California Prop 65 Warning Text: Long-Form, Short-Form, and Placement

The California Prop 65 warning text has to follow one of two safe harbor formats set by state regulation: a long-form version that spells out the health risk in a full sentence, or a short-form version built for tight label space. Both must name at least one listed chemical, both must appear next to a yellow triangle symbol and a bold signal word, and both must direct the reader to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov. Deviating from the approved wording forfeits the safe harbor and exposes the business to penalties of up to $2,500 per day.

Long-Form Warning Language

The long-form warning is the default safe harbor format. The exact sentence depends on whether the chemical involved causes cancer, reproductive harm, or both.

For a carcinogen: “This product can expose you to chemicals including [name of chemical], which is [are] known to the State of California to cause cancer. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.”¹

For a reproductive toxicant: “This product can expose you to chemicals including [name of chemical], which is [are] known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.”¹

When both endpoints apply, the warning has to name at least one chemical for each risk. If the same chemical causes both, one sentence covers it: “This product can expose you to chemicals including [name of chemical], which is [are] known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.” If only one chemical triggers the warning, the phrase “chemicals including” can be dropped, leaving just the chemical’s name.¹

Short-Form Warning Language

The short-form warning trades the full explanatory sentence for a compressed version. It still has to name at least one chemical. For a carcinogen, either wording qualifies:

“Cancer risk from exposure to [name of chemical]. See www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.”
“Can expose you to [name of chemical], a carcinogen. See www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.”

For a reproductive toxicant, the same pattern applies with “reproductive harm” substituted for “cancer.” When both endpoints apply, name a chemical for each.¹

The Old Short-Form Loses Safe Harbor on January 1, 2028

Before a 2025 amendment, the short-form could be a single word like “Cancer” or “Reproductive Harm” with no chemical named. The amended regulation took effect January 1, 2025, and the new content becomes mandatory on January 1, 2028; businesses using the old short-form have until then to update their labels.² Any new label or packaging designed today should use the updated wording, because the old version will lose safe harbor protection once the transition period ends.

The Symbol and Signal Word

Warning text alone is not enough. Two visual elements have to appear before the sentence.

The first is a symbol: a black exclamation point inside a yellow equilateral triangle with a bold black outline. Labels not printed in color may use a black-and-white version. The symbol sits to the left of the warning text and must be at least as tall as the word “WARNING.”³

The second is a signal word in bold, all-capital letters. Three options satisfy the requirement: “WARNING,” “CA WARNING,” or “CALIFORNIA WARNING.”¹

How the Warning Has to Appear

Correct wording still fails the safe harbor if the warning does not reach the buyer prominently and before purchase. The method depends on where and how the product is sold.

Labels and Packaging

The most common approach is placing the warning directly on the product label. Short-form warnings on labels must be at least 6-point type, and the warning must be conspicuous relative to surrounding text. A 6-point warning buried inside a dense ingredient panel does not qualify, even though the type size technically meets the floor.⁴

Shelf Signs and Point-of-Sale Tags

If the warning cannot go on the product, businesses may use shelf signs or point-of-sale tags. Sign specifications vary by product category and exposure type, and some product-specific rules require signs as large as 8.5 by 11 inches with 20-point minimum type. The sign must be positioned where a customer will see it before deciding to buy.

Online and Catalog Sales

Online sellers must either display the warning on the product page itself or provide a clearly marked hyperlink using the word “WARNING” that leads to the full warning text. Either way, the warning has to reach the buyer before checkout. Catalog sellers must include the warning in the catalog with a clear connection to the specific product.¹

Environmental Exposure Locations

For places where people are exposed to listed chemicals in the environment, like parking garages, factories, or amusement parks, the warning must be posted at every public entrance in type no smaller than 72-point. The sign has to identify at least one source of exposure and appear in English along with any other language used on other signage in the area.⁵

