Five labels appear in 28 TAC §§ 34.620 through 34.624, and they divide cleanly in two. Three of them are RECORDS: the installation label after new work, the service label after any service, the inspection/test label after an inspection or test. Two of them are WARNINGS: the yellow label where a system does not comply, the red label where it is not working properly. Every one of them is approximately three inches high and three inches wide with adhesive on the back, and every one of them carries the same first line — DO NOT REMOVE BY ORDER OF TEXAS STATE FIRE MARSHAL, in capitals, in at least 10-point bold face type.

Two physical details do more work than they look like they should. The first is COLOR, and it is fixed for each: installation and service labels are white with black lettering, the inspection/test label is blue with black lettering, and the yellow and red labels are yellow and red with black lettering. A panel’s history is legible at arm’s length before anything is read. The second is PLACEMENT. The installation label goes inside the control panel cover. The yellow and red labels go on the OUTSIDE. The service and inspection/test labels may go either inside or outside. Where a system has no panel, each rule sends its label to a permanent location instead. So the warnings face outward, where somebody who never opens the panel will see them, and the record of the original installation faces in.

The last thing to hold before the detail is what each label CERTIFIES, because in every case a signature is doing that work and a stamped signature is prohibited. The service label’s signature certifies that the service performed complies with the requirements of law. The yellow label’s certifies that the conditions listed on it cause the system to be out of compliance with the applicable codes and standards. The red label’s certifies that the conditions listed have caused the system to be inoperable, to have a fault condition, or to be impaired from normal operation. Notice that the last two certify the CONDITIONS, not a judgment about the system in general — which is why each of those labels has to list them.