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Reference · 156 documents opened

Which documents are legally required to meet a readability score?

In the United States, insurance policies are the one kind of document for which a readability score is written into law: 39 of 53 jurisdictions set a Flesch Reading Ease floor, 40 in most of them, 45 in 4 and 50 in 5, and 4 states add a grade-level cap. Outside insurance, the only US law we found that names a formula is New York's 2023 ballot-proposal rule, an eighth-grade Automated Readability Index. Federal law sets standards rather than scores: "plain writing", "clearly and conspicuously", "language understandable to the subject". The one federal document that states a grade level is FDA's non-binding suggestion of a sixth-to-eighth-grade level for medication leaflets. Outside the US, no statute or regulation we opened sets a score at all: the UK, EU, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa write standards such as "plain and intelligible language" and "clear, concise and effective", and the few numbers live in style guides. Every row below quotes the law's own words and links to the text that was opened.

Updated 24 Oct 2026
Verified 23 Oct 2026
Jurisdictions 53
Rules outside insurance 83

Download the tables Find your state

The short answer

Four numbers that answer most of the question.

Each one is computed from the tables on this page, which in turn come from the statutes.

39 of 53US jurisdictions with a numeric readability floor for insurance policy forms
40The NAIC model floor since 1978, which on Flesch's own scale is still 'difficult', college-level prose
4States with a grade-level cap: Colorado, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas
1US law outside insurance that names a formula: New York ballot proposals, ARI grade 8 or lower

Three patterns run through the tables. First, almost every numeric rule is the same rule: the NAIC's 1978 model act wrote Flesch's 1948 computation into statute with a floor of 40, and the states copied it, sometimes raising the number, sometimes extending it from life and health forms to homeowners and auto policies[1]. Second, nearly every one of those statutes gives the regulator discretion to accept a lower score, or "an equivalent score on any other comparable test", so the floor is softer than it reads. Third, outside insurance, lawmakers who looked at readability formulas mostly declined to use them: the SEC's 1998 handbook says a formula "takes no account of the content" and that one rates Einstein at fifth grade[93], Connecticut's contract law offers word and syllable counts instead[96], and the Plain Writing Act sets a standard with no number and no judicial review[60].

US insurance policies

Fifty-three jurisdictions, one formula, three floors.

The map shows the minimum Flesch Reading Ease score each jurisdiction writes into its insurance code. The table under it gives the scope, the citation, whether the regulator can accept a lower score, and whether we read the statute itself or only the NAIC chart.

Minimum Flesch Reading Ease for insurance policy forms

39 jurisdictions with a floor; 4 at 45, 5 at 50; 4 with a grade cap

Tiles show the floor that applies to the widest line of business in that jurisdiction. Scopes differ: Delaware and Pennsylvania score auto policies only, Iowa and Vermont credit insurance, Maryland health forms. Open the table for each one.

The model everyone copied

NAIC Model 575, Life and Health Insurance Policy Language Simplification Model Act, adopted 1978: The text achieves a minimum score of 40 on the Flesch reading ease test or an equivalent score on any other comparable test as provided in Subsection C of this section[1]

How the score is computed by law

words per sentence × 1.015, plus syllables per word × 84.6, subtracted from 206.835. Forms of 10,000 words or fewer are analysed in full; longer forms may use two 200-word samples per page, at least 20 printed lines apart. Printed in not less than ten-point type, one point leaded.

The escape hatch

The commissioner may authorize a lower score where it better reflects readability, is warranted by the type of form, or is caused by language required by law (Sec. 7). Most states copied this clause word for word.

