Where our rules come from, and how we check them.

Sources

Rules come from what authorities publish: laws and regulations, official lists of substances, standards and guidance, and recall and enforcement feeds. For each source we record who publishes it, where, in what format and how often it changes. Some texts are consolidated versions that the publisher says aren't legally binding (EU consolidated texts, for example), and a few come from archive copies. The market pages say which.

See when we last checked each source on the status page and the markets page.

Saved copies of the law

We save a dated copy of every source. When a source changes, we save the new version and keep the old one, so you can always see the text behind a past answer.

How we test the rules

We compare the rules with answers written separately from them: product cases and the tasks each one should get in each market. Any difference is a bug we fix, and fixed rules are tested again.

What ClaraDB has checked

A question type is one market, one family of rules and one product category. ClaraDB says whether a law applies only inside a question type it has checked. Everywhere else a result lists the laws and quotes found and marks them Not checked: never applies, never doesn't apply.

ClaraDB gives a verdict only for PFAS state laws for cookware and bakeware, California Proposition 65 consumer-product warning check for BPA, BPS, formaldehyde, styrene, antimony trioxide, vinyl acetate, lead and cadmium, California Proposition 65 warning check for candles and ceramicware (lead, cadmium, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, benzene, naphthalene, carbon monoxide, benzo[a]pyrene), US packaging EPR producer size thresholds (California, Colorado, Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington) for a brand-owning manufacturer, US lead in children's products and furniture (lead paint and total lead content), US lead in toys and child care articles (lead paint and total lead content), US lead in children's products (other) and bags (lead paint and total lead content), US phthalates in children's toys and child care articles (DEHP, DBP, BBP, DINP, DIBP, DPENP, DHEXP, DCHP) and US children's product certificate and tracking label for children's tableware (AI-checked, quotes verified word for word). Every other answer shows the laws and quotes found without saying whether they apply. Not checked: Consumer electronics (FCC equipment authorization, 47 CFR Parts 2 and 15, energy rules). What ClaraDB has checked

The rule: A type of question (a market, a kind of rule and a kind of product) is marked checked only after about 40 test products are answered rule by rule, each answer tied to the law's exact words, drafted by one AI pass and settled by a second, and fixed before scoring. It must match on at least 98% of answers, with no confident wrong answer, on its first and only score. A type that fails is listed and stays not checked. For every other question ClaraDB shows the laws and their exact words as found, and never guesses whether they apply.

Missing facts and unchecked markets

Inside a checked question type, if a result depends on a fact you didn't give, the law shows Depends and names that fact. A law that applies only in some cases shows May apply, and one we can't settle shows Unknown. If we hold no rules for a market or product area on that date, the result says so and reads Not covered. Neither Not checked nor Not covered is ever shown as a pass.

Recalls and alerts

Enforcement pages repeat records from official feeds and link to them. A California Prop 65 60-day notice is the sender's claim, not a finding. An alert or recall is the authority's own announcement. We match records to an industry (home and kitchen, cosmetics, food, electronics and batteries) by words in the product description, and show a category only when the match is strong. A row can still be wrong: report it. We count and list records. We don't rank companies or draw conclusions about any of them.

Limits

• ClaraDB covers home and kitchen, cosmetics, food, electronics and batteries in the markets listed on the markets page, from the dates shown there. Where we read only the main sources, the market's page lists what isn't read. ClaraDB gives a verdict only for PFAS state laws for cookware and bakeware, California Proposition 65 consumer-product warning check for BPA, BPS, formaldehyde, styrene, antimony trioxide, vinyl acetate, lead and cadmium, California Proposition 65 warning check for candles and ceramicware (lead, cadmium, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, benzene, naphthalene, carbon monoxide, benzo[a]pyrene), US packaging EPR producer size thresholds (California, Colorado, Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington) for a brand-owning manufacturer, US lead in children's products and furniture (lead paint and total lead content), US lead in toys and child care articles (lead paint and total lead content), US lead in children's products (other) and bags (lead paint and total lead content), US phthalates in children's toys and child care articles (DEHP, DBP, BBP, DINP, DIBP, DPENP, DHEXP, DCHP) and US children's product certificate and tracking label for children's tableware (AI-checked, quotes verified word for word). Every other answer shows the laws and quotes found without saying whether they apply.
• Rules are current as of a date. A law can change after we last checked it, so look at each source's last-checked date.
• Where a law needs interpreting, like the PFAS definition, we keep each market's own definition and ask you for the facts it needs. We never guess facts from a product's name.
• Not covered and Needs answers show no quote, because there's no rule text behind them.
• A rule can be wrong. If you find a mistake, report it.
• ClaraDB gives you information taken from the law. It isn't legal advice, and a Clear result doesn't mean a product is compliant.

Spotted a wrong rule, date or quote? Report it on the corrections page. We check the source and fix the rule if it's wrong.