Oman Textile Labelling: Arabic Content, Origin and Standard Number

Oman's garment-labelling requirement is written into general consumer-protection law, not a dedicated textile regulation. Royal Decree No. 66 of 2014, the Consumer Protection Law, sets out in Article 19 the Arabic-language information that must appear on the commodity. A separate Executive Regulation, Public Authority for Consumer Protection Decision No. 77 of 2017, adds information that must be stated on the commodity or its package. Between the two, an Oman-bound garment and its packaging need a fuller information set than a plain fibre-content label supplies, and the information must be clear and legible in Arabic. ^[1]

This page sets out the product and package information required for apparel under the two instruments, and how to build a workable label file around it. For the groundwork on constructing a label file before country content is added, see our garment labelling guide. ^[2]

What law governs textile labelling in Oman?

Article 19 of Royal Decree No. 66/2014 requires the supplier, in all cases, to state specified information clearly and in Arabic on the commodity. It also allows the Executive Regulation to specify commodities that need not bear that information. Decision No. 77/2017 adds its own product-or-package information. GSO ISO 3758 is a Gulf-standard care-labelling symbol code that may be relevant to the product specification or buyer brief. ^{[1] [2]}

Instrument	Function	Legal position
Royal Decree No. 66/2014, Article 19	General Arabic product-information duty	Mandatory
Decision No. 77/2017	Executive Regulation, extended field list	Mandatory
GSO ISO 3758 (Omani record)	Care-labelling symbol code	Gulf-standard symbol code

What must an Oman garment label show?

Article 19 lists its fields “in all cases”: the price, the weight, the production and expiry date, the name of the materials and components, the country of origin, and the number of the standard. It requires those fields to be stated clearly and in Arabic on the commodity, with other languages permitted alongside, while allowing the Regulation to specify commodities that need not bear the information. For a garment, state the name of the materials and components; the supplied instruments do not prescribe a fibre-component format. The standard-number field also needs to be resolved before artwork is approved: Article 19 lists the number of the standard as required information without conditioning that field on a particular Omani or Gulf standard applying. ^[1]

Decision No. 77/2017 requires information about the origin, nature, type, essential characteristics, composition and components to be clearly stated on the commodity or its package. It also requires the correct method of use and necessary precautions to be stated there. The information must be clear, readable, difficult to erase or lose, and written in Arabic as one of the languages used. ^[2]

"Essential characteristics" is the field most likely to be treated as a formality and then get it wrong. For a garment it reasonably covers construction detail that changes how the product performs or is used, a lining, a coated finish, a stretch component, rather than only the headline fibre. A style sheet that lists "cotton twill trouser" without noting an elastane content in the waistband, or a bonded interlining that affects care, has not given the consumer the essential characteristics the decision asks for even if the fibre percentage is technically present elsewhere on the label.

Field	Oman requirement	Instrument
Material name and components	Stated on the commodity in all cases, subject to commodities the Regulation may exempt	Art. 19
Country of origin	Stated on the commodity in all cases, subject to commodities the Regulation may exempt	Art. 19
Standard number	Stated on the commodity in all cases, subject to commodities the Regulation may exempt	Art. 19
Origin, nature and type	Stated on the commodity or its package	Decision 77/2017, Art. 23
Essential characteristics	Stated on the commodity or its package	Decision 77/2017, Art. 23
Correct method of use and necessary precautions	Stated on the commodity or its package	Decision 77/2017, Art. 23
Presentation	Clear, legible, indelible	Decision 77/2017
Language	Arabic, as one of the languages used	Decision 77/2017

Is Arabic mandatory on an Oman garment label?

Yes, on both instruments. Article 19 requires visible Arabic information and permits other languages alongside it. Decision No. 77/2017 requires Arabic as one of the languages used. A second language can therefore sit alongside Arabic, but Arabic cannot be dropped in favour of English or any other language alone.

Does Oman require a standard number on every garment?

Article 19 requires the number of the standard to be clearly stated in Arabic on the commodity in all cases, while allowing the Regulation to specify commodities that need not bear the information. The field is not conditional on a particular Omani or Gulf standard applying. Include the number of the standard in the label content and settle the artwork detail with your Omani importer or buyer before approval.

Does Oman require care instructions and care symbols on every garment?

Decision No. 77/2017 requires the correct method of use and the necessary precautions to be stated on the commodity or its package. We prepare labels with recognised Gulf-standard care symbols when your programme calls for them, alongside the care content in your label brief. ^[3]

The practical task is to keep the statutory wording and the symbol set distinct. Article 23 frames the requirement as the correct method of use and necessary precautions, and permits that information on the commodity or its package. For apparel, put the care symbols and care wording required by the product specification or buyer brief into the same artwork workflow, then check that the finished presentation remains clear, readable and difficult to erase or lose.

Does Oman prescribe a garment size system or importer identification?

Article 19 and Article 23 establish the product-information fields set out above. We apply your size system and include importer or registration details on the physical label when your programme calls for them. Set the size presentation and importer detail in the buyer brief and commercial documents as well as the artwork, so the production team has one controlled source for each market-facing detail.

What enforces Oman's labelling requirements, and what follows non-compliance?

