Kosher Symbols Explained: The Full Hechsher Directory (2026)
Every major certification mark — US, UK, Canada, Israel — plus the suffix decoder (D, DE, Meat, Fish) and the P trap.
Last verified: July 11, 2026 · descriptions checked against each agency's own site and the sources cited inline.
A hechsher (הכשר) is the trademarked mark of a kosher-certification agency, printed on packaging to show the product was produced under that agency's supervision. To decode any symbol you see: first identify the agency behind the mark, then read the status suffix next to it (Pareve, D for dairy, Meat — and note that P means Kosher for Passover, not pareve). In North America, five marks — the "Big Five" below — cover most major-brand packaged food; beyond them there are more than 1,100 certifying agencies worldwide, which is why this page is organized as a directory you can come back to.
| Mark | Looks like | Agency |
|---|---|---|
| OU | U inside a circle | Orthodox Union |
| OK | K inside a circle | OK Kosher Certification |
| Star-K | K inside a star | Star-K Kosher Certification |
| Kof-K | K inside a Hebrew kaf | Kof-K Kosher Supervision |
| cRc | cRc inside a triangle | Chicago Rabbinical Council |
You can't memorize 1,100 agencies' marks. Our free iOS app Is It Kosher? Hechsher Scanner reads the hechsher, the ingredients, and the E-numbers off a barcode or a label photo and returns Kosher, Not Kosher, Uncertain, or Not Found.
Scan a symbol with Kosher Scanner — freeThe kosher symbols directory: 17 marks, grouped
Grouped by where you'll most often meet them. The mark tells you who certified the product; the suffix next to it (next section) tells you how you can use it. Agency links go to each certifier's own site.
The Big Five (US-based, global reach)
A 'U' inside a circle — the world's largest kosher certifier, seen on major brands worldwide. OU-D = dairy, OU-Meat = meat, bare OU = pareve.
A 'K' inside a circle — a registered trademark, not the same thing as a bare letter K printed on its own.
A 'K' inside a five-pointed star. Its companion mark Star-D (a 'D' in a star) flags a dairy product.
A 'K' set inside the Hebrew letter kaf. You'll see it spelled Kof-K or KOF-K — same agency, same mark.
The letters 'cRc' inside a triangle. Note the lowercase c-R-c: it is a different organization from the Brooklyn-based CRC (see below).
Other common US marks
A plain 'K' inside a triangle, run by the Ralbag rabbinic family for decades. Acceptance varies by community — see the dedicated section below.
A 'K' over the twin tablets of the Ten Commandments. As with any mark, check whether your community relies on it.
The letters 'KSA' — a major West Coast–based agency common on products made in California and the western US.
A 'K' inside a scroll — the community kashrut agency of Denver, seen on many natural-foods brands produced in the Rocky Mountain region.
A Hasidic umbrella organization whose mark also reads CRC — frequently confused with Chicago's cRc-in-a-triangle. Different agency, different standards.
International marks (UK · Canada · Israel · Australia)
One of the UK's principal certifiers; its consumer resources (including the E-numbers guide) are widely used far beyond Britain.
The other long-established UK communal certifier, common on British-made products.
The letters 'MK'. 'Pareve MK' on a label means a pareve product certified by Montreal Kosher.
The letters 'COR', usually with a number identifying the certified facility — Canada's largest kosher certifier.
A Hebrew-lettered badge seen across Israel on mehadrin (stricter-standard) products; one of several Israeli badatz marks.
In Israel, many products carry a printed text line from a city rabbinate rather than a logo — e.g. 'under the supervision of the Rabbanut' — sometimes with a 'Mehadrin' grade.
The main Australian certifier, seen on products exported from Australia and New Zealand.