US insurance policy readability rules by jurisdiction
		Grade cap	Applies to	Lower score allowed?	Citation
Colorado	50	Flesch-Kincaid grade 10 or lower	Non-commercial auto (10-4-633.5); health benefit, limited benefit, dental and long-term care plans (10-16-107.3); Medicare supplement 40 by regulation (chart)	Not stated	C.R.S. 10-4-633.5; C.R.S. 10-16-107.3
Maine	50	—	All lines	Yes (2443)	24-A M.R.S. 2441
Massachusetts	50	—	All lines; credit disclosures and Medicare supplement by regulation	Not stated	M.G.L. c. 175, 2B; 211 CMR 71, 143
North Carolina	50	—	Personal auto, residential property, life, accident and health, HMO; group certificates (Art. 66)	No	G.S. 58-38-30, 58-38-25; 58-66-30
Virginia	50	—	Life and health forms (14VAC5-101-70, 50); credit lines (38.2-233, 38.2-3735, 40)	Yes (14VAC5-101-70 G)	14VAC5-101-70; Va. Code 38.2-233, 38.2-3735
Connecticut	45	—	All lines (health, life and disability, personal lines property and casualty)	Yes	C.G.S. 38a-297
Florida	45	—	All policy forms filed on or after 1 Oct 1983, with the model exemptions plus mortgage guaranty	Yes (the office)	Fla. Stat. 627.4145
Michigan	45	—	Policies and annuity contracts for personal, family or household purposes	Not stated	MCL 500.2236(3)
New York	45	—	Life, health, homeowners (up to four units) and personal auto forms	Yes (superintendent)	N.Y. Ins. Law 3102
Arizona	40	—	Life and disability (R20-6-213); personal auto, homeowner, dwelling and mobile-home policies (R20-6-210)	Director may authorize a lower score (R20-6-213)	A.R.S. 20-1110.01; A.A.C. R20-6-210, R20-6-213
Arkansas	40	—	Life, accident and health (23-80-206); personal lines property and casualty (23-80-306, chart only)	Yes (23-80-207)	A.C.A. 23-80-206
Delaware	40	—	Auto (18 Del. C. 2741; Reg. 605) and homeowners (Reg. 701) forms; health and life forms have a type rule only	Sub-40 forms may be approved where sentence and word length are 'sufficiently compensated for by compliance with other standards'	18 Del. C. 2741; 18 Del. Admin. Code 605, 701
District of Columbia	40	—	Life and disability forms (31-4725); auto, HMO and mental-health coverage by regulation (chart)	Yes (31-4726)	D.C. Code 31-4725
Georgia	40	—	Homeowners, tenant and personal auto policies (120-2-42); life, annuities, accident and sickness (120-2-10-.09)	Yes (120-2-10-.09 para. 10)	Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 120-2-42, 120-2-10-.09
Hawaii	40	—	All lines (431:10-101 to 109)	Comparable test may be prescribed	HRS 431:10-104
Indiana	40	—	Life and health (27-1-26); restricting endorsements on first-party property policies (27-1-13-16, chart)	Yes (chart)	IC 27-1-26-3, 27-1-26-5
Iowa	40	—	Credit life and credit accident and health	No	IAC 191-28.14(509)
Kentucky	40	—	All personal lines policies: homeowners, dwelling fire, auto, accident and health, life	Yes	KRS 304.14-420, 304.14-440; 806 KAR 14:121
Maryland	40	—	Health insurance policies, riders and certificates (not employer groups over 1,000 or collectively bargained)	Not stated	COMAR 31.10.02.02, .03
Minnesota	40	—	All direct insurance (not group master contracts of ten or more)	Not stated	Minn. Stat. 72C.03, 72C.06, 72C.09
Montana	40	—	Life and disability (33-15-325); personal lines property and casualty (33-15-337)	Yes	MCA 33-15-325; MCA 33-15-337
Nebraska	40	—	Life and health	Yes (44-3406)	Neb. Rev. Stat. 44-3405
Nevada	40	—	Life and health, policies issued on or after 1 Jul 1983	Comparable test may be approved	NRS 687B.124
New Hampshire	40	—	Life and health	Yes	RSA 420-H:2 to 420-H:6
New Jersey	40	—	Life and health (17B:17-21); personal lines property and casualty by regulation (chart)	Yes	N.J.S.A. 17B:17-21
New Mexico	40	—	Life and health	Yes (59A-19-5, 'in his sole discretion')	NMSA 59A-19-4, 59A-19-5
North Dakota	40	—	Life (26.1-33-30); accident and health (26.1-36-14)	Yes	N.D.C.C. 26.1-33-30; 26.1-36-14
Ohio	40	—	All lines	Yes (3902.06)	R.C. 3902.04
Oklahoma	40	—	Life, accident and health forms issued on or after 1 Jan 1992	Yes (3647)	36 O.S. 3645, 3647
Oregon	40	—	Life and health	Yes (743.107)	ORS 743.106
Pennsylvania	40	—	Private passenger auto policies (31 Pa. Code ch. 64); health and life forms have an 'understandable language' standard only	Sub-40 forms may be approved where sentence and word length are 'sufficiently compensated for' by other standards	31 Pa. Code 64.12
Rhode Island	40	Flesch-Kincaid grade 8 or lower (health forms)	All individual and group health forms (230-RICR-20-30-5); credit life, accident and health, unemployment (230-RICR-20-60-1, Flesch 40)	Commissioner may authorize a higher reading level	230-RICR-20-30-5; 230-RICR-20-60-1
South Carolina	40	Flesch-Kincaid grade 7 or lower (credit insurance first-page disclosures)	Personal lines (R.69-5.1); credit life and credit accident and sickness first-page disclosures (34-29-166, 37-4-105)	Yes (R.69-5.1 E)	S.C. Code 38-61-30; S.C. Code Regs. 69-5.1; S.C. Code 34-29-166, 37-4-105
South Dakota	40	—	Life and health	Yes (58-11A-7)	SDCL 58-11A-3
Tennessee	40	—	Life and health; personal auto and property by commissioner's minimum (chart)	Yes (56-7-1607)	T.C.A. 56-7-1605
Texas	40	Grade 9 equivalent or easier (individual accident and health outline of coverage)	Employer health benefit plans, every page analysed (28 TAC 3.602); individual accident and health outline of coverage (28 TAC 3.3092)	Not stated	28 TAC 3.602; 28 TAC 3.3092
Vermont	40	—	Credit life and credit accident and health (Reg. I-84-1); property and casualty (Reg. I-2010-03)	Comparable test may be approved	Reg. I-84-1 s.13; Reg. I-2010-03 s.7(M)
West Virginia	40	—	Life and health	Yes (33-29-7)	W. Va. Code 33-29-5
Wisconsin	40	—	Consumer life, disability, property and casualty policies; Medicare supplement policies need 50	Yes (sub. 7)	Wis. Admin. Code Ins 6.07
Alabama	none	—	No provision	—	—
Alaska	none	—	Type size only (10-point, 120-point alphabet)	—	AS 21.51.020
California	none	—	Individual disability forms (score filed, no floor)	—	Ins. Code 10291.5; Bulletin 78-7
Idaho	none	—	No provision	—	—
Illinois	none	—	No provision	—	—
Kansas	none	—	No provision	—	—
Louisiana	none	—	No provision	—	—
Mississippi	none	—	No provision	—	—
Missouri	none	—	No provision	—	—
Puerto Rico	none	—	No provision	—	—
Utah	none	—	No provision	—	—
Virgin Islands	none	—	No provision	—	—
Washington	none	—	No provision	—	—
Wyoming	none	—	Title insurance: simple language, no score	—	W.S. 26-23-329

