Three EU acts and one set of guidelines define the GARAN label and the legal guarantee notice. National laws add the enforcement layer. This guide lists what each document does and the dates that matter.
Key point: Directive (EU) 2024/825 created the obligation, Regulation (EU) 2025/1960 fixed the design, and both apply from 27 September 2026. The Regulation is directly applicable, so the label looks the same in every Member State.
Directive (EU) 2024/825
Directive (EU) 2024/825 of 28 February 2024 on empowering consumers for the green transition amended two directives: the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive 2005/29/EC and the Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU.
For the label and the notice the relevant changes are in Directive 2011/83/EU:
- Article 5(1)(ea) and Article 6(1)(la): the trader must inform the consumer, using the harmonised label, when the producer offers a free commercial guarantee of durability covering the entire good for more than two years and has made this available to the trader;
- Article 22a: the Commission adopts implementing acts on the design and content of the harmonised notice and the harmonised label.
The Directive also defines the guarantee itself by reference to Article 17 of Directive (EU) 2019/771 on the sale of goods, which governs commercial guarantees.
Regulation (EU) 2025/1960
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1960 of 25 September 2025 lays down the design and content of both elements:
- Annex I: the harmonised notice on the legal guarantee of conformity;
- Annex II: the harmonised label for the commercial guarantee of durability, the GARAN label, including its colours, fixed elements and the three editable fields.
The Regulation is directly applicable in every Member State. National transposition cannot change the design, the colours or the size rules.
Commission practical guidelines
In April 2026 the Commission’s Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers published practical guidelines for sellers and producers, together with high-resolution vector files of the notice and the label in all 24 languages. The guidelines cover placement online and offline, the nested display, minimum sizes, the QR code and a list of dos and don’ts. See GARAN label dos and don’ts.
National transposition
Member States had to transpose Directive (EU) 2024/825 by 27 March 2026 and apply the rules from 27 September 2026. Each country writes the obligation into its own consumer law and names the supervising authority and the penalties. Timing and wording differ, but the label and the notice do not.
Country guides on this site: Czechia, Slovakia, Germany.
Timeline
- 28 February 2024: Directive (EU) 2024/825 adopted.
- 25 September 2025: Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1960 adopted; published in the Official Journal on 2 October 2025.
- 27 March 2026: transposition deadline for Member States.
- 1 April 2026: Commission practical guidelines and vector files published.
- 27 September 2026: the label and the notice become mandatory across the EU.
What this means for you
- Producers: decide which models carry a free guarantee of durability of more than two years covering the entire good, and communicate the duration to your traders before 27 September 2026.
- Traders: display the GARAN label for those models, online and in store, and display the legal guarantee notice in every shop. Create the labels in the generator and download the notice on the legal guarantee notice page.
FAQ
My country has not passed its transposition law yet. Does the label still apply?
Regulation (EU) 2025/1960 is directly applicable from 27 September 2026 regardless of national law. The obligation to display the label comes from Directive 2011/83/EU as amended, which needs national transposition. Check the status in your country; the Czech guide shows an example of a late transposition.
Does the legal guarantee period change?
No. The notice describes the existing legal guarantee of at least two years under EU law. National law may provide a longer period, and the notice says so.
Where is the official text?
On EUR-Lex, linked below. The Commission’s guidelines and files are on the Commission’s page on the notice and label.
Sources
- Directive (EU) 2024/825 on empowering consumers for the green transition
- Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1960
- Practical guidelines and vector files for the notice and label, European Commission
- EU legal guarantee notice and GARAN label: guidance for businesses, Your Europe
- Commercial guarantee of durability, Your Europe