Provenance

Reference data from EU CLP Annex VI and published regulations — verify against your supplier's SDS before use.

Build a label

Chemical-resistant stock · 2 per A4 210 × 297 mm

A5 landscape GHS label template (210 × 148 mm)

Two to an A4 sheet, 210 × 148 mm. This is the European drum and IBC format, and HERMA sells it in a range built specifically for hazardous substances with BS 5609 certification for sea transport.

210 × 148 mm 210 × 148 mm 2 per sheet drums, IBCs

Build it

Label builder, preset to 210 × 148 mm

Size and sheet layout arrive already set. Change the jurisdiction or the size inside the tool at any point — the label is rebuilt against whatever is selected.

Open the label maker at 210 × 148 mm →

01 · The format

What this size is for

Two to an A4 sheet, 210 × 148 mm. This is the European drum and IBC format, and HERMA sells it in a range built specifically for hazardous substances with BS 5609 certification for sea transport.

It is the smallest common European format that satisfies the top CLP tier: above 500 litres Annex I Table 1.3 requires at least 148 × 210 mm, which is exactly this rectangle turned on its side, with a pictogram of at least 46 mm.

Geometry
210 × 148 mm · 210 × 148 mm · 8.3 × 5.8 in
2 per A4 210 × 297 mm Chemical-resistant film
Also sold as: HERMA 58102, A5 landscape

02 · Where it qualifies

Against the CLP size tiers

CLP Annex I Table 1.3 is the only legally binding table tying label size to container capacity. It applies in the European Union and, word for word, in Great Britain. OSHA and WHMIS set no numeric minimum at all, so this table is guidance rather than a requirement in those two.

Container Table 1.3 label size Pictogram side This format
≤ 3 L 52 × 74 mm — if possible 16 mm qualifies
> 3–50 L 74 × 105 mm 23 mm qualifies
> 50–500 L 105 × 148 mm 32.2 mm qualifies
> 500 L 148 × 210 mm 46 mm qualifies (landscape)

Read the two wordings apart: for packages over 3 litres Table 1.3 says “at least”, and the format qualifies only when both dimensions are met — in either orientation, since the table gives a pair of dimensions and never says which one is the width. For packages not exceeding 3 litres it says “if possible, at least 52 × 74”, which is a target rather than a minimum; a 4 × 2 in label is 1.2 mm under on the short side while carrying half again the area, so it is marked “~ enough area” — our assessment, not a compliance statement. Table 1.3 says nothing about label area at all. The pictogram column does combine two real rules: the side from Table 1.3 and the “at least one fifteenth of the minimum label area, never below 1 cm²” requirement of Annex I §1.2.1, whichever is larger.

Frequently asked

What label size does CLP require for an IBC?

For a package above 500 litres, at least 148 × 210 mm with pictograms of at least 46 × 46 mm — CLP Annex I Table 1.3. A 210 × 148 mm A5 landscape label meets it exactly.

Is A5 label stock chemical-resistant?

It depends on the product, not the size. HERMA 58102 in the hazardous-substances range is a chemical-resistant film with BS 5609 certification; a plain A5 paper label is not suitable for a shipped chemical container.

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