Consult instructions for use (book with i)
The standard’s wording, as the sources below reproduce it:
“Indicates the need for the user to consult the instructions for use.”
ISO 15223-1:2021, 5.4.3 · ISO 7000-1641
What it means for you
Read the leaflet, booklet or manual that belongs to the device before you use it: how to use it, its warnings and how to store it are there, because the label has no room for them. If a web address is printed next to the book, the instructions are (also) available electronically at that address — ISO 15223-1 titles this clause “Consult instructions for use or consult electronic instructions for use”.
Whether a device is right for you is a question for your pharmacist, nurse or doctor.
- What it looks like
- An open book with a lower-case i on its pages. When the instructions are online, a web address or another eIFU indicator is printed beside it.
- Where you see it
- Almost every medical box, pouch and device label: plasters and dressings, test kits, blood-glucose meters and strips, syringes, contact-lens packs, thermometers, hearing-aid batteries.
- Other names
- IFU symbol; eIFU; read the instructions
What it does not tell you
It does not say what the instructions contain or that any of it is a warning (that is the caution triangle, 5.4.4), and a web address beside it does not tell you whether a paper copy is also in the box.
With a web address: electronic instructions (eIFU)
Consult electronic instructions for use · ISO 15223-1:2021, 5.4.3 with example A.16. Example A.16 of the standard pairs the book with an eIFU indicator. Boston Scientific’s glossary quotes the note: “The eIFU indicator can be a manufacturer’s website URL or some other appropriate indication that the instructions for use are available in an electronic format.” Our drawing shows a placeholder address; on a real label it is the maker’s own, so type it in rather than searching for the product name.
How it differs from three look-alikes
Caution · ISO 15223-1:2021, 5.4.4. The triangle with an exclamation mark says there is a warning or precaution you must know before use; the book only says “read the instructions”. The caution triangle explained →
Do not use if package is damaged and consult instructions for use · ISO 15223-1:2021, 5.2.8. One combined symbol: its wording tells you not to use the device if the pack is damaged or opened and to consult the instructions for use for more information. The instructions part is in the wording, not drawn — there is no book in it. The damaged-package symbol explained →
Refer to instruction manual/booklet · ISO 7010 M002. A book on a solid blue disc is not an ISO 15223-1 symbol but a safety sign from ISO 7010, the standard for safety signs, whose mandatory signs — “must do” — are blue circles. So the outline book on a medical label points you to information, while the blue disc is an order. Source: Wikipedia: ISO 7010 (article) — Lists “M002 – Refer to instruction manual/booklet” among the mandatory signs, and gives the mandatory sign type as “Must do”, blue, circle. Checked 2026-09-28.
The same drawing elsewhere on semiatic
The same book on appliances: On electrical equipment the book is ISO 7000-0790, telling the operator to read the manual before using a control or connector; on medical packaging it is ISO 15223-1 5.4.3 and points to the device’s instructions for use, paper or electronic.
Sources
ISO 15223-1 is a paid standard, so the wording above is quoted as 3 publishers’ public documents reproduce it. Each was fetched and read on the date shown:
- Boston Scientific: Symbols Glossary — ISO 15223-1 5.4.3 “Consult instructions for use — Indicates the need for the user to consult the instructions for use”; A.16 NOTE: “The eIFU indicator can be a manufacturer’s website URL or some other appropriate indication that the instructions for use are available in an electronic format.” Image labelled ISO 7000-1641. Checked 2026-09-25.
- NE Scientific: Master Symbol Glossary (CTF-100011 Rev 01) — Shows the book with an i for reference no. 5.4.3 (ISO 7000-1641), “Consult instructions for use or consult electronic instructions for use”. Checked 2026-09-25.
- Stago: Glossary of symbols (520233-A_EN) — “Consult instructions for use — Indicates the need for the user to consult the instructions for use. NF EN ISO 15223-1, symbol #5.4.3.” Checked 2026-09-25.
Plain-language parts are in our own words; quotations are the sources’ wording.