Government regulators, international standards organizations, and private certification groups all play a role in deciding what appears on product labels about UVA rays. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sets the rules. In Europe, the European Commission issues recommendations that the cosmetics industry follows. In parts of Asia, countries use their own rating systems. Each region tests UVA protection differently, which is why sunscreen labels look so different depending on where you buy them.
The FDA Controls UVA Labels in the U.S.
The FDA regulates sunscreen as an over-the-counter drug, which means every claim on the label must meet federal standards. For UVA protection specifically, the FDA created a laboratory test called the “broad spectrum” test. A sunscreen that passes this test can print “Broad Spectrum SPF [value]” on its front label. A sunscreen that fails cannot use the term at all.
The test measures how much UVA protection a product offers relative to its UVB protection. The key metric is something called the critical wavelength: the point on the UV spectrum where 90% of the product’s total UV absorption has occurred. If that wavelength reaches at least 370 nanometers, the product qualifies as broad spectrum. This threshold matters because UVA rays extend from 320 to 400 nanometers, so a sunscreen needs to absorb well into that range to earn the label.
One important limitation: the broad spectrum designation is pass/fail. It tells you that UVA protection exists, but it doesn’t tell you how much. Two sunscreens can both say “Broad Spectrum” while offering very different levels of UVA defense. The FDA has proposed updating its rules so that as SPF values go up, the required UVA protection would also increase, but that change hasn’t been finalized.
Which Ingredients the FDA Allows
The FDA also controls which active ingredients can appear in sunscreens sold in the U.S. To be sold over the counter, an ingredient must be classified as “Generally Recognized as Safe and Effective,” or GRASE. Right now, only two ingredients carry full GRASE status: zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. Both provide some UVA coverage, though zinc oxide is generally stronger across the UVA range.
Many chemical UV filters widely used in Europe and Asia have been stuck in regulatory limbo for years. That’s beginning to change. In late 2025, the FDA published a proposed order to add bemotrizinol (used in sunscreens outside the U.S. for over a decade) at concentrations up to 6% as an approved active ingredient. If finalized, this would give American sunscreen makers access to a filter that offers strong UVA absorption, potentially improving the broad spectrum products available to consumers.
Europe Uses a Different System
The European Commission treats sunscreen as a cosmetic, not a drug, and issues labeling recommendations rather than binding drug regulations. Its key rule for UVA: a sunscreen’s UVA protection factor must be at least one-third of the labeled SPF. So an SPF 30 product needs a UVA protection factor of at least 10.
Products that meet this standard can display a specific logo, the letters “UVA” printed inside a circle. The cosmetics industry trade group Cosmetics Europe created this standardized logo, and it has become the recognizable shorthand for adequate UVA protection across the EU. Unlike the U.S. system, the European approach creates a proportional relationship between UVA and UVB protection that scales upward with SPF.
Asia’s PA Rating System
In Japan, South Korea, and other parts of Asia, UVA protection gets its own visible rating on the label: the PA system, which uses plus signs to indicate strength. This gives consumers more granular information than the U.S. broad spectrum label.
- PA+ blocks roughly 40 to 50% of UVA rays
- PA++ blocks about 60 to 70%
- PA+++ blocks up to 90%
- PA++++ blocks over 95%
The PA ratings are based on a skin test called persistent pigment darkening, or PPD. Researchers expose a small patch of skin to UVA light and measure how much radiation it takes to produce a lasting color change, both with and without sunscreen applied. The ratio between those two values becomes the UVA protection factor, which maps to the PA scale. This is one of the few systems worldwide that gives consumers a tiered UVA rating they can compare across products.
International Testing Standards
Behind these regional labels sit two main laboratory methods for measuring UVA protection. The FDA has its own in vitro (lab-based) test, and the International Organization for Standardization publishes a separate protocol called ISO 24443. Both methods apply sunscreen to a textured plate and measure how much UV light passes through, but they differ in technical details like plate preparation and how results are calculated.
Multicenter comparison studies have found that both methods work, but the ISO method tends to be better at distinguishing between products with different levels of UVA protection. This is partly why researchers and regulators have pushed for harmonization. For now, though, which test a sunscreen undergoes depends on which market it’s being sold in.
Private Organizations Add Their Own Seals
Beyond government regulators, private groups set their own UVA criteria for certification seals you might see on packaging. The Skin Cancer Foundation, for example, awards a “Seal of Recommendation” to sunscreens that meet its standards. As of September 2024, the foundation requires a minimum critical wavelength of 373 nanometers for both its Daily Use and Active Use seals. That’s slightly higher than the FDA’s 370 nm threshold, meaning products with this seal offer marginally broader UVA coverage than the federal minimum requires.
For non-sunscreen products like window films and glass, the Skin Cancer Foundation requires blocking 99% or more of both UVA and UVB radiation to earn the seal. These private certifications aren’t legally required, but they give consumers an additional layer of verification beyond what government labels guarantee.
Why This Matters for Choosing Sunscreen
The practical takeaway is that “Broad Spectrum” on a U.S. sunscreen is a minimum standard, not a measure of how strong the UVA protection is. If you want more detail, look for products that also carry the Skin Cancer Foundation seal, list zinc oxide as an active ingredient, or display a PA rating if imported from Asia. European sunscreens with the UVA circle logo guarantee that UVA protection is at least one-third of the SPF value, which provides a clearer sense of what you’re getting.
No single global standard exists. What gets labeled about UVA rays depends entirely on where the product is sold and which regulatory body has jurisdiction. The FDA, the European Commission, Japan’s regulatory framework, ISO, and private foundations each apply their own tests and thresholds, which is why identical sunscreen formulas can carry very different labels depending on the country.