GHS Label Requirements: A Complete Guide for Manufacturers

If you manufacture, import, or supply chemical products across different markets, creating a compliant hazard label may be more complicated than it first appears.

You may be working with the same chemical formulation, but the label used in the United States may not meet every requirement in Canada, the European Union, or another international market. Language requirements, hazard classifications, supplemental information, and even the version of GHS adopted can vary.

That’s because GHS provides a common framework for classifying chemical hazards and communicating them through labels and Safety Data Sheets (SDSs). It is not a single international law that every country applies in exactly the same way. 

This guide explains the core GHS label elements, how they work together, and where requirements may differ across countries.

Developed through the United Nations, GHS was created to improve consistency in how chemical hazards are classified and communicated around the world.

GHS provides a common framework for:

• Classifying physical hazards
• Classifying health hazards
• Classifying environmental hazards
• Communicating hazards through standardized label elements
• Organizing hazard information within Safety Data Sheets

The goal is to make hazard information easier to recognize and understand across workplaces, industries, and international markets. 

However, GHS does not automatically become law in every country. Each country or regulatory region adopts GHS through its own legislation.

Before you can determine what belongs on a GHS-aligned label, the product must first be classified.

The classification process generally involves:

• Identifying the physical, health, and environmental hazards associated with the substance or mixture
• Evaluating available hazard data using the criteria adopted in the applicable market
• Assigning the appropriate hazard classes and categories
• Determining which label elements correspond to those classifications
• Preparing the label and SDS according to the regulations in the target jurisdiction

This sequence matters because pictograms, signal words, hazard statements, and precautionary statements are not design choices.

You do not select a flame pictogram simply because a product can burn, choose “Danger” because it sounds more urgent, or rewrite a hazard statement to make it shorter. The required elements are determined by the product’s hazard classification and the regulations governing the market where it will be supplied.

Although exact requirements vary by jurisdiction, GHS-aligned chemical labels commonly use several core elements, which are designed to work together

1. Product Identifier

The product identifier tells the user which chemical or product the label applies to.

Depending on the product and applicable regulations, this may be a chemical name, product name, product code or another unique designation.

The identifier used on the label should correspond with the identifier provided on the SDS. This connection allows workers, customers, emergency responders, and other users to locate the correct safety information without confusion.

2. Supplier Information

Supplier information identifies the organization responsible for placing the chemical product on the market.

Depending on the jurisdiction, required information may include:

• Company name
• Business address
• Telephone number
• Emergency contact information, where applicable

The responsible party may be the manufacturer, importer, distributor, or another supplier, depending on local regulations and the product’s route to market.

Supplier information gives customers, regulators, and emergency personnel a way to identify or contact the organization responsible for the product.

3. GHS Pictograms

GHS pictograms use symbols to communicate specific types of chemical hazards quickly.

The standard GHS hazard pictogram consists of a black symbol on a white background within a red, diamond-shaped border.

The nine GHS pictograms are:

• Exploding bomb: Explosives and certain highly reactive substances
• Flame: Flammable substances and certain self-reactive or self-heating hazards
• Flame over circle: Oxidizing hazards
• Gas cylinder: Gases under pressure
• Corrosion: Corrosive effects on skin, eyes, or metals
• Skull and crossbones: Severe acute toxicity
• Exclamation mark: Certain less severe health hazards, including irritation
• Health hazard: Serious or long-term health effects, such as carcinogenicity or respiratory sensitization
• Environment: Hazards to the aquatic environment

Not every hazardous product requires a pictogram, and some products may require more than one.

The required symbols depend on the product’s hazard classifications. Jurisdictions may also differ in how particular pictograms are adopted or required. For example, OSHA does not mandate the environmental pictogram because environmental hazards fall outside its regulatory authority, although the pictogram may be used where appropriate. 

Manufacturers can review and download official U.S. pictogram files here: OSHA’s Hazard Communication Pictograms resource.

4. Signal Words: “Danger” and “Warning”

GHS uses two signal words:

• Danger

• Warning

“Danger” is generally assigned to more severe hazard categories, while “Warning” is generally used for less severe categories.

The signal word is determined by the product’s classification. It should not be selected based on preference or used simply to make a label appear more urgent.

When a product has multiple hazards, only the signal word representing the more severe hazard is generally displayed. For example, where “Danger” is required, “Warning” should not also appear. 

Signal words help users recognize the relative severity of a hazard, but they do not replace the more detailed information provided by hazard statements.

5. Hazard Statements

Hazard statements are standardized phrases that describe the nature of a product’s hazards and, where appropriate, the degree of severity.

For example, it could say, “Causes serious eye damage” or “Highly flammable liquid and vapour.”

Because the wording is standardized, manufacturers should not casually shorten, paraphrase, or replace these statements with marketing language. Changing the wording may alter the intended meaning or result in a label that does not meet the applicable regulatory requirements. Multiple hazard statements are allowed as long as they are presented clearly. 

6. Precautionary Statements

Precautionary statements describe recommended measures for minimizing or preventing harmful effects from exposure, improper handling, or storage.

They generally fall into four categories:

• Prevention: Measures intended to reduce the likelihood of exposure or an incident
• Response: Actions to take following exposure, a spill, a fire, or another emergency
• Storage: Instructions for storing the product safely
• Disposal: Guidance related to the disposal of the product or its container

Like hazard statements, precautionary statements use standardized wording. They are not general operating instructions that manufacturers can rewrite freely.

7. Supplemental Information

Some jurisdictions require or permit information beyond the core GHS label elements.

For example, you might need:

• Additional hazard statements
• Directions for use
• Regulatory information
• Emergency information
• Information about hazards not otherwise classified

Supplemental information can provide useful context, but it should not contradict, obscure, or cast doubt on required hazard information.

GHS has improved consistency in chemical hazard communication, but it has not created one universal label that can automatically be used in every country.

Manufacturers supplying multiple markets need to understand how each jurisdiction has adopted the framework.

United States: OSHA Hazard Communication Standard

In the United States, GHS principles are incorporated into OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard for workplace chemical hazards.

Chemical manufacturers and importers are responsible for evaluating and classifying hazards and providing required labels and SDSs.

Canada: WHMIS

Canada incorporates GHS principles through the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS), the Hazardous Products Act, and the Hazardous Products Regulations.

Canadian supplier labels have market-specific requirements. For example, required information must generally be provided in both English and French, and labels must remain durable and legible.

European Union: CLP Regulation

The European Union implements GHS through the Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation.

Although CLP is based on GHS, it includes European requirements that may not appear on a U.S. OSHA label. These can include EU-specific hazard statements and other supplemental information.

Certain hazardous mixtures may also require a Unique Formula Identifier (UFI) on the label or packaging.

GHS has created a more consistent international framework for classifying chemical hazards and communicating them through labels and SDSs. However, it has not eliminated differences between national and regional regulations.

Your product’s hazard classification determines the required pictograms, signal word, hazard statements, and precautionary statements. The market where you supply the product determines how those requirements are legally implemented.

At Industrial Nameplates, we manufacture durable custom labels and decals for industrial applications. If you need labels designed to remain clear and readable in demanding operating environments, give us a call at 403-930-5543, email sales@industrialnameplates.ca, or contact us to discuss your requirements.