Quick answer
A Prop 65 warning is the notice California requires when a product exposes buyers to a chemical on its list of approximately 900 chemicals linked to cancer or reproductive harm, unless the exposure is below the safe level. Businesses with fewer than 10 employees are exempt, though a retailer or wholesale buyer can still ask for a warning by contract. A warning that follows OEHHA's safe harbor rules uses the yellow triangle symbol, the word WARNING and at least one listed chemical name, on the product and on the product page before checkout.
Nation, an AI store builder, publishes this page. It is pre-launch, with a waitlist on withnation.ai, so it is not in the fee comparison. See where Nation fits.
What a Prop 65 warning is
Proposition 65 is a California law that voters approved in November 1986. Its official name is the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986. It requires businesses to provide warnings to Californians about significant exposures to chemicals that cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm.
California keeps the list of those chemicals. It holds approximately 900 chemicals and must be updated at least once a year. The list includes naturally occurring and synthetic chemicals, among them additives or ingredients in pesticides, common household products, food, drugs, dyes, or solvents. The duty to warn about a newly listed chemical starts one year after a chemical is added to the list.
A Prop 65 warning is the short notice that tells a buyer a product can expose them to one of those chemicals. It is required unless the exposure is low enough to pose no significant risk of cancer or is significantly below levels observed to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm. The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), part of the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA), runs the program and writes the warning rules.
This page is general information about a California law, not legal advice. Product labeling rules vary by state and by city, so check the rules where you sell and talk to a lawyer about your own products.
Does your product need a Prop 65 warning?
Work through these checks in order. If your business is exempt, causes no exposure in California, uses no listed chemical, or keeps the exposure at or below the safe harbor level, the law does not require a warning. A contract still can.
Count your employees
Prop 65 applies to all businesses with 10 or more employees doing business in California. Count all full-time and part-time employees on the date the exposure happens, not just the people who make the product.
Check where the buyer is
The warning duty covers exposures in California. OEHHA says nothing in the law requires businesses to provide warnings for exposures that occur outside California. A shop based in another state that ships to California buyers is still covered if it has enough employees.
Check your materials against the list
Search the Prop 65 list for the chemicals in your materials, dyes, glazes, metals, finishes and packaging, and ask suppliers what their components contain. The California Attorney General lists products that were reformulated after Prop 65 notices or lawsuits. Among them: ceramic tableware, artificial turf, household faucets, children's jewelry.
Compare the exposure with the safe harbor level
OEHHA has set more than 300 safe harbor levels. A business does not need to warn if the exposure occurs at or below these levels. If OEHHA has set no safe harbor level for a chemical, a business that exposes buyers to it would be required to provide a Proposition 65 warning unless it can show the exposure is not a significant risk.
Read your contracts
Even an exempt business can owe a warning by contract. OEHHA notes that a small business may still have contractual obligations and/or indemnification agreements related to Proposition 65 warnings, for example with the stores it supplies.
The small-business exemption and where it stops
The exemption covers businesses with fewer than 10 employees. That count includes all full-time and part-time employees, so a shop that adds seasonal help in November can cross the line for those weeks.
The exemption covers your own duty to warn. It does not stop a retailer, distributor or marketplace that is covered from asking you for warning materials. OEHHA's rules place primary responsibility for warnings on product manufacturers, producers, packagers, importers, suppliers or distributors. A covered manufacturer can put the warning on the product label. If it does not, it must provide notice and warning materials, including warning language for products sold on the internet, to the retailer that sells the product. A manufacturer that warns through written notice renews it at least annually.
If you sell wholesale, read the supplier agreement before you sign it. A Prop 65 clause in that contract can set what warning materials you must supply, whatever your headcount, and an indemnity clause can require you to cover the store's costs if a claim is brought.
Prop 65 warning label requirements
The law asks for a clear and reasonable warning. OEHHA's regulations set out safe harbor warnings: content and placement that count as clear and reasonable by rule. The safe harbor methods are non-mandatory. A business that writes its own wording can still comply if the warning is clear and reasonable, but it may have to defend the warning if someone challenges it in court. The table lists the safe harbor rules for a warning on a consumer product.
If your label is not printed in yellow anywhere, the symbol may be provided in black and white. A warning placed only in an owner's manual is not generally a safe harbor warning method. A QR code the buyer has to scan to find the warning is not automatic and would not be considered a safe harbor warning.
Prop 65 warning label text you can copy
These are OEHHA's own safe harbor wordings for consumer products. Each one follows the warning symbol and one of the signal words. Replace [name of chemical] with the full name of a chemical from the Prop 65 list that your product exposes buyers to, and pick the wording that matches what the chemical is listed for: cancer, reproductive harm or both.
