diff --git a/bin/stop-harmony-and-services b/bin/stop-harmony-and-services
index 6fb8d192e..9cfe3b9b8 100755
--- a/bin/stop-harmony-and-services
+++ b/bin/stop-harmony-and-services
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 # This script will delete all of the kubernetes harmony resources. If you use this script
 # you will also delete all of your local harmony jobs since the database will be destroyed.
 
-# this will only have an effect if the development servies are running - otherwise it does
+# this will only have an effect if the development services are running - otherwise it does
 # nothing
 bin/stop-dev-services
 
diff --git a/services/harmony/app/markdown/apis.md b/services/harmony/app/markdown/apis.md
index bf07a043c..cf720b767 100644
--- a/services/harmony/app/markdown/apis.md
+++ b/services/harmony/app/markdown/apis.md
@@ -66,7 +66,9 @@ As such it accepts parameters in the URL path as well as query parameters.
 | height | number of rows to return in the output coverage |
 | forceAsync | if "true", override the default API behavior and always treat the request as asynchronous |
 | format | the mime-type of the output format to return |
-| label | the label(s) to add for the job that runs the request. Multiple labels can be specified as a comma-separated list.
+| label | the label(s) to add for the job that runs the request. Multiple labels can be specified as a comma-separated list. A label can contain any characters up to a 255
+character limit, but if a label contains commas the request can only be a POST with
+with the label field in the body. Labels are always converted to lower case.
 | maxResults | limits the number of input files processed in the request |
 | skipPreview | if "true", override the default API behavior and never auto-pause jobs |
 | ignoreErrors | if "true", continue processing a request to completion even if some items fail. If "false" immediately fail the request. Defaults to true |
@@ -127,6 +129,8 @@ Currently only the `/position`, `/cube`, `/trajectory` and `/area` routes are su
 | ignoreErrors | if "true", continue processing a request to completion even if some items fail. If "false" immediately fail the request. Defaults to true |
 | interpolation | specify the interpolation method used during reprojection and scaling |
 | label | the label(s) to add for the job that runs the request. Multiple labels can be specified as a comma-separated list or as an array in the JSON body for POST requests.
+A label can contain any characters up to a 255 character limit, but if a label
+contains commas the request can only be a POST. Labels are always converted to lower case.
 | maxResults | limits the number of input files processed in the request |
 | scaleExtent | scale the resulting coverage along one axis to a given extent |
 | scaleSize | scale the resulting coverage along one axis to a given size |
diff --git a/services/harmony/app/middleware/label.ts b/services/harmony/app/middleware/label.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a47997a36
--- /dev/null
+++ b/services/harmony/app/middleware/label.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+import { Response, NextFunction } from 'express';
+import HarmonyRequest from '../models/harmony-request';
+import { parseMultiValueParameter } from '../util/parameter-parsing-helpers';
+
+/**
+ * Express.js middleware to convert label parameter to an array (if needed) and add
+ * it to the body of the request
+ *
+ * @param req - The client request
+ * @param _res - The client response (not used)
+ * @param next - The next function in the middleware chain
+ */
+export default async function handleLabelParameter(
+  req: HarmonyRequest, _res: Response, next: NextFunction,
+): Promise<void> {
+  // Check if 'label' exists in the query parameters (GET), form-encoded body, or JSON body
+  let label = req.query.label || req.body.label;
+
+  // If 'label' exists, convert it to an array (if not already) and assign it to 'label' in the body
+  if (label) {
+    label = parseMultiValueParameter(label);
+    req.body.label = label;
+  }
+
+  // Call next to pass control to the next middleware or route handler
+  next();
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/services/harmony/app/middleware/parameter-validation.ts b/services/harmony/app/middleware/parameter-validation.ts
index b2c682a19..76354d7d0 100644
--- a/services/harmony/app/middleware/parameter-validation.ts
+++ b/services/harmony/app/middleware/parameter-validation.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import { getEdrParameters } from '../frontends/ogc-edr/index';
 import env from '../util/env';
 import { getRequestRoot } from '../util/url';
 import { validateNoConflictingGridParameters } from '../util/grids';
+import { checkLabel } from '../models/label';
 
 const { awsDefaultRegion } = env;
 
@@ -154,6 +155,25 @@ function validateBucketPathParameter(req: HarmonyRequest): void {
   }
 }
 