Showing 53 of 53 rowsStatute text opened on the official host for 18 of the 39 numeric jurisdictions, on FindLaw or Cornell LII for 18 whose official sites refuse automated access, and on the NAIC chart alone for 3.

US federal law and guidance

Standards everywhere, a score nowhere.

Every federal rule we opened that touches readability is listed, including the ones people assume contain a grade level and do not. Open a row for the law's own words.

US federal readability and plain-language rules
	What the law requires	Formula named	Citation
Consumer credit disclosures; credit-card application tables statute · 1968	Clearly and conspicuously; tabular 'Schumer box' Plain-language standard	none	15 U.S.C. 1632(a), (c), (d)
Summary plan descriptions for employee benefit plans statute and regulation · 1974	Understood by the average plan participant Plain-language standard	none	29 U.S.C. 1022(a); 29 CFR 2520.102-2
Informed consent in FDA-regulated trials regulation · 1981	Language understandable to the subject Plain-language standard	none	21 CFR 50.20
Federal regulations executive order · 1993	Simple and easy to understand Plain-language standard	none	Executive Order 12866, sec. 1(b)(12)
Proposed legislation and regulations drafted by agencies executive order · 1996	Clear legal standard, clear language Plain-language standard	none	Executive Order 12988, sec. 3(a), 3(b)(2)
FDA Medication Guides regulation · 1998	Type no smaller than 10 points Font, length or form	none	21 CFR 208.20(a)(1), (a)(4)
Prospectus cover pages, summary and risk factors regulation · 1998	Plain English principles: short sentences, active voice, no legal jargon Plain-language standard	none (Handbook warns against formulas)	17 CFR 230.421(b), (d); SEC Plain English Handbook (1998), ch. 9
HIPAA notice of privacy practices regulation · 2000	Written in plain language Plain-language standard	none	45 CFR 164.520(b)(1)
Financial privacy notices (Gramm-Leach-Bliley) regulation · 2000	'Clear and conspicuous' defined, with style examples Plain-language standard	none	16 CFR 313.3(b) (FTC); 12 CFR 1016.3(b) (CFPB Regulation P)
Voting systems (Help America Vote Act) statute · 2002	No readability rule No readability rule	none	52 U.S.C. 21081
Consumer medication information (pharmacy leaflets) guidance · 2006	6th to 8th grade reading level Grade level	none named	FDA Guidance: Useful Written Consumer Medication Information (July 2006), 'Comprehensible to Consumers'
Agency 'covered documents' (benefit, service and tax documents, letters, forms, notices); regulations excluded statute · 2010	Plain writing Plain-language standard	none	Plain Writing Act of 2010, Pub. L. 111-274, 5 U.S.C. 301 note
Summary of Benefits and Coverage (health plans) statute and regulation · 2010	4 double-sided pages; 12-point font; 'understandable by the average plan enrollee' Font, length or form	none	45 CFR 147.200(a)(3)(i); 42 U.S.C. 300gg-15(b)
Qualified health plan disclosures to Exchanges and the public statute and regulation · 2010	Statutory definition of plain language Plain-language standard	none	42 U.S.C. 18031(e)(3)(B); 45 CFR 155.20
Agency covered documents (implementing guidance) guidance · 2011	Plain writing by 13 Oct 2011 Plain-language standard	none	OMB Memorandum M-11-15 (13 Apr 2011)
Federal regulations executive order · 2011	Written in plain language Plain-language standard	none	Executive Order 13563, sec. 1(a)
Regulation Z open-end and closed-end credit disclosures regulation · 2011	Clearly and conspicuously; grouped and segregated Plain-language standard	none	12 CFR 1026.5(a); 12 CFR 1026.17(a)(1)
Credit and charge card applications and solicitations regulation · 2011	Table format; purchase APR in at least 16-point type Font, length or form	none	12 CFR 1026.60(a)(2), (b)(1)
Deposit account disclosures (Truth in Savings) regulation · 2011	Clearly and conspicuously Plain-language standard	none	12 CFR 1030.3(a)
Federal regulations (bill, never enacted) bill (not enacted) · 2012	Plain language; agency head certifies having read the rule Plain-language standard	none	H.R. 3786, Plain Regulations Act of 2012 (112th Congress)
Medicaid eligibility notices and information regulation · 2012	In plain language Plain-language standard	none	42 CFR 435.905(b)
Mortgage Loan Estimate (Know Before You Owe) statute and regulation · 2013	Prescribed form H-24 Font, length or form	none	12 CFR 1026.37(o); Dodd-Frank sec. 1032, 12 U.S.C. 5532
Disclosures in online advertising guidance · 2013	Clear and conspicuous; plain language and syntax Plain-language standard	none	FTC, .com Disclosures (March 2013)
Medicaid managed-care enrollee materials regulation · 2016	Font no smaller than 12 point; 'easily understood language' Font, length or form	none	42 CFR 438.10(c)(1), (d)(6)
Research informed consent (Common Rule) regulation · 2018	Language understandable to the subject Plain-language standard	none	45 CFR 46.116(a)(3), (a)(5)(i)
Medicare Advantage and Part D required materials regulation · 2021	12-point Times New Roman or equivalent Font, length or form	none	42 CFR 422.2267(a)(1); CMS Medicare Communications and Marketing Guidelines (2018, 2022)
Section 1557 nondiscrimination and language-assistance notices regulation · 2024	20-point sans serif font; English plus 15 languages Font, length or form	none	45 CFR 92.10, 92.11

