CBD labelling in France: 7 mandatory items and the bans
France has no labelling rule specific to CBD: the product category decides what applies. A cosmetic must carry the 7 items listed in Article 19 of EU Regulation 1223/2009. A flower comes under the hemp framework and an e-liquid under the French Public Health Code, while CBD food has been banned from sale since May 2026. No therapeutic claim is allowed on any of them.
Key takeaways
- Which text applies, and so which items are mandatory, depends on the product category.
- A CBD cosmetic must show 7 items, among them the INCI list and the batch number.
- The French Ministry of Agriculture stated on 20 May 2026 that foods containing CBD are illegal.
- Under the French Public Health Code, a label claiming to heal makes the product a medicine.
- Of the CBD products analysed in France in 2023, 46% showed no composition at all.
The principle: the category decides the label
A cream, a flower, an e-liquid and a gummy come under different texts. Establish that first when you look at a pack, because it sets what the maker must write and what it is barred from writing. Wording that is lawful on a cosmetic can be unlawful on a food, and vice versa.
There is good reason to check. In 2023 the French addiction-monitoring centres had 223 products sold as CBD analysed: 46% carried no composition, and only 19% contained the stated level, within 20%.
Cosmetics: the 7 items of Article 19
Cosmetics have the most precise rules. Article 19 of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 requires seven items on the container and the packaging, in indelible, easily legible and visible lettering.
| Item | What it must contain |
|---|---|
| Responsible person | Name or registered name and address; country of origin for imported products |
| Nominal content | Weight or volume at the time of packaging (except below 5 g or 5 ml) |
| Durability | Date of minimum durability, or period after opening if durability exceeds 30 months |
| Precautions for use | Particular precautions, including those in Annexes III to VI |
| Batch number | Manufacturing batch or identification reference |
| Function | Unless it is clear from the presentation |
| List of ingredients | Preceded by the word "ingredients", in descending order of weight |
Read the ingredient list, known as INCI, closely. Ingredients are listed in descending order of weight at the time they are added, and those below 1% may follow in any order. Cannabidiol near the end of the list, after the fragrance, is one of the least abundant ingredients in the formula. Fragrance compounds sit under the word "parfum", and our article on allergens in CBD cosmetics explains what that word covers.
The batch number ties the product to its analysis, to any recall and to complaints. Our guide to checking a batch in a recall relies on it, and our guide to assessing a cream or balm applies these points at the time of purchase.
What a label may not promise
Regulation (EU) No 655/2013 sets six common criteria for cosmetic claims: legal compliance, truthfulness, evidential support, honesty, fairness and informed decision-making. Three of them bear directly on CBD. Truthfulness forbids giving the finished product the properties of an ingredient when the product does not have them. Evidential support calls for studies on the product and on the claimed benefit. Honesty forbids going beyond the effects demonstrated.
The regulation has no sentence banning therapeutic claims as such; the ban follows from the line drawn around medicines. Under Article L5111-1 of the French Public Health Code, any substance "presented as having curative or preventive properties with regard to human diseases" is a medicine. A label claiming to relieve pain therefore places the product in that regime, with none of the authorisation the regime requires. Examples of acceptable wording are in our article on permitted cosmetic claims.
Food and supplements: illegal since May 2026
Here the rules changed this year. On 20 May 2026 the Ministry of Agriculture published a statement titled "Foods containing cannabidiol (CBD): illegal products that must be withdrawn from the market". It relies on Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 on novel foods, under which CBD is not authorised because its safety has not been demonstrated. The ministry is extending its checks to every channel, food supplements and online sales included.
Two categories remain authorised: hemp seeds and their derivatives, such as seed oil, and leaves meant for infusion in water, in both cases with no cannabinoid extract added. Their labels therefore cannot feature CBD.
On the science side, EFSA set a provisional safe intake level on 9 February 2026 at 0.0275 mg per kilo of body weight per day, about 2 mg for a 70 kg adult. Safety is not established under 25, during pregnancy or breastfeeding, or for people on medication. Our overview of the 2026 rules follows the file.
Flowers and resins: no dedicated list of items
Raw flower and resin come under the order of 30 December 2021, which authorises only varieties listed in the official catalogues with no more than 0.30% Δ⁹-THC. On 29 December 2022 the Conseil d'État struck down its provision banning the sale of raw flowers and leaves.
The order sets no list of items for the pack. Even so, a serious seller shows the variety name, the measured Δ⁹-THC level, the CBD level and a batch number linked to an analysis. How to check these figures is shown in our guide to the certificate of analysis, and our checklist for choosing a CBD product puts them in order.
E-liquids: the vaping rules
The French Public Health Code defines vaping products, refill bottles included, with or without nicotine. CBD e-liquids are therefore subject to two common rules, the ban on advertising and on sales to minors in Articles L3513-4 and L3513-5. The detailed rules on presentation and leaflets are in the section on products containing nicotine, a category most CBD e-liquids do not belong to. For that reason we publish no extrapolated list of items. Our guide to CBD e-liquids helps you read the stated concentration.
Frequently asked questions
Article 19 of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 sets seven. They are the responsible person and address, the nominal content, and the date of minimum durability or period after opening. Then come the precautions for use, the batch number, the product's function and the list of ingredients.
No. Under Article L5111-1 of the French Public Health Code, a product presented as having curative or preventive properties is a medicine, and the only authorised CBD medicine is Epidyolex.
No, neither as a food nor as a food supplement: the Ministry of Agriculture statement of 20 May 2026 declares such products illegal under Regulation (EU) 2015/2283. Hemp seeds, their derivatives and leaves for infusion are the only ones still authorised, with no added extract.
It shows the period after opening, here 12 months. It takes the place of the date of minimum durability when the unopened product keeps for more than 30 months.
None of the seven cosmetic items calls for a CBD percentage. The INCI list gives its rank among the ingredients and says nothing of the quantity. Only the batch certificate of analysis gives figures.
Written by the Phytogrammes team
Each journal article draws on cited primary sources: ANSM, EFSA, EUR-Lex and peer-reviewed publications. Product profiles are distinguished from documented laboratory results. Our approach.
Article published on . CBD is not a medicine.