EU Ecolabel Eligibility Checker

The EU Ecolabel — the distinctive flower logo — is the European Union’s official voluntary environmental label, awarded to products and services that meet rigorous, life-cycle-based environmental criteria. But it only covers specific product groups for which the European Commission has adopted criteria, and several categories are explicitly excluded by regulation. This checker tells you whether a scheme exists for your category, what the headline criteria themes are, and how the fee and conformity process works.

Why the EU Ecolabel is different from a green claim

Many manufacturers attach self-declared environmental claims to their products, but those claims are not independently verified. The EU Ecolabel is a Type I ecolabel under ISO 14024, which means the criteria are set by an independent body (the Commission), cover the full product life cycle, and are verified by an accredited Competent Body in your member state before a licence is issued. This structure matters increasingly under the EU Green Claims Directive, which is moving toward restricting unverified environmental claims.

How the eligibility check works

The tool maps your selected category to the EU Ecolabel product group structure defined by Commission Decisions under Regulation (EC) No 66/2010. For each category it reports one of three states:

• Eligible — an active product group exists, with named criteria themes such as energy efficiency, restriction of hazardous substances, durability, or recyclability.
• Excluded — the regulation explicitly bars the category; food, feed, medicinal products, and medical devices are the main exclusions.
• No current scheme — the category is not excluded but no criteria set has been adopted, so a licence cannot currently be granted.

For eligible categories the tool also surfaces the indicative fee structure: an application fee plus an annual licence fee, both capped by the regulation, with reductions for SMEs and micro-enterprises.

The conformity process

Meeting the eligibility check means only that your product group has an active scheme. Getting the actual licence involves:

1. Downloading the relevant Commission Decision for your product group, which lists every criterion.
2. Testing your product against those criteria, usually through accredited laboratory reports.
3. Submitting an application to the Competent Body in your EU member state.
4. Paying the application and annual fees; the Competent Body reviews evidence, may carry out on-site checks, and issues the licence.
5. Once licenced, you may display the flower logo with the licence number.

Criteria for each product group are periodically revised, so licence holders must reassess when a new criteria set comes into force.

Selected current product groups

To illustrate the range of categories covered:

If your category shows no current scheme, you cannot apply for the EU Ecolabel, but you may still pursue other Type I ecolabels in your market. Always begin a real application through the Competent Body in your member state.