Pack Label Ruler

What the rules actually say

Two separate laws govern the lettering on an Indian retail pack. The Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules 2011 apply to every packaged commodity. The FSS (Labelling & Display) Regulations 2020 apply on top of them to food.

Both set a minimum letter height from the area of the principal display panel — and they compute that panel differently. That single divergence is why this tool exists, and why a carton can sit in two font bands at once.

The divergence, with numbers

Take a 140 × 90 × 45 mm printed food carton. Its largest face is 126.0 cm². Legal Metrology takes that whole face, which lands in the 100–500 cm² band and requires 2.5 mm. FSSAI takes 40% of it — 50.4 cm² — which falls in its own lowest band. The same pack, measured two ways, two and a half times apart.

Which minimum applies to which declaration

This is the part most easily got wrong, and the rules are explicit about it. Regulation 6(3) ends with a proviso handing net quantity, retail sale price, date of expiry or best before, and consumer care details to the Legal Metrology Act — so for those, FSSAI does not set the height at all. The FSSAI table governs the other information it requires on the panel: the ingredient list, nutritional information and the rest.

Separately, Regulation 7(1) sets a flat 3 mm on Schedule II declarations — the warnings a pack carries for added sweeteners, caffeine or polyols. That is a requirement on those declarations, not a floor under everything else, which is why this tool asks whether your pack carries one.

The trap that costs a reprint

The rules measure the letter, not the font size. Cap height is roughly 70% of the em in most typefaces, so type set at 2.5 mm produces a capital of about 1.75 mm. Set the type size to the number in the rule and you are short by almost a third — and a fraction of a millimetre short is exactly what an inspector books. The preview above applies the conversion, so what you see is the letter the rule is asking for, not the type size that produces it.

Worked examples

Pack	LM panel	FSSAI panel	Minimum
Food carton 140 × 90 × 45, printed	126.0 cm²	50.4 cm²	2.5 mm
The same carton, with a Schedule II warning	126.0 cm²	50.4 cm²	3.0 mm
The same carton, non-food	126.0 cm²	—	2.5 mm
Food bottle H180 × Ø68, printed	153.8 cm²	153.8 cm²	2.5 mm
The same bottle, moulded	153.8 cm²	153.8 cm²	4.0 mm
Food sachet 60 × 40, 8 g	24.0 cm²	9.6 cm²	1.0 mm
Non-food sack 800 × 500 × 100	4000.0 cm²	—	6.0 mm

Questions people ask

Why do Legal Metrology and FSSAI give different answers for the same pack?

They measure the principal display panel differently. For a rectangular pack Legal Metrology takes the whole of the largest face, while FSSAI takes 40% of it. A 140 × 90 × 45 mm carton therefore has a 126.0 cm² panel under one law and 50.4 cm² under the other, which can put it in different font bands at the same time. A food pack has to satisfy both, so you print to whichever is larger.

What is the minimum font size for MRP on an Indian label?

There is no single answer — it depends on the area of the principal display panel, whether the pack is food, and whether the declaration is printed or moulded. Legal Metrology Rule 7 Table I runs from 1 mm for a panel of 50 cm² or less up to 6 mm above 2500 cm². A blown, moulded or embossed declaration takes the higher figure in each band.

Does the rule mean font size or letter height?

Letter height, and this is the most common and most expensive misreading. Cap height is roughly 70% of the em in most typefaces, so setting type at 2.5 mm gives a capital of about 1.75 mm — short of the rule. A 2.5 mm letter needs roughly a 3.6 mm type size. A fraction of a millimetre short is what gets artwork rejected.

How is the principal display panel calculated for a bottle or a tube?

For a cylindrical pack both laws take 40% of height × circumference. Legal Metrology excludes the tops, bottoms and flanges of cans and the shoulders and necks of bottles and jars. For any other shape, Legal Metrology takes 40% of the total surface area and FSSAI takes 20%.

Does FSSAI or Legal Metrology set the height for the MRP and net quantity?

Legal Metrology, alone. Regulation 6(3) of the FSSAI labelling regulations ends with a proviso stating that the size of letters and numerals for net weight, retail sale price, date of expiry or best before, and consumer care details shall be as provided in the Legal Metrology Act 2009 and the rules made under it. The FSSAI table governs the other information FSSAI requires on the panel — the ingredient list, nutritional information and so on — not those four.

What is the 3 mm rule, and does it apply to my whole label?

No. Regulation 7(1) requires that declarations for the ingredients and additives listed in Schedule II — added sweeteners, caffeine, polyols and the rest — be at least 3 mm, measured on the letter l. It is a requirement on those particular declarations, not a floor under every mandatory particular on the pack. A pack carrying no Schedule II declaration is not affected by it at all.

Which packs are exempt from these declarations?

Rule 26 exempts packages of 10 g or 10 ml and below from most declarations. Tobacco is the exception: declarations are still required there from 10 up to 20 g or ml.

What is the unit sale price and how is it written?

It has been mandatory since 1 January 2024. The denominator depends on the quantity, not on the unit you happen to use: below 1 kg it is expressed per gram and at or above 1 kg per kilogram; below 1 litre per millilitre and at or above per litre; below 1 metre per centimetre and at or above per metre. Always to two decimal places.

Is this tool free, and does it need an account?

The calculation is free and needs no account, no email address and no sign-up. Only the one-page PDF spec sheet asks for an email address.

Where these figures come from

Every figure on this page is taken from the instruments below. They are linked because published summaries go out of date: when these tables were last checked, two of the three secondary sources found were still quoting a Regulation 6(3) table that was substituted with effect from 17 November 2021.

• Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020 — consolidated compendium, Version-I (23.09.2021) Food Safety and Standards Authority of India Regulation 6(2) panel formulas, Regulation 6(3) Table I as substituted w.e.f. 17 November 2021, Regulation 5(4)(c) veg/non-veg sizes, and Regulation 7(1) Schedule II declarations.
• Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 — Rule 7 Tables I and II Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India Letter heights, Rule 7(3) width, Rule 8 blank space and Rule 26 exemption.

What has changed in these rules

These rules are amended often, so every figure this tool gives carries the version it was computed against. When a table changes here, the version moves and the change is listed below.