diff --git a/app/models/label.rb b/app/models/label.rb
index f43bebbf71b..be0c20479d5 100644
--- a/app/models/label.rb
+++ b/app/models/label.rb
@@ -26,10 +26,8 @@ class Label < ActiveRecord::Base
   validates :project, presence: true, if: :project_label?
 
   # Don't allow ',' for label titles
-  validates :title,
-            presence: true,
-            format: { with: /\A[^,]+\z/ },
-            uniqueness: { scope: :project_id }
+  validates :title, presence: true, format: { with: /\A[^,]+\z/ }
+  validates :title, uniqueness: true, unless: :template?
 
   before_save :nullify_priority
 
diff --git a/spec/models/label_spec.rb b/spec/models/label_spec.rb
index 5a5d1a5d60c..894021dc8e6 100644
--- a/spec/models/label_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/models/label_spec.rb
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ describe Label, models: true do
 
   describe 'validation' do
     it { is_expected.to validate_presence_of(:project) }
+    it { is_expected.to validate_uniqueness_of(:title) }
 
     it 'validates color code' do
       expect(label).not_to allow_value('G-ITLAB').for(:color)