Showing 27 of 27 rows'Standard' means the rule describes the writing it wants without a score, grade or count. Rows marked 'mirror' were opened on the Cornell LII copy of the US Code because uscode.house.gov returned errors.

US states outside insurance

Consumer contracts, government writing, consent forms and ballots.

Plain-language contract laws from 1977 onward, state plain-writing orders, and the ballot rules. Connecticut and Pennsylvania are the only ones with numbers, and New York's ballot law is the only one with a formula.

US state readability and plain-language rules outside insurance
	Document	What the law requires	Formula named	Citation
California statute	State agency documents (contracts, forms, licences, regulations, manuals)	Plain, straightforward language Plain-language standard	none	Cal. Gov. Code 6219
California statute	Research subject consent (Experimental Subject's Bill of Rights)	Nontechnical terms, in a language the subject is fluent in Plain-language standard	none	Cal. Health & Safety Code 24173(c)
Connecticut statute · 1979	Consumer contracts	Average under 22 words per sentence (max 50); under 75 words per paragraph (max 150); under 1.55 syllables per word; 8-point type; 65-character lines Word or sentence counts	none (bespoke counts)	Conn. Gen. Stat. 42-152(b), (c)
Florida statute · 2025	Ballot title and summary for constitutional amendments	Summary of at most 75 words; title of at most 15 words Word or sentence counts	none	Fla. Stat. 101.161(1)
Hawaii statute · 1981	Consumer agreements under $25,000; residential leases up to five years	Clear and coherent; common and everyday words Plain-language standard	none	Haw. Rev. Stat. 487A-1
Maine statute · 1979	Consumer loan and lease agreements of supervised lenders (under $100,000)	Clear and coherent; common and everyday words Plain-language standard	none	10 M.R.S. 1121 to 1125
Minnesota statute · 1981	Consumer contracts	Clear and coherent; common and everyday words; attorney general review Plain-language standard	none	Minn. Stat. 325G.31, 325G.32, 325G.35
Minnesota executive order · 2014	Executive-branch communications	Understood the first time it is read or heard Plain-language standard	none	Minnesota Executive Order 14-07
Montana statute · 1985	Consumer contracts	Clear and coherent; readable type; contrasting ink Plain-language standard	none	Mont. Code Ann. 30-14-1103
New York statute · 1977	Residential leases and consumer agreements for personal, family or household purposes (under $250,000)	Clear and coherent; common and everyday words Plain-language standard	none	N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law 5-702
New York statute · 2023	Statewide ballot proposals and abstracts	No higher than an 8th-grade reading level; 15-word title; 30-word summary; at most one passive sentence; no semicolons Grade level	Automated Readability Index	N.Y. Elec. Law 4-108(4)(b), (5), (7)
Oregon statute	State agency rules, forms, licences and notices	As clear and simple as possible Plain-language standard	none	ORS 183.750
Pennsylvania regulation · 1993	Consumer contracts (attorney general pre-approval checklist)	Guides: sentence average 25 words or fewer; paragraph average 60 words Word or sentence counts	none	37 Pa. Code 307.6, 307.8, Appendix B (under the Plain Language Consumer Contract Act, 73 P.S. 2201)
Texas statute · 2019	Bond election ballots	Plain language description of the purpose Plain-language standard	none	Tex. Gov't Code 1251.052(a)(1)
Washington executive order · 2005	Letters, forms, instructions and publications state agencies send to the public	Plain Talk principles: short sentences, active voice Plain-language standard	none	Washington Executive Order 05-03, Plain Talk
West Virginia statute · 1981	Written consumer agreements including residential rentals	Clear and coherent; readable type; contrasting ink Plain-language standard	none	W. Va. Code 46A-6-109

Showing 16 of 16 rowsNew Jersey's Plain Language Act (1980) is missing because no host would serve its text; see the limitations.

