A self-diagnosing electronic price label. The label communicates with a central processor in order to receive price information for display and to report the status of the label to the central processor. The label periodically runs a self-test program to verify proper operation of its components. If a component fails the self-test, the failure is reported to a central processor, and the central processor reports the failure for investigation. During normal operation, the label issues a signal to the central processor indicating normal operation. In the event of a failure, the label ceases to send the signal indicating normal operation. When the signal is not received as expected, the central processor reports the failure to receive the signal for investigation. This allows the central processor to be alerted to failures which disable communication between the label and the central processor.