+/**
+ * Verify that the given label is valid. Send an error if it is not.
+ * @param req - The request object
+ * @throws RequestValidationError - if a label is invalid (too short or too long)
+ */
+export function validateLabelParameter(req: HarmonyRequest): void {
+  const labels = req.body.label;
+
+  if (labels) {
+    for (const label of labels) {
+      const errMsg = checkLabel(label);
+
+      if (errMsg) {
+        throw new RequestValidationError(errMsg);
+      }
+    }
+  }
+}
+
 /**
  * Validate that the parameter names are correct.
  *  (Performs case insensitive comparison.)
@@ -225,6 +245,7 @@ export default async function parameterValidation(
     if (req.url.match(EDR_ROUTE_REGEX)) {
       validateEdrParameterNames(req);
     }
+    validateLabelParameter(req);
   } catch (e) {
     return next(e);
   }
diff --git a/services/harmony/app/models/label.ts b/services/harmony/app/models/label.ts
index 3b331b44d..deefa6ebc 100644
--- a/services/harmony/app/models/label.ts
+++ b/services/harmony/app/models/label.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,19 @@
 import { Transaction } from '../util/db';
 
+/**
+ * Returns an error message if a label is empty or exceeds 255 characters in length
+ *
+ * @param tag - The image tag to check
+ * @returns An error message if the tag is not valid, null otherwise
+ */
+export function checkLabel(label: string): string {
+  if (label.length < 1 || label.length > 255) {
+    const message = 'Labels must consist of at least one 1 and no more than 255 characters.';
+    return message;
+  }
+  return null;
+}
+
 /**
  * Returns the labels for a given job
  * @param transaction - the transaction to use for querying
diff --git a/services/harmony/app/models/services/base-service.ts b/services/harmony/app/models/services/base-service.ts
index 05435bc7c..5c007e77d 100644
--- a/services/harmony/app/models/services/base-service.ts
+++ b/services/harmony/app/models/services/base-service.ts
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ import UserWork from '../user-work';
 import { joinTexts } from '@harmony/util/string';
 import { makeWorkScheduleRequest } from '../../backends/workflow-orchestration/work-item-polling';
 import { QUERY_CMR_SERVICE_REGEX } from '../../backends/workflow-orchestration/util';
-import { parseMultiValueParameter } from '../../util/parameter-parsing-helpers';
 
 export interface ServiceCapabilities {
   concatenation?: boolean;
@@ -262,10 +261,9 @@ export default abstract class BaseService<ServiceParamType> {
     logger.info('Invoking service for operation', { operation: this.operation });
     // TODO handle the skipPreview parameter here when implementing HARMONY-1129
     const job = this._createJob(getRequestUrl(req));
-    const labels = req.query.label;
-    if (labels) {
-      job.labels = parseMultiValueParameter(labels as string);
-    }
+    const labels = req.body.label;
+    job.labels = labels || [];
+
     await this._createAndSaveWorkflow(job);
 
     const { isAsync, jobID } = job;
diff --git a/services/harmony/app/routers/router.ts b/services/harmony/app/routers/router.ts
index 9aa1b8d01..e986ce8e1 100644
--- a/services/harmony/app/routers/router.ts
+++ b/services/harmony/app/routers/router.ts
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ import docsPage from '../frontends/docs/docs';
 import { getCollectionCapabilitiesJson } from '../frontends/capabilities';
 import extendDefault from '../middleware/extend';
 import { getAdminHealth, getHealth } from '../frontends/health';
+import handleLabelParameter from '../middleware/label';
 export interface RouterConfig {
   PORT?: string | number; // The port to run the frontend server on
   BACKEND_PORT?: string | number; // The port to run the backend server on
@@ -199,6 +200,7 @@ export default function router({ skipEarthdataLogin = 'false' }: RouterConfig):
     next(new NotFoundError('Services can only be invoked when a valid collection is supplied in the URL path before the service name.'));
   });
   result.use(logged(shapefileConverter));
+  result.use(handleLabelParameter);
   result.use(logged(parameterValidation));
   result.use(logged(parseGridMiddleware));
   result.use(logged(preServiceConcatenationHandler));
diff --git a/services/harmony/test/helpers/string.ts b/services/harmony/test/helpers/string.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..be0b46b60
--- /dev/null
+++ b/services/harmony/test/helpers/string.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+/**
+ * Generate a random string of a given length
+ *
+ * @param length - the desired string length
+ * @param skipCodes - optional code points to skip, e.g., 0x002C for comma
+ * @returns a random string of the given length
+ */
+export function generateRandomString(length: number, skipCodes: number[] = []): string {
+  let result = '';
+
+  for (let i = 0; i < length; i++) {
+    // Generate a random Unicode code point from 0 to 65535
+    let randomCodePoint: number;
+    do {
+      randomCodePoint = Math.floor(Math.random() * 65536);
+    } while (skipCodes.includes(randomCodePoint));
+
+    result += String.fromCharCode(randomCodePoint);
+  }
+
+  return result;
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/services/harmony/test/models/label.ts b/services/harmony/test/models/label.ts
index 1c9af70ff..c5d2b9553 100644
--- a/services/harmony/test/models/label.ts
+++ b/services/harmony/test/models/label.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,41 @@ import { describe, it } from 'mocha';
 import { expect } from 'chai';
 import { buildJob, getFirstJob } from '../helpers/jobs';
 import { hookTransactionEach } from '../helpers/db';
-import { setLabelsForJob } from '../../app/models/label';
+import { checkLabel, setLabelsForJob } from '../../app/models/label';
+
+// unit tests for `checkLabel`
+describe('checkLabel', function () {
+  it('should return null for valid labels', function () {
+    // Examples of valid labels
+    const validLabels = [
+      'latest',
+      '1.0',
+      'v1.😱.1',
+      'version_1.2.3',
+      'a'.repeat(255), // Maximum length
+    ];
+
+    validLabels.forEach(label => {
+      const result = checkLabel(label);
+      expect(result).to.be.null;
+    });
+  });
+
+  it('should return an error message for invalid labels', function () {
+    // Examples of invalid labels
+    const invalidLabels = [
+      '', // empty
+      'a'.repeat(256), // Exceeds maximum length
+    ];
+
+    const errorMessage = 'Labels must consist of at least one 1 and no more than 255 characters.';
+
+    invalidLabels.forEach(label => {
+      const result = checkLabel(label);
+      expect(result).to.equal(errorMessage);
+    });
+  });
+});
 