Outside the United States

Standards in the statutes, numbers only in the guidance.

40 rules from 13 jurisdictions and the EU. No statute or regulation we opened outside the US sets a readability score, grade or formula. The numbers that exist sit in guidance: a year 7 target in Australia's style manual, a 25-word sentence trigger on GOV.UK, a 90% user test for EU medicine leaflets, three sides of A4 for an investment KID.

Readability and plain-language rules outside the United States
	Document	What the law requires	Formula named	Citation
Australia statute · 2004	Prospectuses and other disclosure documents; Product Disclosure Statements	Clear, concise and effective Plain-language standard	none	Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), s. 715A, s. 1013C(3)
Australia guidance · 2019	Prospectuses (how to meet s. 715A)	Highlight key information, plain language, as short as possible, explain technical terms Plain-language standard	none	ASIC Regulatory Guide 228 (August 2019), RG 228.19 to 228.25
Australia statute · 2010	Terms of standard-form consumer and small-business contracts	Transparent: reasonably plain language, legible, presented clearly, readily available Plain-language standard	none	Australian Consumer Law (Competition and Consumer Act 2010, Sch. 2), s. 24(3), s. 2
Australia guidance · 2022	Australian Government content (whole-of-government style guide)	Australian year 7 level (reading level 2, age 12 to 14), tied to WCAG SC 3.1.5 Grade level	none named	Australian Government Style Manual, 'Literacy and access'
Canada statute · 2018	Any bank communication seeking a person's express consent	Clear, simple and not misleading Plain-language standard	none	Bank Act, S.C. 1991, c. 46, s. 627.09
Canada regulation · 2021	Accessibility plans and feedback-process descriptions of federally regulated entities	Simple, clear and concise language Plain-language standard	none	Accessible Canada Regulations, SOR/2021-241, s. 5(1), 10(1)(a)
Canada guidance · 2022	Informed-consent information for research participants	Plain language statement of purpose, risks and benefits Plain-language standard	none	TCPS 2 (2022), Chapter 3, Article 3.2
European Union directive · 1993	Written terms in consumer contracts, all sectors	Plain, intelligible language; doubt resolved for the consumer Plain-language standard	none	Directive 93/13/EEC, Art. 5 and Art. 4(2)
European Union directive · 2011	Pre-contractual information for on-premises, off-premises and distance consumer contracts	Clear and comprehensible; legible and in plain, intelligible language Plain-language standard	none	Directive 2011/83/EU, Arts. 5(1), 6(1), 7(1), 8(1)
European Union regulation · 2016	Privacy notices and all communications with data subjects	Concise, transparent, intelligible and easily accessible; clear and plain language Plain-language standard	none	Regulation (EU) 2016/679, Art. 12(1); Recital 58
European Union regulation · 2014	Key Information Document for packaged retail and insurance-based investment products	Maximum three sides of A4; characters of readable size; clear, succinct and comprehensible language Font, length or form	none	Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014, Art. 6(4)
European Union directive · 2009	UCITS Key Investor Information Document	Concise, non-technical language, likely to be understood by retail investors Plain-language standard	none	Directive 2009/65/EC, Art. 78(5)
European Union directive · 2014	All information from investment firms to clients, including marketing	Fair, clear and not misleading; comprehensible form Plain-language standard	none	Directive 2014/65/EU, Art. 24(3), 24(5)
European Union directive · 2016	Information from insurance distributors; the Insurance Product Information Document	Fair, clear and not misleading; short, stand-alone, easy to read, readable type Plain-language standard	none	Directive (EU) 2016/97, Arts. 17(2), 20(4), 20(7)
European Union directive · 2023	Credit advertising, pre-contractual information and credit agreements	Clear and comprehensible; agreements in a clear and concise manner Plain-language standard	none	Directive (EU) 2023/2225, Arts. 8(3), 10(1), 11(1), 21(1)
European Union directive · 2019	Information on the use of covered products and services (banking, e-commerce, e-books, transport)	Presented in an understandable way; adequate font size, contrast and spacing Plain-language standard	none	Directive (EU) 2019/882, Art. 4 and Annex I
European Union regulation · 2014	Informed-consent information for clinical trial subjects	Comprehensive, concise, clear, relevant and understandable to a layperson Plain-language standard	none	Regulation (EU) No 536/2014, Art. 29(2)
European Union guidance · 2009	Patient information leaflets and labelling of human medicines	User test: 90% of participants find the information and 90% of those understand it; type at least 9 points Word or sentence counts	none	European Commission, Guideline on the readability of the labelling and package leaflet (Rev. 1, 2009), under Directive 2001/83/EC Art. 59(3)
Germany statute · 2002	Standard business terms in any contract	Clear and comprehensible (Transparenzgebot); an unclear term can be void Plain-language standard	none	Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, s. 307(1)
