General · precautionary statement
P103 — Read carefully and follow all instructions.
General statements appear on almost every consumer-facing label. 40 substances with a harmonised EU classification carry this code.
01 · Wording
What P103 says
Read carefully and follow all instructions.
General · GHS revision 9
Does your label need P103? That depends on the hazard classes of your product, on whether it goes to the public or to professionals, and on what else is already on the label — Annex IV column 5 lets one statement remove another. Work it out from a classification →
02 · Languages
P103 in the 24 official EU languages
A label put on the market in an EU country must carry the wording of that country's own language version of CLP — not a translation of the English one. These 24 lines are quoted from the consolidated regulation, Annex IV, and are the text to print.
| Language | Official wording of P103 |
|---|---|
| BG български Bulgarian | Преди употреба прочетете етикета. |
| ES español Spanish | Leer la etiqueta antes del uso. |
| CS čeština Czech | Před použitím si přečtěte údaje na štítku. |
| DA dansk Danish | Læs etiketten før brug. |
| DE Deutsch German | Vor Gebrauch Kennzeichnungsetikett lesen. |
| ET eesti Estonian | Enne kasutamist tutvuda etiketil oleva infoga. |
| EL ελληνικά Greek | Διαβάστε την ετικέτα πριν από τη χρήση. |
| EN English English | Read label before use. |
| FR français French | Lire l’étiquette avant utilisation. |
| GA Gaeilge Irish | Léigh an lipéad roimh úsáid. |
| HR hrvatski Croatian | Prije uporabe pročitati naljepnicu. |
| IT italiano Italian | Leggere l’etichetta prima dell’uso. |
| LV latviešu Latvian | Pirms izmantošanas izlasīt etiķeti. |
| LT lietuvių Lithuanian | Prieš naudojimą perskaityti etiketę. |
| HU magyar Hungarian | Használat előtt olvassa el a címkén közölt információkat. |
| MT Malti Maltese | Aqra t-tikketta qabel l-użu. |
| NL Nederlands Dutch | Alvorens te gebruiken, het etiket lezen. |
| PL polski Polish | Przed użyciem przeczytać etykietę. |
| PT português Portuguese | Ler o rótulo antes da utilização. |
| RO română Romanian | Citiți eticheta înainte de utilizare. |
| SK slovenčina Slovak | Pred použitím si prečítajte etiketu. |
| SL slovenščina Slovenian | Pred uporabo preberite etiketo. |
| FI suomi Finnish | Lue merkinnät ennen käyttöä. |
| SV svenska Swedish | Läs etiketten före användning. |
Source: CELEX:02008R1272-20260501, Annex IV. © European Union, https://eur-lex.europa.eu — only the electronic Official Journal of the European Union is authentic. Irish is one of the 24 official languages and its H and P texts are printed inside the multilingual Annex tables, but no consolidated CLP has ever been published in Irish — which is why an Irish-primary label cannot be built here.
03 · Legal status
Where P103 is current
GHS is a United Nations model text, revised every two years, and each jurisdiction adopts a revision on its own timetable. A code can be legally current in one system and deleted in another — that is normal, not an error.
| Jurisdiction | Basis | Status of P103 |
|---|---|---|
| EU CLP | Regulation (EC) 1272/2008 CLP Annex IV, Part 2 (consolidated) | Current |
| US OSHA HazCom | 29 CFR 1910.1200 Appendix C UN GHS Rev.7 (final rule of 20 May 2024) | Current |
| US HazCom 2012 | legacy · GHS Rev.3 UN GHS Rev.3, Annex 3 | Current |
| UN GHS | Rev.11 (2025) UN GHS Rev.11, Annex 3 | Current |
Currently in force under: EU CLP, US OSHA HazCom, US HazCom 2012, UN GHS. Sources: EU CLP · US OSHA HazCom · US HazCom 2012 · UN GHS
04 · Substances
Substances carrying P103
Every entry whose harmonised CLP Annex VI classification includes this precautionary statement. Substances with a reference page here open on this site; the rest open on ghssymbols.com. Of these, 3 are group entries such as “beryllium compounds” or “salts of hydrazine” — Annex VI gives them no CAS number, so they are listed by Index No and have no page of their own.
- Aluminum isopropoxide CAS 555-31-7
- ammonium (Z)-α-methoxyimino-2-furylacetate CAS 97148-39-5
- Aromtic hydrocarbons, C≥10, steam-cracking… CAS 90640-98-5
- calcium iodoxybenzoate Index No 053-004-00-X
- Distillates (petroleum), alkylate CAS 64741-73-7
- Distillates (petroleum), catalytic cracked heavy tar… CAS 101631-13-4
- Distillates (petroleum), chemically neutralized light CAS 64742-31-0
- Distillates (petroleum), cracked stripped… CAS 68477-40-7
- Distillates (petroleum), cracked stripped… CAS 68477-39-4
- Distillates (petroleum), hydrodesulfurized full-range… CAS 101316-58-9
- Distillates (petroleum), hydrotreated light CAS 64742-47-8
- Distillates (petroleum), steam-cracked CAS 64742-91-2
- Distillates (petroleum), steam-cracked heavy tar light CAS 101631-15-6
- Distillates (petroleum), steam-cracked, C8-12 fraction CAS 68477-54-3
- Distillates (petroleum), thermal-cracked, alkylarom.… CAS 101316-61-4
- e-glass microfibres of representative composition Index No 014-046-00-4
- Extracts (petroleum), heavy naphtha solvent CAS 64741-98-6
- Hydrocarbons, C9-16, hydrotreated, dearomatized CAS 93763-35-0
- Iodylbenzene CAS 696-33-3
- kerosene CAS 8008-20-6
- Kerosine (petroleum), hydrodesulfurized CAS 64742-81-0
- Kerosine (petroleum), hydrodesulfurized thermal cracked CAS 85116-55-8
- Kerosine (petroleum), hydrotreated CAS 101631-19-0
- Kerosine (petroleum), solvent-refined hydrodesulfurized CAS 97488-94-3
- Kerosine (petroleum), solvent-refined sweetened CAS 92045-36-8
- Kerosine (petroleum), straight-run wide-cut CAS 92045-37-9
- Kerosine (petroleum), sweetened CAS 91770-15-9
- Lauroyl peroxide CAS 105-74-8
- Lauryl Methacrylate CAS 142-90-5
- Naphtha (petroleum), catalytic reformed… CAS 85116-57-0
- Naphtha (petroleum), heavy coker CAS 68333-23-3
- Naphtha (petroleum), steam-cracked, hydrotreated… CAS 90641-13-7
- silicon carbide fibres (with diameter < 3 μm, length >… CAS 409-21-2
- Solvent naphtha (petroleum) heavy aliph. CAS 64742-96-7
- Solvent naphtha (petroleum), heavy arom. CAS 64742-94-5
- Solvent naphtha (petroleum), hydrocracked heavy arom. CAS 101316-80-7
- Solvent naphtha (petroleum), hydrodesulfurized heavy… CAS 101316-81-8
- Solvent naphtha (petroleum), hydrodesulfurized medium CAS 101316-82-9
- toluene-4-sulphonohydrazide CAS 1576-35-8
- zirconium powder (non pyrophoric) Index No 040-002-00-9
Nothing matches that filter.
All precautionary statements
The full list of P-codes with the jurisdiction switch lives on the precautionary statements hub. For the hazard side, see hazard statements (H-codes).
Wording quoted from the regulation named above. Substance counts come from harmonised classifications in CLP Annex VI — the statements on a real product also depend on the supplier's own classification. Always check the supplier safety data sheet.