# HS Codes for Candles: A Shopify Seller's Guide — Origova

> Every candle — soy, beeswax, paraffin — shares one HS code: 3406. Where wax melts, holders, diffusers, and matches classify instead, and how to fix in bulk.

Canonical: https://origova.com/hs-code-for-candles-shopify

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# HS codes for candles: a Shopify seller's guide

_By [Spencer Flaherty](https://origova.com/about), founder of Origova_

Candles are the easiest category on this site to classify — and one of the easiest to get wrong anyway, because the traps aren't where sellers look. The candles themselves take one [HS code](https://origova.com/what-is-an-hs-code). The complications live in everything _around_ them: the wax melts, the holders, the matches, and — uniquely for this category — the country of origin.

## Every candle is 3406

Heading `3406` — "candles, tapers and the like" — covers the whole product: soy, beeswax, paraffin, coconut wax blends, scented or unscented, pillar, taper, votive, tealight, or poured in a jar. At the international level the full code is simply `3406.00` — the heading has no 6-digit splits, which almost never happens in the HS. Enter `340600` in Shopify and your entire candle line is classified. Scent, size, color, and vessel variants all share it.

## The one wrinkle: wax melts

Wick-less scented wax — melts, tarts, cubes for a warmer — sits on a genuine classification line. US rulings have gone both ways: some classify them with candles under `3406` ("and the like"), others as molded or worked wax articles under `9602`. If melts are a couple of SKUs, pick the better-supported reading and be consistent; if they're a meaningful share of your revenue, this is a textbook case for checking a current ruling in CBP's CROSS database or asking a broker. Either way, don't assume they're automatically the same code as your candles.

## Everything around the candle classifies elsewhere

Product| Code| Where it actually lives  
---|---|---  
Candles (all waxes, all formats)| `3406.00`| Candles, tapers and the like  
Wax melts (no wick)| `3406` or `9602`| Rulings split — verify for your product  
Candle holders, candlesticks| `9405.50`| Non-electrical light fittings; decorative glassware can land in `7013`  
Matches| `3605`| Their own heading, Chapter 36  
Reed diffusers & room sprays| `3307.49`| Preparations for perfuming rooms  
Incense| `3307.41`| Preparations that operate by burning  
Essential oils (sold as oils)| `3301`| Essential oils, not finished room fragrance  
Wick trimmers & snuffers| base-metal chapters| Classified as metal tools/articles, e.g. Ch. 82/73  
  
A "candle brand" on Shopify is usually a three-or-four-chapter catalog once accessories are counted — the same pattern as [bath and beauty](https://origova.com/hs-code-for-cosmetics-skincare-shopify), where the products on one shelf spread across headings by function.

## Why origin matters extra for candles

Classification is only half of a candle's customs story. The US has maintained **antidumping duties on petroleum-wax candles from China** for decades, which means the combination of _what the wax is_ and _where the candle was made_ can change the duty picture dramatically. If you private-label candles made overseas, your [country of origin field](https://origova.com/shopify-country-of-origin) needs to reflect where they were actually manufactured — not where your brand is based — and your wax description should be accurate. This is exactly the kind of detail a broker confirms in minutes and a guess gets wrong expensively.

## Check the code before you commit

The USITC's tariff search at [hts.usitc.gov](https://hts.usitc.gov) shows the US extension of 3406.00; the Census Bureau's Schedule B tool covers US exports; the UK Trade Tariff and EU Access2Markets cover those markets. For wax melts and gift sets (candle + matches + holder in one box), CBP's CROSS rulings database is where the real answers live.

**Not customs advice** This guide covers the common cases, and classification is ultimately a legal determination that depends on your exact product. Wax melts, gift sets, and anything touched by the antidumping question are worth a customs broker's confirmation. 

## Applying codes across a Shopify catalog

Here's the payoff of a one-code category: a 60-SKU candle line needs `340600` on every variant, and the accessories need their handful of other codes. The friction is mechanical — Shopify stores the HS code on [each variant's inventory item](https://origova.com/shopify-customs-information), and [nothing native lists which variants are still empty](https://origova.com/bulk-edit-hs-codes-shopify), so "one code everywhere" still means opening every product just to check. [Origova](https://origova.com/) turns that into one batch: scan, select every candle variant missing a code, apply `340600` once, and handle the accessories as their own small groups — reversibly, with gift cards and digital items excluded automatically.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the HS code for candles?

3406 — candles, tapers and the like. At the international 6-digit level it's 3406.00, and it covers every candle regardless of wax type, scent, shape, or container.

### Do soy, beeswax, and paraffin candles have different HS codes?

No — all candles share heading 3406 at the international level. Wax type doesn't change the classification, though it can matter downstream: the US has long maintained antidumping duties on petroleum-wax candles from China, which makes accurate wax description and country of origin unusually important in this category.

### What HS code do wax melts use?

It's genuinely ambiguous: US rulings have classified wick-less scented wax both with candles under 3406 and as molded wax articles under 9602. If wax melts are a meaningful part of your catalog, it's worth checking a current ruling or asking a broker rather than assuming.

### What about candle holders, matches, and diffusers?

None of them are 3406. Candle holders and candlesticks generally classify as non-electrical light fittings under 9405.50 (decorative glassware can land in 7013), matches are 3605, reed diffusers and room sprays are 3307.49, and essential oils are 3301.

### Does scent or a private label change a candle's HS code?

No. Scented and unscented candles classify identically under 3406, and branding has no effect on classification. Scent, size, and color variants of a candle all share one code.

Primary sources: the official [Harmonized Tariff Schedule (hts.usitc.gov)](https://hts.usitc.gov), and the statute ending de minimis, [19 U.S.C. § 1321 (Cornell Law, LII)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/19/1321).

Related: [What is an HS code? The Harmonized System, explained](https://origova.com/what-is-an-hs-code) · [Country of origin in Shopify: where it lives and how to set it in bulk](https://origova.com/shopify-country-of-origin) · [HS codes for cosmetics and skincare](https://origova.com/hs-code-for-cosmetics-skincare-shopify)