India regulation · 2024	Prospectuses, policy documents and the Customer Information Sheet for all insurance products	Simple and clear terms; avoid jargon Plain-language standard	none	IRDAI (Protection of Policyholders' Interests, Operations and Allied Matters of Insurers) Regulations, 2024, Reg. 9, 11, 12
Ireland regulation · 2025	All information regulated financial firms give to consumers	Plain English; technical terms explained in plain language Plain-language standard	none	Consumer Protection Code 2025, S.I. No. 81 of 2025, Reg. 47; Consumer Protection Code 2012, Provision 4.1
New Zealand statute · 2022	Public documents of public service agencies and Crown agents	Appropriate to the audience; clear, concise and well organised Plain-language standard	none	Plain Language Act 2022 (2022 No 54), ss. 5, 9, 14
New Zealand statute · 2015	Terms of standard-form consumer contracts and small trade contracts	Transparent: reasonably plain language, legible, presented clearly, readily available Plain-language standard	none	Fair Trading Act 1986, s. 46L and s. 2
Norway statute · 2021	All communication by public bodies	Clear and correct language adapted to the target group Plain-language standard	none	Lov om språk (språklova), LOV-2021-05-21-42, § 9
Ontario statute · 2002	Any disclosure a supplier must make under the Act	Clear, comprehensible and prominent Plain-language standard	none	Consumer Protection Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 30, Sched. A, s. 5(1)
Singapore guidance · 2024	All information given to customers by MAS-regulated financial institutions	Clear, relevant and timely information Plain-language standard	none	MAS Guidelines on Fair Dealing FSG-G04 (30 May 2024), Outcome 4
South Africa statute · 2008	Any notice, document or visual representation required to be given to a consumer	An ordinary consumer with average literacy and minimal experience can understand it without undue effort, judged on four factors including vocabulary and sentence structure Plain-language standard	none	Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, s. 22(2)
South Africa statute · 2005	Credit agreements, quotes and statements	Same four-factor statutory test as the Consumer Protection Act Plain-language standard	none	National Credit Act 34 of 2005, s. 64(2)
South Africa regulation · 2017	All communications by long-term insurers to policyholders; advertisements; claims communications	Plain language as defined: clear and easy to understand, avoids confusion, appropriate to the audience's knowledge Plain-language standard	none	Policyholder Protection Rules (Long-term Insurance), 2017, rules 1, 10.7.1, 11.3.1, 17.8.2
Sweden statute · 2009	All language used in public activities (courts, authorities, public bodies)	Cultivated, simple and comprehensible Plain-language standard	none	Språklag (2009:600), 11 §
United Kingdom statute · 2015	Core terms (price, subject matter) of consumer contracts	Transparent: plain and intelligible language, legible Plain-language standard	none	Consumer Rights Act 2015, s. 64(3)
United Kingdom statute · 2015	Every written term of a consumer contract and every written consumer notice	Transparent: plain and intelligible language, legible Plain-language standard	none	Consumer Rights Act 2015, s. 68
United Kingdom statute · 2015	Business insurance terms that contract out of the Insurance Act's protections	Clear and unambiguous as to its effect; drawn to the insured's attention Plain-language standard	none	Insurance Act 2015, s. 17(3)
United Kingdom statute · 2010	Information provided to disabled people by service providers, employers and public bodies	Accessible format where reasonable Plain-language standard	none	Equality Act 2010, s. 20(6)
United Kingdom regulation · 2023	All communications to retail customers by FCA-authorised firms (Consumer Duty)	Likely to be understood; clear, fair and not misleading Plain-language standard	none	FCA Handbook PRIN 2A.5.3R; FG22/5 para 8.35
United Kingdom regulation · 2015	Consumer credit communications and financial promotions	Plain and intelligible language Plain-language standard	none	FCA Handbook CONC 3.3.2R
United Kingdom regulation · 2008	Information and financial promotions for non-investment insurance	Clear, fair and not misleading Plain-language standard	none	FCA Handbook ICOBS 2.2.2R
United Kingdom guidance	All content published on GOV.UK	Split sentences over 25 words; no more than 5 sentences per paragraph; plain English mandatory Word or sentence counts	none	GOV.UK content guidance, 'Use clear language' (Government Digital Service)
United Kingdom (England) regulation · 2025	Information and communication with patients who have a disability, impairment or sensory loss	Needs identified, recorded, flagged, shared and met; accessible formats Plain-language standard	none	NHS England Accessible Information Standard DAPB1605 (30 June 2025)
W3C (adopted into law at Level AA only) standard · 2023	Web content (Success Criterion 3.1.5 Reading Level, Level AAA)	Lower secondary education level (about 7 to 9 years of schooling) after removing proper names and titles, or a simpler version supplied Grade level	none named	WCAG 2.2, SC 3.1.5

Showing 40 of 40 rowsQuebec's Civil Code and France's consumer code could not be opened (their official sites block automated access) and are left out rather than quoted second-hand.

