Cosmetic Compliance in United Kingdom

Selling cosmetics in the United Kingdom

Since the UK left the EU, cosmetic products placed on the UK market are governed by retained UK Cosmetic Regulation, administered by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS). The regulatory framework remains closely aligned with EU Regulation 1223/2009, but notifications, Responsible Person requirements, and labelling now operate through UK-specific systems.

Three things must be in place before a single unit is sold:

1. A valid Cosmetic Product Safety Report (CPSR) signed by a qualified safety assessor.
2. A UK-based Responsible Person (RP) named on the product packaging.
3. SCPN notification, the Submit Cosmetic Product Notification system that replaced the EU’s CPNP for UK sales.

Recent restrictions: the 2026 chemicals programme

UK and EU rules now diverge not only in process but in substance, and 2026 is the clearest example. The Cosmetic Products Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 (Restriction of Chemical Substances) (Amendment and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/23), laid before Parliament on 15 January 2026, makes three changes that affect products on the GB market:

• 4-Methylbenzylidene Camphor (4-MBC, enzacamene) is prohibited. The UV filter is removed from Annex VI and added to the Annex II list of prohibited substances, following a Scientific Advisory Group on Chemical Safety assessment that could not conclude it was safe. It may not be placed on the GB market from 15 July 2026, and existing stock may be made available only until 14 January 2027.
• Sixteen substances newly classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction (categories 1B and 2) under the GB CLP Regulation are added to Annex II. They span several chemical families, including certain photoinitiators (Trimethylbenzoyl diphenylphosphine oxide, used in some nail products, among them), organotin compounds and industrial intermediates. Placement on the GB market ends 15 August 2026, with sell-through to 14 February 2027.
• Formaldehyde-releaser labelling is tightened sharply. The threshold that triggers the mandatory warning “releases formaldehyde” falls from 0.05 per cent to 0.001 per cent (10 ppm) of free formaldehyde in the finished product, a fifty-fold reduction that brings GB broadly into line with the approach the EU took under Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/1181. It applies to products placed on the market from 15 July 2026.

A second instrument, the (No. 2) Regulations 2026, follows behind it, adding further prohibited substances and an Annex III restriction on hexyl salicylate, with its own staggered dates running into 2027. The full list of substances prohibited by SI 2026/23, with CAS numbers, is set out in our SI 2026/23 reference.

These are GB-specific obligations. SI 2026/23 amends the assimilated UK Regulation, not the EU one, and its dates and thresholds are set independently of Brussels. For a brand selling into both markets the practical task is a substance-by-substance check of the formulation against the GB and EU annexes separately, which is part of our Responsible Person service and the work behind a UK CPSR. (Position as at June 2026; confirm the current OPSS position before relying on these dates.)

Cosmetic Product Safety Reports for the UK

Oxford Biosciences CPSRs are led by our Clinical Pharmacologist, who holds an MSc with Distinction in Experimental Therapeutics and Clinical Pharmacology from the University of Oxford. Every assessment is reviewed against UK Cosmetic Regulation Annexes I-VIII, calculating exposure, toxicological risk, and cumulative impact for each ingredient.

Once the full documentation set is supplied, standard turnaround is typically 2 to 3 working days. A 48-hour service is available at a 50 per cent premium and a 24-hour service at a 100 per cent premium. The standard CPSR is £220 for a single product of up to 20 ingredients, with single-ingredient reports from £70.

How Oxford Biosciences supports UK market entry

We act as a single point of contact across every step: CPSR, TRA, RP services, SCPN submission, PIF management, ongoing post-market surveillance, and adverse event reporting. Our name goes on your packaging as RP, which means our reputation is staked on the integrity of every product we certify.

Pricing and turnaround

Service	From	Turnaround
CPSR (single product, up to 20 ingredients)	£220	2 to 3 days
CPSR (single ingredient)	£70	2 to 3 days
Responsible Person, UK and EU (Year 1, per product)	£299 (£149 net of credit)	Within regulated timeframes
SCPN notification	Included with RP	Within regulated timeframes
Label review	£195	From receipt of artwork