Label requirements · United Kingdom

United Kingdom label requirements — check your label

What a label sold in United Kingdom must carry for food and drinks, other consumer goods, medical devices, item by item, each with the law it comes from. Paste your label below: Drict shows what it found, on which line, and what is missing.

Your points to check appear here.

Drict looks for the items each label law names, by key words. It is not legal advice and does not say a label is compliant: read the official text, and ask the authority or a specialist before you print.

Food and drinks — what a United Kingdom label must show

6 mandatory · 5 only if it applies

Mandatory

  • Net quantity (net wt / net weight) — Food Information Regulations 2014
  • List of ingredients (ingredients) — Food Information Regulations 2014
  • Expiry date (best before / use by) — Food Information Regulations 2014
  • Name and address of the manufacturer / packer / distributor (manufactured by / manufactured for) — Food Information Regulations 2014
  • Batch number (lot / batch) — Food Information Regulations 2014
  • Nutrition information (nutrition / energy) — Food Information Regulations 2014

Only if it applies

  • Allergens (contains / allergen) — Food Information Regulations 2014
  • Storage conditions (store in / store at) — Food Information Regulations 2014
  • Origin (made in / product of) — Food Information Regulations 2014
  • Directions for use (directions / how to use) — Food Information Regulations 2014
  • A UK address for the food business responsible (required on prepacked food sold in Great Britain since 1 January 2024)

Language: No English found — labels sold in the UK are in English (FIR 2014, reg. 7).

Check by eye: Name of the food: check it yourself — a descriptive name in English, not only the brand name; allergens emphasised in the ingredients; the name, net quantity and alcohol strength in the same field of vision.

Check label · Food and drinks →

Other consumer goods — what a United Kingdom label must show

1 mandatory · 5 only if it applies

Mandatory

  • Name and address of the manufacturer / packer / distributor (manufactured by / manufactured for) — Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008

Only if it applies

  • Net quantity (net wt / net weight) — Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008
  • Origin (made in / product of) — Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008
  • Directions for use (directions / how to use) — Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008
  • Warnings (warning / caution) — Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008
  • Name and address of the importer (imported by / importer) — Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008

Language: No English found — labels sold in the UK are in English (FIR 2014, reg. 7).

Check by eye: Product name: check it yourself — in the languages the law requires. Safety symbols, logos and certification marks are images — they cannot be found as text.

Check label · Other consumer goods →

Medical devices — what a United Kingdom label must show

2 mandatory · 7 only if it applies

Mandatory

  • Manufacturer’s name or trade name and address — UK MDR 2002, Annex I 13.3(a)
  • Batch code preceded by “LOT”, or the serial number — Annex I 13.3(d)

Only if it applies

  • UK Responsible Person’s name and address, if the manufacturer is outside the UK — UK MDR 2002 as amended in 2019
  • Date by which it should be used, in year and month — Annex I 13.3(e)
  • “STERILE” and the method of sterilisation — Annex I 13.3(c)
  • Single use — Annex I 13.3(f)
  • Special storage or handling conditions — Annex I 13.3(i)
  • Warnings or precautions — Annex I 13.3(k)
  • Instructions for use, or where to find them — Annex I 13.3(j)

Language: No English found — devices sold in the UK are labelled in English.

Check by eye: The device’s name and what it contains (13.3(b)); the UKCA mark (or CE, while it is accepted in Great Britain) with the approved body’s number; ISO 15223-1 symbols are pictures — Drict reads only words.

Check label · Medical devices →

Official sources

Other countries