What the floors mean

A floor of 40 is a floor, not a target.

Flesch labelled his own scale. The statutory minimums sit at the hard end of it.

40Difficult on Flesch's scale (30 to 50), College reading · used by NAIC model and most states
45Difficult on Flesch's scale (30 to 50), College reading · used by Connecticut, Florida, Michigan, New York
50Fairly difficult on Flesch's scale (50 to 60), 10th to 12th grade reading · used by Colorado (with a grade-10 cap), Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Virginia (life and health forms)

Flesch's 1949 table puts 30 to 50 at "difficult", the register of academic and professional prose, and 50 to 60 at "fairly difficult", high-school reading. He set 60 as the minimum for plain English and 70 to 80 for consumer writing[1]. A policy that clears 40 can therefore be, by the formula's own author, harder than a college textbook. The statutes also measure only what the formula measures, words per sentence and syllables per word, so a form can clear the floor with short sentences of undefined terms and still fail its reader. The regulators knew this: the NAIC model excludes medical terminology and legally required language from the count, and lets the commissioner approve a lower score, which concedes that the number is a proxy.

The Readability Score Reference sets out the seven formulas, Flesch's conversion table and what the formulas miss. Orwellix's own readability analysis does not use a formula: it scores structural complexity, lexical sophistication, writing clarity and text coherence for each sentence and reports one grade level with the hard sentences marked, which is closer to what the Connecticut counts and the SEC's handbook were reaching for.

Thirty-five of the 39 numeric jurisdictions let the regulator approve a lower score or an "equivalent score on any other comparable test". North Carolina, Maryland and Michigan show no such clause in the text opened.
The clause is in the NAIC model (Sec. 7) and was copied almost verbatim.
Four states cap grade level instead of, or as well as, flooring the score: Colorado (Flesch-Kincaid grade 10 and Flesch 50), Rhode Island health forms (grade 8), South Carolina credit-insurance disclosures (grade 7) and Texas outlines of coverage (grade 9 on any approved test).[8][45][49][53]
Grade caps are the only place US law speaks in the units most writing tools report.
Sampling is written into the law: forms over 10,000 words may be scored on two 200-word samples per page. Georgia, Montana and South Carolina use 100-word samples; Texas requires the whole plan to be analysed.[15][52]
Two tools scoring the same policy can differ simply by which samples they take.
Federal consumer-finance rules reach for form, not score: the Loan Estimate must use the tested form H-24, the card table must show the APR in 16-point type, the Summary of Benefits and Coverage must fit four double-sided pages in 12-point type.[85][84][72]
A prescribed, user-tested form is a different theory of readability from a formula.
The Plain Writing Act has no enforcement: "There shall be no judicial review of compliance or noncompliance with any provision of this Act."[60]
Agencies report annually and the Center for Plain Language grades them, but no reader can sue. New Zealand's Plain Language Act 2022 says the same in its section 14.
The only numeric readability test in European health law is a performance test with readers: a medicine leaflet passes when 90% of test participants can find the information and 90% of those can show they understood it.[134]
South Africa's consumer and credit acts take a third route: a statutory test of whether an ordinary consumer with average literacy could understand the document without undue effort.

Method, limitations, data

How this page was built, and what it could not reach.

Method

A rule reaches the table only after a person opened the statute, regulation or guidance that contains it, on 23 Oct 2026. The NAIC's Summer 2025 chart was used as an index to find citations, never as the source of a number where the text could be opened.

Where a state legislature's site refused automated access, the same section was opened on FindLaw or Cornell LII and the row is marked "mirror".
Federal regulations were read from the 2024 Code of Federal Regulations on govinfo.gov; statutes from the Cornell LII copy of the US Code where uscode.house.gov failed.
Each row records the kind of rule (score, grade, count, format or standard), the formula if one is named, who enforces it, and the law's own sentence.

Limitations

Massachusetts M.G.L. c. 175 s. 2B (Flesch 50) and New Hampshire RSA 420-H (Flesch 40): every official and mirror host blocked automated access, so both numbers rest on the NAIC chart.
Minnesota: the sections that define the computation were opened, but the sentence setting the minimum of 40 was not found in them; the 40 rests on the NAIC chart.
Seventeen state insurance rules were opened only on FindLaw or Cornell LII because the state host refused the connection. The quotes are verbatim from those mirrors and are marked 'mirror' in the table.
New Jersey Plain Language Act (N.J.S.A. 56:12-1 to -13): no host would serve the text; it is left out of the consumer-contract table.
Pennsylvania Plain Language Consumer Contract Act (73 P.S. 2201): the statute itself could not be opened; only the attorney general's regulations were, so the row rests on those.
HHS, OHRP and NIH guidance on consent reading levels: hhs.gov and nih.gov returned 403. Search results indicate OHRP sets no grade level; the common 6th-to-8th-grade targets are institutional policies.
FDA review practice of '6th to 8th grade reading level and a reading ease score of at least 60' appears in review memos found only as search snippets. It is not on this page.
Other state ballot-readability statutes named by Ballotpedia (North Dakota, Alabama, Michigan, Mississippi, Tennessee) were not opened.
Effective years are missing where a mirror omitted the history lines (Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, West Virginia).
This page is a research compilation, not legal advice. Check the current text of the statute before filing.

