Mar 29, 2026

How to Create Labels in Gmail

Gmail Labels Inbox Management How-to Email Productivity

Gmail labels are tags you attach to emails so you can group, find, and organize messages without moving them out of your inbox. Unlike folders, a single email can carry multiple labels at once — an invoice from a client can be labeled both “Invoices” and “Client-ABC” and appear under each.

The fastest way to create a label in Gmail:

Open Gmail in your browser.
In the left sidebar, scroll down and click More to expand the full label list.
Click Create new label (near the bottom of the sidebar).
Type a name for your label.
Click Create.

The label immediately appears in your left sidebar. You can now drag emails onto it, or apply it from the toolbar when viewing a message.

2. Create a Label From Settings

This method gives you a full view of every label in your account, including system labels like Inbox, Sent, and Spam.

Click the gear icon in the top right of Gmail.
Click See all settings.
Select the Labels tab.
Scroll down past the system labels to the Labels section.
Click Create new label.
Enter a name. Optionally check Nest label under to make it a sub-label (more on that in section 4).
Click Create.

From this same screen you can also show or hide labels in your sidebar, and show or hide them in the message list — useful if you have dozens of labels and want to keep the sidebar clean.

3. Create a Label From a Message

You can create a label on the fly while reading or triaging email.

Open an email, or select one or more emails from your inbox using the checkboxes.
Click the Labels icon in the toolbar (it looks like a tag).
In the dropdown, click Create new at the bottom.
Name the label and click Create.

The label is created and applied to the selected message(s) in one step. This is the most natural workflow when you realize mid-triage that you need a new category.

4. Create Sub-Labels (Nested Labels)

Sub-labels work like subfolders. For example, you might have a parent label “Clients” with sub-labels “Client-Acme” and “Client-Globex” nested underneath.

Go to Settings > See all settings > Labels tab, or use the sidebar’s Create new label option.
Enter the sub-label name.
Check the box Nest label under.
Select the parent label from the dropdown.
Click Create.

In the sidebar, the sub-label appears indented under the parent with a collapsible arrow. You can nest multiple levels deep, but keeping it to two levels (parent > child) is easiest to manage.

From the sidebar shortcut: Right-click (or hover and click the three-dot menu on) any existing label, then select Add sublabel. Name it and click Create.

5. Color-Code Labels

Color-coded labels make it easy to spot categories at a glance in your inbox.

In the left sidebar, hover over the label you want to color.
Click the three-dot menu (⋮) that appears.
Select Label color.
Pick a preset color combination, or click Add custom color to choose your own background and text color.
Click the color to apply it.

The color tag appears next to the label name on every email that carries it. A few practical color schemes:

Label	Suggested Color
Urgent / Action Required	Red background
Waiting on Reply	Yellow or orange
Reference / FYI	Blue or gray
Clients	Green
Finance / Invoices	Purple

To remove a color, open the same menu and select Remove color.

6. Apply Labels to Emails

Creating labels is half the job — you also need to apply them.

From the inbox (desktop):

Select one or more emails using the checkboxes.
Click the Labels icon (tag) in the toolbar.
Check the labels you want to apply.
Click Apply.

From inside a message:

Open the email.
Click the Labels icon in the toolbar.
Check the labels and click Apply.

By dragging: Click and drag a message from the inbox onto a label in the sidebar. This applies the label and (if you drag to a label, not a system folder) keeps the email in your inbox too.

Keyboard shortcut: Press L while viewing or selecting a message to open the label picker (keyboard shortcuts must be enabled in Settings > General > Keyboard shortcuts).

7. Edit and Delete Labels

To rename a label:

In the sidebar, hover over the label and click the three-dot menu (⋮).
Select Edit.
Change the name and click Save.

To delete a label:

Hover over the label in the sidebar and click the three-dot menu.
Select Remove label.
Confirm by clicking Delete.

Deleting a label does not delete the emails that carried it. The messages remain in your inbox (or wherever they were); they just lose that label tag.

You can also manage labels in bulk from Settings > See all settings > Labels tab, where each label has edit and remove links.

8. Manage Labels on Mobile (iOS & Android)

The Gmail mobile app lets you apply and remove labels, but it cannot create new labels. You’ll need to switch to the web version for that.

Apply a label on mobile:

Open a message in the Gmail app.
Tap the three-dot menu (⋮) in the top right.
Tap Label.
Check or uncheck labels.
Tap the checkmark or tap outside to confirm.

Move a message to a label (remove from inbox):

Open or select the message.
Tap the three-dot menu.
Tap Move to.
Select the label.

The “Move to” action applies the label and removes the Inbox label, effectively archiving the message into that label — which makes labels behave like folders on mobile.

Bulk labeling on mobile:

Long-press a message to select it.
Tap additional messages to select more.
Tap the three-dot menu > Label or Move to.

9. Quick Reference

Task	How To
Create a label (desktop)	Sidebar → Create new label, or Settings → Labels tab → Create new label
Create a label (mobile)	Not available — use Gmail on the web
Create a sub-label	Check Nest label under when creating, or right-click a label → Add sublabel
Color-code a label	Sidebar → hover label → ⋮ → Label color
Apply a label	Select email → Labels icon (tag) → check labels → Apply
Remove a label from email	Open email → click the X on the label tag, or use the Labels icon and uncheck
Rename a label	Sidebar → hover → ⋮ → Edit
Delete a label	Sidebar → hover → ⋮ → Remove label → Delete
Keyboard shortcut	L to open label picker (with shortcuts enabled)

10. Auto-Apply Labels With Filters

Instead of manually labeling every email, you can set up filters in Gmail to automatically apply labels based on sender, subject, keywords, or other criteria. For example, you could route all emails from your accountant directly to a “Finance” label.

Carly is an AI assistant that helps manage your inbox and schedule — triaging emails, drafting replies, and keeping your Gmail organized so you spend less time labeling and more time on work that matters.

More on Gmail: How to create filters in Gmail · How to create folders in Gmail · How to block emails in Gmail · How to archive emails in Gmail · Best email management tools