The Consumer Protection Law and its Executive Regulation provide for seizure, temporary closure or suspension, criminal and administrative penalties, and court-ordered confiscation or destruction in the circumstances they set out. Article 36 authorises personnel with judicial-execution capacity to arrest and seize a commodity where there is sufficient evidence of a violation that may damage consumers’ safety or health. Under Article 37, temporary closure or suspension pending adjudication is a decision for the Public Prosecution, on a prior request from the Chairman or an authorised representative. ^[4]

Consequence	Trigger
Seizure	Sufficient evidence of a violation that may damage consumers’ safety or health
Temporary closure or suspension	Public Prosecution decision, on a prior request from the Chairman or authorised representative, pending adjudication
Criminal penalty	Violation of Article 19, 22 or 23, among other listed provisions
Confiscation or destruction	Following conviction, the competent court may order confiscation or destruction of the commodities subject of the crime
Continuing administrative fines	Continued violation of the specified Regulation provisions

Continuing administrative fines are the detail worth planning around. The Regulation attaches them to continued violations of specified provisions, including Article 23. A single labelling error caught during a Consumer Protection Authority inspection is one problem; the same error left uncorrected across a season's shipments compounds the exposure in a way a one-off penalty does not. A programme running repeat orders into Oman should treat first-shipment approval as the point to fix any wording problem, not as one data point to carry forward unchanged into the next production run.

What should an Oman-bound label carry beyond the statutory fields?

Build the recognised care-symbol set required by the product specification or buyer brief alongside the Article 23 method-of-use and precaution wording. Include importer name and address where the programme calls for it. For the standard-number field, include the number of the standard in the Article 19 information, subject to the Regulation’s treatment of commodities that need not bear the information. An illustrative Oman artwork separates information required on the commodity from information Article 23 permits on the commodity or package: the name of the materials and components; country of origin; the number of the standard; origin, nature and type; essential characteristics; and the correct method of use with necessary precautions. Arabic must be used, and a second language may sit alongside it.

Freeze that content against the sealed sample before bulk cutting starts. Oman's field list is longer than a plain fibre label, and reconciling essential-characteristics and use-instruction wording after a colourway change is slower work than confirming it once, at approval, against a garment that will not change again. Keep the Arabic translation as a controlled document tied to that sample revision, the same way a construction spec or a fabric consumption sheet is version-controlled, so a later trim substitution triggers a translation check rather than an assumption that the existing wording still applies.

Before label printing, send the factory the approved Arabic and second-language copy in editable artwork, the final fibre breakdown for every component shown, origin wording, the named product category, and any standard reference supplied by your importer or buyer. Mark each item for the commodity, the package, or both, because Article 19 and Article 23 use different placement rules. The factory should compare that pack with the sealed sample and the purchase-order colourways before releasing woven labels, heat transfers or packaging labels. Treat any change to fibre, finish, lining, care route, origin or destination as an artwork-control trigger. The buyer signs off copy and placement; the factory verifies the printed proof against the approved file before bulk application. That sequence prevents a correct translation from being attached to a superseded garment specification.

Short FAQ

Does Oman require Arabic-only labelling, with no other language permitted?

No. Arabic must be present, but a second language can be printed alongside it.

Is the standard-number field required on every Oman garment label?

Article 19 requires the number of the standard in all cases and allows the Regulation to identify commodities that need not bear the information. The field is not conditional on a particular Omani or Gulf standard applying. Include the number of the standard in the approved artwork, subject to the Regulation’s treatment of commodities that need not bear the information.

Is GSO ISO 3758 Oman's mandatory care-symbol standard?

GSO ISO 3758 is a care-labelling symbol code. Decision No. 77/2017 requires the correct method of use and necessary precautions to be stated on the commodity or its package. Set the care symbols and care wording required for the garment in the product specification and buyer brief, while keeping the Article 23 wording clear, readable and difficult to erase or lose.

Does Oman require an importer's name and address on the garment itself?

The cited provisions establish the product-information fields in Article 19 and Article 23. Include importer name and address on the garment label where the buyer or programme requires it, and keep that detail aligned with the commercial documents and approved artwork.

Do production and expiry dates need to appear on a garment label in Oman?

Article 19 lists production and expiry dates among the information to be stated “in all cases” on the commodity. It also allows the Regulation to specify commodities that need not bear the information. Confirm the garment’s treatment under that Regulation before approving the final artwork.

Can an existing garment label be reused for Oman without a fresh check?

Not safely. An existing label may still miss Oman's essential-characteristics or standard-number clauses, and the Arabic wording needs its own check against Article 19 and Decision No. 77/2017 rather than an assumption that previously approved copy transfers unchanged.

The Oman labelling judgement

Oman's product-information requirement runs wider than a fibre-content label. Article 19 puts materials and components, origin and the number of the standard among the information stated on the commodity in Arabic, subject to commodities the Regulation may identify as not bearing the information. Article 23 adds origin, nature and type, essential characteristics, composition and components, and the correct method of use with necessary precautions on the commodity or its package. Care symbols, sizing and importer identification should be settled in the product specification, buyer brief and approved artwork so their placement is controlled with the statutory information.

Placing an Oman-bound programme

Oman sits inside the wider Gulf region, and the Arabic field list above is the starting point for any label destined there, whether Oman is the only market on the order or one of several. Send us the tech pack, the destination markets the order needs to clear, the quantity and the label artwork, and we will come back with a quote that includes label preparation and the conformity documentation the shipment needs.