Manufacturer or Retailer: Who Puts the Warning There

Primary responsibility falls on the business that manufactures, imports, packages, or distributes the product. That business can either label the product directly or send the retailer a written notice with all the warning materials the retailer needs, including labels, shelf signs, and any internet warning language.⁶

A written notice has to identify the specific product, name the listed chemicals involved, and include the warning materials the retailer will use. The manufacturer must renew that notice annually for as long as the product sells in California, and must get written or electronic confirmation of receipt. If the chemical or the health endpoint changes, an updated notice has to go out within 90 days.⁶

Retailers become directly responsible in a narrow set of situations: when they sell a product under their own brand, when they add a listed chemical themselves, when they cover or alter an existing warning label, when they receive proper notice and materials but fail to display them, or when no upstream supplier exists and the retailer has actual knowledge of the exposure.⁶

When a Warning Is Actually Required

Not every listed chemical triggers a warning. The obligation kicks in only when a business knowingly and intentionally exposes someone to a listed chemical at levels above the state’s safe harbor thresholds: the No Significant Risk Level (NSRL) for carcinogens and the Maximum Allowable Dose Level (MADL) for reproductive toxicants.⁷ Businesses that want formal confirmation their product falls below these levels can request a Safe Use Determination from the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.

Two categorical exemptions matter for anyone deciding whether to label at all. Businesses with fewer than 10 employees are exempt from Prop 65’s warning requirements entirely, along with government agencies and public water systems.⁸ Food is also treated differently: a chemical that occurs naturally in a food, or that got into the food solely because the food absorbed it from the natural environment, does not count as an exposure. The exemption disappears for any portion of the chemical introduced by human activity like pollution or manufacturing, and the business claiming the exemption bears the burden of proving the chemical is naturally occurring and that good agricultural or manufacturing practices were used to keep contamination as low as feasible.⁹

What Wrong or Missing Text Costs

A business that fails to provide a compliant warning faces civil penalties of up to $2,500 per violation per day for each day the exposure continues.¹⁰ Because penalties accumulate daily, a product that sat on shelves for months or years without a compliant label can rack up substantial exposure.

Enforcement authority runs to the California Attorney General, district attorneys, and city attorneys, but the bulk of cases come from private enforcers acting in the public interest. A private enforcer must serve a 60-day notice of violation on the business, the Attorney General, and the local district or city attorney before filing suit. The notice has to identify the listed chemicals, describe the route of exposure, name the product or activity, and give an approximate time period for the alleged violation.¹¹

Retailers get one narrow protection worth knowing. When a retailer first learns of a Prop 65 exposure only through a 60-day notice, the retailer has five business days to correct the violation by adding a compliant warning or pulling the product from shelves.¹² Most cases resolve through settlement, and a typical settlement combines civil penalties, reimbursement of the enforcer’s attorney fees, and an agreement to reformulate or relabel. For a small business, the attorney-fee component alone often exceeds the penalty amount, which is why the practical value of getting the warning text right the first time is much higher than its face cost.

1
Cornell Law Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 27 25603 – Consumer Product Exposure Warnings Content
2
Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. Proposition 65 Clear and Reasonable Warnings – Safe Harbor Methods and Content
3
Proposition 65 Warnings. Warning Symbol
4
Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. Regulations on Proposition 65 Title 27, Division 4
5
Cornell Law Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 27 25604 – Environmental Exposure Warnings
6
Cornell Law Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 27 25600.2 – Responsibility to Provide Consumer Product Exposure Warnings
7
California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code 25249.6 – Required Warning Before Exposure to Chemicals Known to Cause Cancer or Reproductive Toxicity
8
Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. Fact Sheet on Proposition 65 Safe Use Determination Process
9
Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. Regulations on Proposition 65 Title 27, Division 4 – Section 25501
10
Proposition 65 Warnings Website. What Are the Penalties for Violating Proposition 65
11
California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code 25249.7
12
Proposition 65 Warnings Website. Guidance for Small Businesses That Receive a 60-Day Notice for a Consumer Product