China's GB 15258 Final Draft Removes Safety Information Code, Extends Simplified Labels to 500 mL

On September 11, 2026, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) released the final draft of its mandatory national standard for chemical safety labels (GB 15258), along with its official drafting notes. The comment period runs from September 12 to September 18, 2026.

Once finalized, this third revision will officially replace GB 15258-2009. The most significant update since the August 2025 consultation draft is the complete removal of the proposed "hazardous chemical safety information code" (QR code) requirement.

Dropping the QR Code Requirement: A Major Turn from the Draft for Comments to the Final Draft

Drawing on Guangdong's piloting experience with hazardous chemical safety information codes, the draft for comments released in August 2025 introduced the "hazardous chemical safety information code" as a label element for the first time, defining it as "a QR code generated by the Comprehensive Service System for Hazardous Chemical Registration to carry safety information on hazardous chemicals". The draft for comments required that hazardous chemicals circulated in China be provided with a hazardous chemical safety information code, or another QR code integrated with it, before entering the distribution chain; positions such as the cover page of fold-out labels and the outer packaging of combination containers were also required to bear the safety information code (which could be omitted where the packaging volume does not exceed 100 mL). The draft also cited the two-dimensional bar code print quality test standard (GB/T 23704), requiring the print quality grade of the code to be no lower than Grade 2.0.

This new requirement was highly controversial during the comment period. According to the drafting notes, the main milestones of this revision from project initiation to the current public notice are as follows:

December 2024: In implementation of the Notice on Issuing the Development and Revision Plans for 18 Mandatory National Standards Including Safety Technical Requirements for Children's Watches and the Related Foreign-Language Version Plans (Guo Biao Wei Fa [2024] No. 51), the standard drafting working group was established;
May to August 2025: MIIT circulated official letters to seek comments from 12 relevant departments of ministries and commissions and received 46 comments;
August to October 2025: The draft for comments was released for public comment through the National Public Service Platform for Standards Information, receiving 222 comments, 22 of which concerned the "safety information code"; the revision group proposed to "not adopt" or "partially adopt" these comments;
November 19, 2025: The technical committee organized an expert discussion, at which no objection was raised to the comments the revision group proposed to adopt, except for "revising the standard title" and "revising the order of physical hazard pictograms"; discussion of the 22 comments on the "safety information code" was deferred, pending study and determination by MIIT together with the relevant ministries and commissions;
April 28, 2026: The standard review meeting was held in Beijing, where the review experts proposed deleting the content related to the safety information code, and the drafting group completed the final draft accordingly;
May 2026: Given that the deletion of the safety information code constituted a major change, MIIT again sought the comments of the Ministry of Emergency Management, which reported no comments;
June 2026: The final draft was submitted to MIIT;
September 11, 2026: The final draft and the drafting notes were released for public notice.

The text of the final draft no longer contains any content related to the "safety information code": Clause 4.2.9 of the draft for comments, the definition of the safety information code, the print quality grade requirements, and the marking requirements for fold-out labels and combination packaging have all been deleted, and GB/T 23704 Two-dimensional Bar Code Symbol Print Quality Test has been removed from the normative references as well. The label elements have been reduced from nine in the draft for comments to eight, namely chemical identifier, pictograms, signal word, hazard statements, precautionary statements, emergency telephone number, supplier identification, and reference prompt.

Main Technical Changes in the Final Draft

Change	Draft for Comments	Final Draft	Impact
Hazardous chemical safety information code	Label element includes the safety information code, to be provided before hazardous chemicals circulated in China enter the distribution chain; must appear on the cover page of fold-out labels (omittable at ≤100 mL); print quality no lower than Grade 2.0 under GB/T 23704-2017	Deleted in its entirety; the reference to GB/T 23704 removed accordingly; label elements restored from nine to eight	Enterprises no longer need to apply for or print safety information codes on labels, reducing compliance costs
Simplified label threshold	Simplified labels may be used for packages with a volume of ≤100 mL	Relaxed to ≤500 mL, with a three-tier progressive simplification scheme for ≤100 mL, 5-10 mL, and ≤5 mL	Scope of application expanded fivefold; reagents in small packages of ≤5 mL may retain only the chemical identifier
Terminology change	"Warning word"	Changed to "signal word" throughout; the GHS reference updated from the 8th revised edition to the 11th revised edition	Aligned with GB 30000.1-2024; label templates need to be updated accordingly
Emergency telephone number in China for imported chemicals	Labels of chemicals imported from abroad must bear at least one 24-hour emergency consultation telephone number for chemical accidents located in China	This mandatory requirement deleted	Greater flexibility in setting emergency telephone numbers on labels of imported chemicals
Hazard statement consolidation rules	Specified omission rules such as H410 may omit H400, H411 may omit H401, H412 may omit H402, and H314 may omit H318	Consolidation rules deleted; all hazard statements shall appear, ordered by physical hazards, health hazards, and environmental hazards	More complete presentation of hazard statements
Label border	Black border with a width of ≥1 mm	Black border or one in sharp contrast with the background color, with the width no longer specified	Greater freedom in printing design
Pictogram size	No specific provision	Pictograms shall be no smaller than the font size of the Chinese chemical name	Enterprises need to check whether the pictograms on existing labels are too small

Comparison with International Standards and Regulations

The drafting notes also provide a comparison of this revision with the major international systems:

UN GHS: The technical content of the final draft, such as the label elements, is consistent with the GHS (11th revised edition);
EU CLP Regulation: Its latest amendment in 2024 introduced digital labeling provisions to improve the communication of chemical hazard information;
US Hazard Communication Standard (HCS): Updated in 2024 to align with the GHS 7th revised edition while incorporating some elements of the 8th revised edition, it newly provided for exemption from safety labels for chemicals in packages smaller than 3 mL; the exemption from label elements for chemicals in small packages of no more than 5 mL in this final draft draws on this practice and was determined comprehensively in combination with the common reagent package sizes of 0.5 mL, 1 mL, 5 mL, and 10 mL specified in GB 15346-2012 Chemical Reagent - Packaging and Marking.

CIRS Insights

The public notice of the final draft is the last round of public comment before the standard is issued. CIRS reminds relevant enterprises that:

The comment period is short (September 12 to 18, 2026). Enterprises that still hold different views on label size, the simplified safety label threshold, kit labeling arrangements, etc., should fill in the Feedback Form for Mandatory National Standards and submit it by email to the above notice mailbox within the comment period;
Enterprises involved in label modification may adjust their investment arrangements accordingly: the provisions on the safety information code have been deleted in their entirety, so there is no need to reserve further investment for applying for and printing QR codes or for print quality grades; those that have already started modifications under contingency plans based on the draft for comments may evaluate and adjust the relevant arrangements;
Plan the label switch in advance: the terminology has been unified from "warning word" to "signal word", and adjustments have also been made to the chemical identifier, ingredient labeling (no more than five components, with priority given to identifying the main hazard-contributing components), the ordering of hazard information, label borders, and pictogram sizes. Enterprises should check item by item the differences between their existing safety labels and the new standard, and keep the label information consistent with the SDS;
Check the labeling arrangements for combination packaging and kits: safety labels shall be affixed to, tied to, or spray-printed on both the inner and outer packages of combination packaging; the outer packaging of a kit should be arranged under three scenarios depending on the space available, and the minimum elements of the overall kit label now include pictograms;
Use the proposed 12-month transition period to phase out label stocks in batches, and keep a close eye on the digital labeling trend in international trade: although the safety information code is not included in this final draft, the EU CLP Regulation has introduced digital labeling and the US HCS continues to be updated, so exported chemicals should still meet the requirements of their destination countries.

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