Short answer
Keep formula records for as long as a product made from them could be on the market, and then longer: in practice, many brands keep formulas permanently, because they are the business's core asset and cost almost nothing to store. Batch records, material lot records, specifications and retained samples should be kept at least until every unit of the batch has been sold and used, plus a margin for complaints. Where the law sets a minimum, it applies: the EU and Great Britain require a product information file to be kept for ten years after the last batch was placed on the market, and US MoCRA requires records supporting safety substantiation and records of adverse-event reports.
Why retention needs deciding
Most small brands either keep everything forever in a disorganized heap or lose records when a device, an employee or a piece of software goes. Neither works when a customer complains about a bottle bought three years ago, a regulator asks for a product file, or you want to remake a discontinued favorite. A written retention rule — what, how long, where — is short to write and saves you in all three cases.
A retention schedule
| Record | Keep at least | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Formulas, every version | Permanently | Reproduction, reformulation, proof of authorship, product files |
| Change records and evaluation notes | Permanently, with the formula | They explain the formula |
| Batch records | Until the batch's last units are used up, plus a margin; at least as long as any legal minimum for the product file | Complaints, adverse events, recalls |
| Raw-material lot records and certificates | As long as the batch records that reference them | Tracing a batch back to its materials |
| Retained samples | The product's shelf life after the last sale, as a common practice | Comparing a complaint sample with the original |
| Safety data sheets and specifications | Every version you received, while in use and after | Showing what you knew at the time |
| Product information file / safety assessment | As required by each market (see below) | Legal requirement |
| Complaints and adverse-event records | As required by each market | Legal requirement; pattern-spotting |
The schedule is a starting point; the right periods depend on your products' shelf life and the markets you sell in. Write yours down and date it.
What the rules require
- EU: the responsible person keeps the product information file for ten years after the last batch of the product was placed on the market (Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, Article 11). See selling perfume in the EU.
- Great Britain: the same ten-year period applies to the product information file under the UK rules; see selling perfume in the UK.
- United States: MoCRA requires the responsible person to keep records supporting the product's safety substantiation, and to keep records of adverse-event reports for a period the law specifies. Check FDA's current guidance for the retention periods and how they apply to small businesses; see MoCRA requirements for fragrance brands.
These are minimums for specific records. Your formula and batch records feed all of them, which is another reason to keep them longer.
Keeping records readable for decades
Retention is pointless if the files cannot be opened in ten years. Practical rules:
- Keep at least one copy in an open, widely readable format — CSV or a spreadsheet file for data, PDF for documents — alongside any software's own format. See exporting perfume formulas.
- Keep backups in more than one place, and test restoring them; see how to back up perfume formulas.
- When you change software, migrate the archive, not just the current formulas; see formula data portability.
- Keep paper originals of signed or handwritten records, and scan them.
Archive, don't delete
Within a formula library, old and rejected versions should be archived rather than deleted: they are the history that explains the current version. The wider practice is described in the perfume formula template guide to records. In RUŌOD Lab, a formula can be set to Archived status and locked so it cannot be deleted, and versions keep their numbers permanently.
Frequently asked questions
Can I throw away records for a discontinued product?
Not until the legal minimums for the markets where it was sold have passed, and not until any units in circulation are well past their shelf life. Formulas themselves are worth keeping regardless; discontinued products are often revived.
Do trial formulas need to be kept?
Rejected trials are cheap to keep and often useful. At minimum, keep the trials that led to an approved version.
Written and reviewed by the RUŌOD Lab team. This article is general education about perfume formulation and record-keeping; it is not legal, regulatory or safety advice, and the examples are illustrations, not validated commercial formulas. How we write and check these guides.