If you are making or selling cosmetics outside of the UK and wanting to exand and begin selling in Great Britain. Then there is one step that can not be missed and that is the SCPN notification. Every single cosmentic product that is placed on the GB market has to be entered into the SCPN (Submit Cosmetic Product Notifications) service before it goes on sale. Here is the catch, only a UKRP can do this.
Below we provide details on how this works, what the OPSS ask for and where oversea brands typically go wrong.
The SCPN UK service is run by Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) and has been GB’s notification route since January 2021. Cosmetic Products Notification Portal (CPNP) is the EU notification and does not cover Great Britain. However, worth noting that Northern Ireland is an exemption as they still use CPNP so if you are wanting to sell across the entire UK, you may need both.
Oversea sellers will often search for ‘cosmetic product registration UK’ when all they need is to notify on the SCPN. Cosmetic registration in the sense of OPSS approving your product before the sale, does not exist. Notification is legal declaration to show that the product is safe, has been assessed and documented.
This database is not something UK consumers can browse, only the OPSS, Trading Standards and Poison centres have the ability to see what you submit. So your formulation will remain confidential.
Only a UKRP can open an SCPN account and notify your products. This is absolutely required as part of the Responsible Person cosmetics law if you wish to sell on the GB market. All overseas brands cannot open the account themselves and will need to have a UKRP whose name and address appear on the label and can answer for the product’s safety. Worth noting that Amazon may also ask for the same details as a result.
This is why virtual mailboxes, fulfilment warehouses and freight forwarders do not qualify. The role is a set of legal duties not just an address. A UKRP will hold the PIF, keeping all notifications accurate, reporting any serious undesirable effects and cooperating with Trading Standards. Please note that whoever is named on your label is the one OPSS will hold to account.
Once the paperwork has been done, the portal itself is relatively straightforward and for each cosmetic product you will need:
First and foremost, the safety assessment must be complete before anything is notified. We check the PIF is in order, the CPSR, the manufacturing practice statement and the evidence behind any label claims.
As a Responsible Person we hold the SCPN account and add your brand to it so you will never have to touch the portal yourself.
All single-component products will be entered one by one and all multi-component products will be notified as one product but have each component listed.
If there is any change to the formula, label, product name or UKRP. This must be reflected on the SCPN without any delay.
OPSS charges no fee and all notifications take effect from the moment it is submitted as there is nothing to approve. This lasts for as long as the product is on sale, though worth noting that the notification is just one piece of the wider cosmetic compliant that the UK law expects. Alongside labelling, claims, cosmetovigilance and traceability.
The errors we correct most often when taking over a brand’s notifications:
This is the whole point of the SCPN registration service. All UK cosmetic notifications go live once the PIF has been checked, label reviewed and data entered correctly. This way you never pay twice to put things right.
Our UKRP cosmetics service is run from Farnham in Surrey and takes you through every step of the way. Making it easier to get your overseas cosmetics into the GB Market.
We offer a one point of contact for the authorities to make it a simple and effective service.
Simply just send us your product list, label artwork and we can provide you with a quote.