DuraTagGuide
What is the EU GARAN label?
GARAN is the EU's harmonised label for the commercial guarantee of durability — the promise a producer makes that a product will keep working as expected for a set number of years. Its design and content are set by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1960, and it applies from 27 September 2026.
The label is voluntary
This is the point most often misunderstood. Regulation (EU) 2025/1960 covers two different instruments, and they carry very different obligations:
| Harmonised notice | GARAN label | |
|---|---|---|
| Covers | The legal guarantee of conformity | The commercial guarantee of durability |
| Status | Mandatory at the point of sale | Voluntary for producers |
| Who acts | The seller | The producer |
| Editable | Nothing — used exactly as published | Duration, brand/trademark, model identifier |
No producer is obliged to offer a commercial guarantee of durability. But a producer who does offer one, and who wants to communicate it using the EU's standard visual language, uses the GARAN label to do it. The mandatory notice is covered separately in our guide to the harmonised notice.
When you may use it
The Commission's practical guidelines are explicit that the label may only be shown when the guarantee meets all four of these conditions at once:
- It is offered by the producer of the good.
- It costs the consumer nothing extra.
- It covers the entire good, not just a component of it.
- Its duration is more than two years.
The label must not be used for other kinds of commercial guarantee — a paid extended warranty, or cover limited to one component — and where several products appear in one layout it must not imply that all of them are covered.
What is on the label
The label is deliberately language-neutral, so the same artwork works across the Union. Most of it is fixed. Only three fields are yours to fill in:
Duration
The XX placeholder, replaced by the guarantee length in years.
Brand / Trademark
The name of the producer offering the guarantee.
Model identifier
The model the guarantee applies to, so the label is unambiguous.
Everything else — the GARAN title, the tick mark, the calendar symbol, the reminder of the legal guarantee, the QR code, and the translations of "producer guarantee in years" in every official EU language — cannot be edited or removed. The requirements guide covers the colours, sizes and typography in detail.
Three formats, three contexts
| Format | Where it may be used |
|---|---|
| Colour | Anywhere. Required for distance contracts concluded through an online interface, and the preferred choice elsewhere. |
| Black and white | Permitted only for contracts other than online distance contracts. |
| Nested | Online only. A compact strip showing just the duration; the full label must appear on the first click, roll-over or tactile expansion. It cannot be printed. |
Where the label goes
In a shop, the guidelines suggest the shelf edge next to the product, the exterior of the packaging, or a tag attached to the product itself — useful for unpackaged goods. Including a copy inside the box, as a leaflet or printed in the manual, is recommended so the consumer keeps a record.
Online, the label belongs alongside the product and visible before purchase: in the product image or gallery, in the description, or as a nested label. The guidelines also ask for it at checkout, before the order is placed, and in the confirmation email. Wherever it appears, a clickable link should lead to the same destination as the QR code.
Key date
Regulation (EU) 2025/1960 applies from 27 September 2026 — the same date Member States must apply the measures transposing Directive (EU) 2024/825, which introduced both instruments into the Consumer Rights Directive. The regulation explained page walks through how the pieces fit together.
Make a GARAN label
Fill in the three editable fields and download the result. Free, in your browser, no account needed.
Open the editor