The suffix decoder: D, DE, Meat, Fish — and the P trap
The letter next to the symbol changes what you can do with the product. The single most common misreading is P: it means Kosher for Passover, not pareve — a point OK Kosher's consumer guide The Kosher Symbols Clarified makes explicitly. A Passover-certified product can be pareve, dairy, or meat.
| Suffix | Meaning | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| (bare symbol) / Pareve | Pareve (parve) | Neither meat nor dairy — can be eaten with either. |
| D | Dairy | Contains dairy, or in some agencies' usage was made on dairy equipment. Keep away from meat meals. |
| DE | Dairy equipment | No dairy ingredients, but produced on dairy lines. Used by some agencies (e.g. Star-K); treatment varies by custom. |
| Meat | Meat | Contains meat or meat derivatives. Keep separate from dairy. |
| Glatt | Glatt meat standard | Meat certified to the stricter glatt standard many observant communities require. |
| Fish / F | Contains fish | Flagged because many communities keep fish separate from meat. |
| P | Kosher for Passover — NOT pareve | The most misread suffix on the shelf. OU-P or OK-P means certified for Passover; a Passover product can still be dairy or meat. |
Is Triangle-K a "good" hechsher? The honest answer
Communities genuinely differ on Triangle-K, so no directory can hand you a yes/no. The Triangle K certification — a plain K inside a triangle — has been run by the Ralbag rabbinic family for decades and appears on many mainstream US products. Some communities and rabbis accept it; several stricter kashrut organizations do not include it on their recommended-agency lists, in part because it relies on certain lenient halachic positions that other agencies do not adopt (see the overview of the debate on Wikipedia's Triangle K entry and the general symbols discussion at My Jewish Learning). The practical rule: if you keep to a specific standard, ask your own rabbi or community kashrut list whether Triangle-K products are relied on — the same question you'd ask about any mark outside your usual set.
A bare "K" is not on this list — on purpose
A single letter K printed on its own is not a certification mark: plain letters can't be trademarked, so a bare K carries no named agency behind it. That's different from a K inside a circle (OK), star (Star-K), or triangle (Triangle-K), each of which is a registered mark. We cover the plain-K problem — and the full step-by-step method for checking a product — in How to Check If a Product Is Kosher (2026). Think of that page as the method and this one as the reference.
When you meet a mark that isn't in this directory
Seventeen marks cover the common cases, but with 1,100+ agencies worldwide you will eventually hit one you don't recognize. Our free iOS app Is It Kosher? Hechsher Scanner is built for exactly that moment: scan the barcode or photograph the ingredient label, and its AI checks the hechsher symbols, the ingredients, and the E-numbers (things like E120 carmine or E441 gelatin — see our kosher E-numbers reference), then returns a verdict of Kosher, Not Kosher, Uncertain, or Not Found, plus a meat / dairy / pareve / uncertain status. It works on packaged foods worldwide and is available in English, French, and Hebrew (iOS 17+, free to download with optional in-app purchases).
What it can't do is just as important: it is an informational tool, not a certification. It isn't affiliated with or endorsed by any kashrut agency, and "Uncertain" is a deliberate part of its verdict set. For a definitive ruling on a specific product — especially for Passover — the certifying agency or your rabbi is the final word.
Kosher symbols FAQ
Does the P in OU-P or OK-P mean pareve?
No. The P suffix means Kosher for Passover, not pareve. A kosher-for-Passover product can be pareve, dairy, or meat, so you still need to read the status word. Pareve products are marked with the bare symbol or the word 'Pareve' — never with a P. OK Kosher's own consumer guide, 'The Kosher Symbols Clarified' (ok.org), calls this out as one of the most common label misreadings.
What does MK mean on food packaging?
MK is the mark of Montreal Kosher, the kashrut agency of the Jewish Community Council of Montreal (mk.ca). It is common on Canadian-made products and on exports. 'Pareve MK' on a label simply means a pareve product — neither meat nor dairy — certified by Montreal Kosher.
How many kosher certification agencies are there?
More than 1,100 kosher-certifying agencies operate worldwide, using hundreds of visually distinct marks. In practice, five US-based agencies — OU, OK, Star-K, Kof-K, and cRc — cover most major-brand packaged food in North America, with strong national agencies like KLBD (UK), MK and COR (Canada), and the Israeli badatz marks covering their home markets.
Is Triangle-K a reliable hechsher?
It depends on whom you ask, which is why the question is so heavily searched. Triangle-K is a long-running certification headed by the Ralbag rabbinic family, and some communities accept it; several stricter kashrut organizations do not include it on their recommended-agency lists because it relies on certain lenient halachic positions that other agencies do not. There is no universal answer: whether any given hechsher meets your standard is a question for your own rabbi or community.