Add labels to files in Google Drive

Labels are metadata you define to help you organize, find, and apply policy to items in Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides. Drive labels are useful for many common workplace scenarios for organizing files, including record management, classification, structured finding, workflow, reporting, auditing, and more.

You can use various methods to apply labels to files. You can apply up to 5 labels to each file.

Apply labels to a file using the side panel in Drive

1. On your computer, go to drive.google.com.
2. Click the file, then click Info.
3. In the Labels section of the Details panel, click the Apply label button
4. Select the label you want from the drop down menu.
5. If the chosen label contains one or more fields, you can optionally choose or enter values

Notes:

• To remove a label from a file, find the label you want to remove and click Remove.
• If you do not see the Labels section, it may be that your administrator has not yet enabled it for your account. Contact your administrator.

Apply a label to a file using the context menu in Drive

1. On your computer, go to drive.google.com.
2. Right click (secondary context click) on a file, and choose Labels and then Apply a label from the menu.
3. Use the dialog to choose a label, and field values to apply to the file.

Bulk apply a label to a file using the context menu in Drive

1. On your computer, go to drive.google.com.
2. Select the desired files
3. Right click (secondary context click), and choose Labels and then Apply a label from the menu.
4. Use the dialog to choose a label, and field values to apply to the file.

View and apply labels to your files using the Labels panel in Docs, Sheets, Slides 

1. When viewing or editing a file in Docs, Sheets, or Slides, click the File menu and choose Labels.
2. View existing labels and apply new labels in the side panel.

Note: To remove a label from a file, find the label you want to remove and click Remove.

View and apply labels to your files using the Labels panel in Drive Preview 

1. When viewing a file in Drive Preview, Click More and choose Labels.
2. View existing labels and apply new labels in the side panel.

Note: To remove a label from a file, find the label you want to remove and click Remove .

View labels on your mobile device using the Drive App

1. On your mobile device, open the Drive app (iOS, Android)
2. Find the file you want to view labels for
3. Use the ellipsis button to open the context menu, and choose Details and activity.
4. Choose Labels from the Details view

Note: Labels cannot be applied or modified in the mobile app at this time.

Search for files with labels

Use Drive search options to find content with specific labels or fields. 

1. On your computer, go to drive.google.com.
2. At the top, next to "Search Drive," click the Down arrow.
3. Next to "Labels," select a label from the drop-down menu.
4. Below the label you chose, you can optionally select a field from the drop down menu, and specify a value.
5. Click Search.

Note: Search results only contain files you can access.

Resources

• Article for IT administrators: Manage Drive labels