When you need to submit a cosmetic product notification

If you are making cosmetic products available to consumers in Great Britain (GB: England, Scotland, and Wales), you must notify your cosmetic products using the Submit cosmetic product notifications service.

There is a separate process for placing cosmetic products on the market in Northern Ireland.

Who can submit a notification

The cosmetic product ‘responsible person’ can submit a notification.

A responsible person, who must be established in the UK, can be either:

• the manufacturer
• the importer
• the distributor, if they label the product as their own (for example, using their brand name)
• an appointed company or person (who is authorised by the manufacturer or the importer)

Before you start

Make sure you have:

• the category and name of the cosmetic product
• the name of the responsible person
• where the Product Information File (PIF) is kept
• details of a named contact for urgent enquiries
• details of any nanomaterials the cosmetic product contains
• details of any carcinogenic, mutagenic, or toxic for reproduction (CMR) substances the cosmetic product contains
• the chemical details of substances
• a summary of the ingredients
• an image of the product’s label
• a photograph of the cosmetic product packaging

Important dates

Existing products on the GB market: For cosmetic products available to GB consumers that have already been notified using the EU’s Cosmetic Products Notification Portal (CPNP) before 1 January 2021, you will have until 31 March 2021 to notify your cosmetic products using the UK’s Submit cosmetic product notifications service.

New products for the GB market: For cosmetic products that have not been notified on the EU’s CPNP and are being placed on the GB market after 31 December 2020, you will need to notify these products using the UK’s Submit cosmetic product notifications service before they can be placed on the GB market.

All product packaging must bear the name and address of the UK Responsible Person from 31 December 2022.