Registry Standards & Guidelines
Rules governing color registration and catalog maintenance
The Official Color Registry (OCR) is an independent, privately run registry. It is not a government agency or an international standards body, and registering a color name does not give you a trademark or ownership of the color itself.
“Official” in our name describes the record we keep: one name per exact HEX code within this registry, with a Registry ID anyone can verify. It does not mean outside accreditation of any kind.
Acceptable Names
- • Must be 3-50 characters in length
- • May include letters, numbers, spaces, and basic punctuation
- • Should be meaningful and appropriate for public display
- • Examples: "Twilight Dream," "Sarah's Sunrise," "Forever Blue"
Prohibited Names
- • Offensive, vulgar, or hateful language
- • Trademarked brand names (e.g., "Tiffany Blue")
- • Impersonation of public figures or entities
- • Misleading scientific or legal terminology
Each exact HEX value can be registered only once. When a color is claimed, that specific HEX code is taken within this registry, and a later attempt to register the identical code is declined at checkout. Registration is first-come: the earliest completed registration holds the code.
Near-identical shades are still available. Uniqueness is enforced on the exact code, not on how a color looks. Codes a single step apart are different registrations and are visually indistinguishable to most people, so “taken” here means a precise value is spoken for—not a whole family of shades.
Color names are recorded as submitted and are not required to be unique. Two registrations may carry the same name on different colors, since the name is personal and the HEX code is what the catalog keys on.
None of this creates rights outside this registry. No registration grants exclusive rights to a color in the world, and it does not prevent anyone from using that color for any purpose.
Every registration is listed publicly. There are no unlisted or private registrations. The one thing you control is the personal message: at checkout you choose whether it appears on the certificate, in the public listings, both, or neither.
The color, its name, the HEX code, the recipient name, the Registry ID, the registration date and (if you chose to show it) the dedication are visible to anyone in the public registry browser (Browse) and through Lookup. Email addresses are never shown.
Choose what to include with that in mind. For a surprise, a new baby, or a memorial, many people use a first name or nickname and keep the dedication short, saving anything personal for a card.
All registrations are subject to review for compliance with naming standards. The Registry reserves the right to:
- • Remove or modify entries that violate naming guidelines
- • Request clarification or revision of inappropriate content
- • Issue refunds for rejected registrations
We aim to maintain a respectful, family-friendly registry accessible to all audiences.
The registry entry is the core of your purchase. Your color is cataloged the same way whichever add-ons you choose.
Add-ons (the print-ready 300 DPI file and the Gold Edition design) only change how the certificate is presented. Nothing physical is shipped. The registration itself, with its Registry ID and certificate, is the same in every order.
Every registration is assigned a Registry ID in the format OCR-YYYY-NNNNNN—the prefix, the year the color was registered, and a sequential number within the catalog.
The ID is permanent and is the canonical way to retrieve an entry. Anyone holding it can look the registration up on our Lookup page, which is what makes a gifted certificate verifiable by the person receiving it. IDs are never reissued or reassigned, even if an entry is later corrected.
Corrections. Typos in a color name, recipient name, or dedication message can be fixed. Contact us with your Registry ID and the correction. The ID and original registration date stay the same, because the record is meant to reflect when the color was actually claimed.
Visibility. All registrations are public, and there is no setting to hide one. If a recipient name or dedication needs correcting, contact us with your Registry ID. The registration stays valid, still verifies through Lookup by Registry ID, and continues to hold its HEX code so that exact color cannot be registered again in this registry.
Refunds. Within 30 days of purchase you can ask for a full refund, no questions asked. We remove the registration and the HEX code becomes available again. See the Refund Policy.
Removal. If you want a registration deleted entirely, we will do it on request from the person who purchased it. Deletion is permanent and releases that HEX code for future registration—so it is not reversible, and the certificate stops being verifiable through Lookup.