bombs sold without a pack may carry their ingredient list on a notice right next to the container they are displayed in (Article 19(3)). The other particulars for products that are not pre-packaged are set by each Member State (Article 19(4)).
Common questions
Is my soap a true soap or a cosmetic in the US?
Does a bar of soap need the open-jar symbol?
Which language does an EU label need?
Does soap sold in Canada need French on the label?
Does this make my label compliant?
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