Brake fluid

The label rule, word for word

Updated October 2026

On this page8

The seven items The contents designation The four warnings, as written The do-not-refill caution has an exemption you do not get Never on a removable part such as a lid Not removable without being destroyed or defaced And if the bottle hides inside a carton References

The rule prints the sentences. Your job is to reproduce them, not to improve them.

The seven items

Certification that the fluid conforms to 571.116; the packager’s name, which may be in code; the distributor’s name and complete mailing address; a serial number identifying the packaged lot and date of packaging; the contents designation; the minimum wet boiling point in Fahrenheit; and the safety warnings.

The contents designation

The rule prints it with a blank where the grade goes, and tells you to fill in DOT 3, DOT 4, DOT 5 SILICONE BASE or DOT 5.1 NON-SILICONE BASE as applicable. So the finished line reads "DOT 3 MOTOR VEHICLE BRAKE FLUID", and the grade is part of the designation rather than a separate marketing line.

The four warnings, as written

FOLLOW VEHICLE MANUFACTURER’S RECOMMENDATIONS WHEN ADDING BRAKE FLUID. KEEP BRAKE FLUID CLEAN AND DRY. STORE BRAKE FLUID ONLY IN ITS ORIGINAL CONTAINER. CAUTION: DO NOT REFILL CONTAINER, AND DO NOT USE FOR OTHER LIQUIDS. The rule specifies which parts are capitals and which are not.

The do-not-refill caution has an exemption you do not get

It is not required for containers over 19 L. The largest container on this shelf is 3,785 mL, so every single one of the 82 needs that sentence.

Never on a removable part such as a lid

The rule names the failure it is preventing: information on a lid walks away from the container. So the marking goes on the body, directly or on a permanently affixed label.

Not removable without being destroyed or defaced

Which is an adhesive and facestock requirement written into a safety standard. A label that peels cleanly off an HDPE bottle fails the clause even if every word on it is right.

And if the bottle hides inside a carton

S5.2.2.4 says that where a container is not normally visible because an outer container or carton protects it during use, the outer carton rather than the inner container carries the labeling. Worth knowing before you print either one.

References

49 CFR 571.116 S5.2.2, on certification, marking and labeling: seven required items on the container or a permanently affixed label, never on a removable part such as a lid, including the DOT grade, the minimum wet boiling point in Fahrenheit, a packaged-lot serial number and four verbatim safety warnings. S5.2.2.4 moves the labeling to an outer carton where the container is not normally visible. law.cornell.edu

49 CFR 571.116 S6.14, Container information: cut the label vertically all the way through, immerse the container in the fluid it holds for 15 minutes at 23 plus or minus 5 C, wipe it dry, and the required information must remain legible to an observer with 20/40 vision at 305 mm. law.cornell.edu

Written from federal regulation and from measured catalog data, not from a blending bench. We sell containers and closures; whether a particular closure satisfies a particular clause is a question about that closure and its supplier’s testing, and nothing here certifies a package as compliant. Anything on these pages is a starting point.