Tools and directories

Who regulates you, and when

Updated October 2026

On this page5

Nobody licenses you CPSC, and the one ban FTC, and what you say Everyone else References

A short map, because the honest answer is that almost nobody is watching until something goes wrong.

Nobody licenses you

There is no candle license, no pre-market approval and no inspection before selling.

Which is why the standards matter more here than in a licensed category: there is no gate, so the discipline has to be yours.

CPSC, and the one ban

The Consumer Product Safety Commission administers the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, under which metal-cored candlewicks containing more than 0.06 percent lead, and candles made with them, were declared hazardous substances and banned from October 15, 2003.

Compliant metal-cored wick candles carry "Conforms to 16 CFR 1500.17(a)(13)" on the outer container or wrapper.

CPSC also participates in the voluntary ASTM standards, F2417 for fire safety, F2058 for labeling, F2179 for glass containers, and has the general authority to act on a substantial product hazard.

FTC, and what you say

The Federal Trade Commission reaches advertising claims, and the Green Guides reach exactly the vocabulary this category uses: natural, eco-friendly, non-toxic, clean burning.

The Fair Packaging and Labeling Act is where the identity, net quantity and name-and-address requirements come from.

Everyone else

Your state and city for business registration, sales tax and any local license.

Fire code, at commercial premises and at storage quantities.

California's Proposition 65, which attaches to selling into the state.

Your insurer, whose questions about burn testing and embedded decorations will be more searching than any regulator's.

And retailers, who in practice ask more than anybody on this list.

References

US Consumer Product Safety Commission. Candles and Candle Accessories, the agency page setting out the voluntary standards it participates in and the mandatory ban. cpsc.gov

16 CFR 1500.17(a)(13), Banned hazardous substances. Metal-cored candlewicks with more than 0.06 percent lead by weight of the metal core, and candles made with them, are banned from October 15, 2003. Compliant metal-cored wick candles carry "Conforms to 16 CFR 1500.17(a)(13)" on the outer container or wrapper. ecfr.gov

Federal Hazardous Substances Act, under which the Consumer Product Safety Commission declared lead-cored candlewicks hazardous substances and banned them (68 FR, April 18, 2003). federalregister.gov

US Federal Trade Commission. Green Guides, 16 CFR Part 260, on environmental marketing claims including "natural", "non-toxic" and unqualified general benefit claims. ftc.gov

Fair Packaging and Labeling Act. A candle is a consumer commodity: the label carries an identity, a net quantity of contents and the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer or distributor. ftc.gov

Written from the federal regulation, the CPSC material and the published scope of the ASTM candle standards. The standards themselves are copyrighted documents that must be bought; what is described here is their scope and requirements as published, not their text. Your own burn testing against your own vessel and wick is what establishes whether a candle you made is safe.