Guide
Can I handwrite PPDS labels?
Yes. Handwritten PPDS labels are allowed if they are clear, permanent and complete: name of the food, full ingredients list, and allergens emphasised (for example in capitals or underline). Many home bakers and small stalls start this way before moving to a printer.
Reviewed against official guidance.SourcesNot legal advice.
Handwriting meets the rule when it is readable
The law cares about information quality, not whether a thermal head produced the ink. Use a permanent pen, write allergens in CAPS or underline them, and keep a master list so spelling stays consistent.
When handwriting breaks down
- Long compound lists for sandwiches with many sub-ingredients
- High volume (dozens of identical packs each morning)
- Grease and condensation that smear ink
A sensible upgrade path
- Keep verified master ingredients in a notebook or LabelClear
- Handwrite while volume is low
- Move to a simple thermal printer when rewriting becomes the bottleneck
Emphasis tip
Capitals survive photocopying and monochrome scans better than light colour pens.
Questions
Must handwriting be in English?
Information must be understandable to customers in the UK market — English is the usual expectation; bilingual labels are fine if both are accurate.
Can I pre-write labels the night before?
Yes, if they still match the batch you pack. Cross off or reprint if the recipe changes.
Official sources
Everything on this page traces back to these. Where they and we disagree, they are right — tell us and we'll fix it.
- Introduction to allergen labelling for PPDS foodFood Standards Agency / GOV.UK
- Labelling guidance for prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) food productsFood Standards Agency / GOV.UK
- Food allergen labelling and information requirements technical guidanceFood Standards Agency / GOV.UK