OEHHA has developed tailored warning provisions for certain products and places, each with its own wording and placement. Where a tailored warning exists for the exposure, a business cannot use the short-form warning and still claim safe harbor protection unless a tailored warning regulation expressly allows the use of the short form. P65Warnings.ca.gov lists sample warnings for these products and places. For furniture products, for example, the warning must be affixed to the furniture product in the same manner as other consumer information.
Example: a maker with 12 staff sells a product with a part that exposes buyers to one listed carcinogen. A short-form label on the product reads: WARNING: Cancer risk from exposure to [name of chemical]. See www.P65Warnings.ca.gov. The product page shows the same line before checkout.
Prop 65 warnings for online stores, Etsy and other marketplaces
To meet the safe harbor, a product sold online needs a warning on or with the product, and the seller must also provide an internet warning prior to completing the purchase. The website warning goes on the product display page, or behind a clearly marked hyperlink that uses the word WARNING, or comes as a pop-up warning that appears before the purchase is completed. If the short-form warning is on the product label, the website warning may use the same short-form warning content.
An out-of-state seller can meet the safe harbor by providing the warning only for exposures that occur within California. OEHHA notes that some online sellers do this with a pop-up when the purchaser enters a California zip code.
On Etsy, sellers who need a warning add it as part of their item description. Etsy's seller handbook puts it this way: Sellers are ultimately responsible for the safety and compliance of their products. Other marketplaces and wholesale platforms have their own listing fields and seller terms, so check each one where you sell.
When a supplier tells an online retailer that it is updating a short-form warning, the retailer has up to 60 calendar days to show the new text on the product page.
The short-form change that applies from January 1, 2028
Amended warning rules took effect on January 1, 2025. They changed the short-form warning, the shorter text a business can print on a product label. The new short form names a listed chemical; the old one named none.
The old short form may still be used on a product manufactured and labeled prior to January 1, 2028, regardless of when the product is sold. For products made and labeled from January 1, 2028, only the new short form qualifies for safe harbor protection. If you are ordering labels now, printing the new version means you will not need a second print run.
Who enforces Prop 65 and what it costs
The California Attorney General's Office enforces Prop 65. Any district attorney can also sue, as can city attorneys for cities whose population exceeds 750,000 and any individual acting in the public interest. A private enforcer must first give at least 60 days notice of the alleged violation to the business and to public prosecutors.
Penalties for failing to warn can reach $2,500 per violation per day. An exempt shop can still face costs through a contract with a retailer if it promised warnings it did not supply. If you receive a notice, the Attorney General says a business should consider locating defense counsel to help evaluate the matter.
Where Nation fits
Nation
Category: an AI store builder
Nation says one description of what you make builds the store, then agents handle orders, customers and delivery and run ads, content and social posts, with you approving the work. This page is general information about a California law, not legal advice.
Limits today
- Status: pre-launch, with a waitlist on withnation.ai.
- Pricing and fees: not announced yet.
- Shopper marketplace: no shopper marketplace has been announced.
- Track record: no independent reviews or public stores yet.
Nation publishes this page. It is general information about Prop 65, not legal advice.
Describe what you makeQuestions about Prop 65 warnings
Do small businesses need a Prop 65 warning?
A Prop 65 warning is not required by law from a business with fewer than 10 employees. Count all full-time and part-time employees on the date of the exposure. OEHHA notes that a small business may still have contractual obligations and/or indemnification agreements related to Proposition 65 warnings, so read your supplier agreements.
What does a Prop 65 warning label have to say?
A Prop 65 warning label that follows the safe harbor rules starts with a black exclamation point in a yellow equilateral triangle with a bold, black outline, then "WARNING", "CA WARNING" or "CALIFORNIA WARNING", then text naming at least one listed chemical and pointing to P65Warnings.ca.gov. A short-form label must be in type no smaller than 6-point.
Do I need a Prop 65 warning to sell on Etsy?
Selling on Etsy does not by itself require a Prop 65 warning. You need one if your business is covered and the product exposes California buyers to a listed chemical above the safe level. Etsy sellers who need a warning add it as part of their item description, and Etsy says sellers are responsible for compliance.
What does Prop 65 compliant mean?
A Prop 65 compliant product either needs no warning, because the business is exempt or the exposure is at or below the safe harbor level, or carries a clear and reasonable warning. A business can meet that standard by using OEHHA's safe harbor wording and placement on the product and on the product page.
Do out-of-state sellers need Prop 65 warnings?
Out-of-state sellers need Prop 65 warnings when they are covered by the law and sell products that expose California buyers to listed chemicals. The law applies to all businesses with 10 or more employees doing business in California, including online sellers based elsewhere. An out-of-state seller can meet the safe harbor by providing the warning only for exposures that occur within California.