 describe('label CRUD', function () {
   hookTransactionEach();
diff --git a/services/harmony/test/parameters/label.ts b/services/harmony/test/parameters/label.ts
index 47dc4fcef..4e6904699 100644
--- a/services/harmony/test/parameters/label.ts
+++ b/services/harmony/test/parameters/label.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import { hookRangesetRequest } from '../helpers/ogc-api-coverages';
 import { hookRedirect } from '../helpers/hooks';
 import { Job } from '../../app/models/job';
 import { hookEdrRequest } from '../helpers/ogc-api-edr';
+import { generateRandomString } from '../helpers/string';
 
 const collection = 'C1233800302-EEDTEST';
 const granuleId = 'G1233800343-EEDTEST';
@@ -32,12 +33,10 @@ const hookPartials = {
   // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/naming-convention
   'OGC Coverages': (label: string[]): void => {
     hookRangesetRequest('1.0.0', collection, 'all', { query: { label }, username: 'joe' });
-    hookRedirect('joe');
   },
   // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/naming-convention
   'OGC EDR (GET)': (label: string[]): void => {
     hookEdrRequest('position', '1.1.0', collection, { query: { ...edrQuery, label }, username: 'joe' });
-    hookRedirect('joe');
   },
 };
 
@@ -50,6 +49,7 @@ describe('labels', function () {
       describe('when passing in a single label with the request', function () {
 
         hookPartials[apiType](['foo']);
+        hookRedirect('joe');
 
         it('returns a 200 status code for the request', async function () {
           expect(this.res.status).to.equal(200);
@@ -66,6 +66,7 @@ describe('labels', function () {
     describe('when passing in multiple labels with the request', function () {
 
       hookPartials[apiType](['bar', 'buzz']);
+      hookRedirect('joe');
 
       it('returns a 200 status code for the request', async function () {
         expect(this.res.status).to.equal(200);
@@ -81,6 +82,7 @@ describe('labels', function () {
     describe('when passing in mixed case labels with the request', function () {
 
       hookPartials[apiType](['Bar', 'buzz', 'bAZz']);
+      hookRedirect('joe');
 
       it('returns a 200 status code for the request', async function () {
         expect(this.res.status).to.equal(200);
@@ -96,6 +98,7 @@ describe('labels', function () {
     describe('when passing in labels with non-word characters with the request', function () {
 
       hookPartials[apiType](['b🙂ar', 'bu#!zz']);
+      hookRedirect('joe');
 
       it('returns a 200 status code for the request', async function () {
         expect(this.res.status).to.equal(200);
@@ -107,5 +110,19 @@ describe('labels', function () {
         expect(job.job.labels).deep.equal(['b🙂ar', 'bu#!zz']);
       });
     });
+
+    describe('when passing in labels that are more than 255 characters long', async function () {
+      // a long label that does not contain commas
+      const veryLongLabel = generateRandomString(256, [0x002C]);
+      hookPartials[apiType](['b🙂ar', veryLongLabel]);
+
+      it('returns a 400 status code for the request', async function () {
+        expect(this.res.status).to.equal(400);
+      });
+
+      it('returns a meaningful error message', async function () {
+        expect(this.res.text).to.include('Labels must consist of at least one 1 and no more than 255 characters');
+      });
+    });
   }
 });
\ No newline at end of file