An adult Black-lored Tit has a bright yellow upper body, faint olive-yellowish lower body, and a bright yellow head with a large black crest, that has a narrow bright yellow line that runs upwards along the back edge of the crest. It has a black bib that extends all the way down across the belly to the vent, as well as a black lores and a black posterior eye-stripe that ends in a black neck-patch.

Its upperparts are greyish-olive, with white bars on the lower part of the wings. The bill is black and the legs and feet are yellowish-grey. It is similar to the Yellow-cheeked Tit (fig.), but with black lores and a broader and more prominent eye-stripe.