Data and files

Tables and the map are CC BY 4.0: reuse them with a link to this page.

Sources

156 documents, each one opened.

Statutes, regulations and guidance in the order they appear in the tables. Numbers match the superscripts and the links in each row.

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New Zealand (2022). Plain Language Act 2022 (2022 No 54), ss. 5, 9, 14. legislation.govt.nz. OpenOpened 23 Oct 2026
New Zealand (2015). Fair Trading Act 1986, s. 46L and s. 2. legislation.govt.nz. OpenOpened 23 Oct 2026
South Africa (2008). Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, s. 22(2). gov.za. OpenOpened 23 Oct 2026
South Africa (2005). National Credit Act 34 of 2005, s. 64(2). gov.za. OpenOpened 23 Oct 2026
South Africa (2017). Policyholder Protection Rules (Long-term Insurance), 2017, rules 1, 10.7.1, 11.3.1, 17.8.2. gov.za. OpenOpened 23 Oct 2026
India (2024). IRDAI (Protection of Policyholders' Interests, Operations and Allied Matters of Insurers) Regulations, 2024, Reg. 9, 11, 12. irdai.gov.in. OpenOpened 23 Oct 2026
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APA

Orwellix. (2026). Readability Requirements by Law. Orwellix. https://orwellix.com/resources/readability-requirements-by-law

Plain

Readability Requirements by Law (Orwellix, 2026): https://orwellix.com/resources/readability-requirements-by-law

First published 24 Oct 2026. Reuse the tables and charts with attribution under CC BY 4.0.

Changelog

24 Oct 2026First edition: 53 US insurance jurisdictions from the statutes and the NAIC chart, 46 US federal and state rules outside insurance, and the international section.

Questions

The questions this page gets asked.

01Is there a legal readability requirement for insurance policies?

In the United States, yes, in 39 of 53 jurisdictions. The NAIC's 1978 model act requires a minimum Flesch Reading Ease score of 40 for life and health policy forms, and most states adopted it, often extending it to homeowners and auto policies. Connecticut, Florida, Michigan and New York require 45; Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Virginia require 50 for some lines. Colorado, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Texas add grade-level caps on the Flesch-Kincaid or a comparable scale. Outside the US we found no statute that sets a score.

02What Flesch score does my state require?

Find your state in the insurance table on this page. The usual floor is 40, which on Flesch's own scale is still 'difficult', college-level prose. Most statutes let the commissioner approve a lower score when legally required language drags it down, and almost all accept 'an equivalent score on any other comparable test' the regulator approves.

03Does federal law set a reading level for government documents?

No. The Plain Writing Act of 2010 requires 'clear, concise, well-organized' writing in covered documents, with no score, no judicial review and regulations excluded. Executive orders 12866, 12988 and 13563 set the same kind of standard for regulations. The one federal document we opened that states a grade level is FDA's 2006 guidance suggesting a 6th-to-8th-grade reading level for consumer medication information, and it is non-binding.

04Is there a legal reading level for informed consent forms?

Not in the federal rules. The Common Rule (45 CFR 46.116) and FDA's 21 CFR 50.20 require 'language understandable to the subject'. The 6th-to-8th-grade targets that appear on IRB templates are institutional policies, not regulation. California's Experimental Subject's Bill of Rights requires 'nontechnical terms' in a language the subject is fluent in, again without a number.

05Which law names a readability formula other than Flesch Reading Ease?

New York Election Law 4-108 (2023) requires statewide ballot proposals to score no higher than an eighth-grade reading level on the Automated Readability Index, with at most one passive sentence and no semicolons. Colorado and Rhode Island use the Flesch-Kincaid grade for insurance forms, South Carolina uses it for credit-insurance disclosures, and Texas accepts Flesch, Fry, Chall, Fog or Farr-Jenkins-Paterson for an outline of coverage.

06Why do most laws set a standard instead of a score?

Because the bodies that tried scores found their limits. The SEC's 1998 Plain English Handbook says 'no formula takes into account the content of the document' and that one formula rates Einstein's theory of relativity at 5th grade. Connecticut's contract law offers an alternative: eleven objective counts, such as an average of fewer than 22 words per sentence and 1.55 syllables per word. Orwellix's readability analysis takes the other route, scoring four dimensions of each sentence rather than two counts.

Check a policy, notice or form against a floor

The free Orwellix readability checker grades a passage on four dimensions and marks the hard sentences, passives and qualifiers, so you can see what a Flesch floor lets through. Ten checks a day, no account.

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The Readability Benchmarks Cheat Sheet

Every readability formula, the conversion chart, and the targets

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All resources · The Readability Score Reference · Readability and plain-language statistics