Short answer
To sell perfume to consumers in Great Britain, a product needs a Responsible Person with a UK address, a cosmetic product safety report signed off by a qualified safety assessor, a Product Information File kept in English for 10 years after the last batch is supplied, a notification to the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) before the product is made available, and a label meeting the UK Cosmetics Regulation. This article summarizes the government's guidance for small brands; it is not legal advice.
Which rules apply where
Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) applies the UK Cosmetics Regulation, which began as the EU Cosmetics Regulation retained after Brexit and is now amended separately. Northern Ireland follows EU cosmetics rules under the Windsor Framework. A brand selling across the UK and the EU therefore deals with two closely related, but no longer identical, systems.
The Responsible Person
Every cosmetic product placed on the GB market must have a Responsible Person (RP) who ensures it is safe and compliant. The RP can be the manufacturer, the importer, a distributor selling under its own brand, or a company appointed to the role. The RP needs an address in the UK — not a PO box or mail-forwarding address — and that address appears on the label. Brands based outside the UK typically appoint a UK RP service.
The safety report
Before a product is made available, it needs a cosmetic product safety report in two parts:
- Part A — safety information, provided by the RP: the formula and ingredients, physical and chemical characteristics, stability, microbiological quality, impurities, packaging, normal use and exposure, and the toxicological profile of the substances.
- Part B — the assessment, by a qualified safety assessor: the conclusion on safety, any warnings and instructions for use, and the reasoning.
GOV.UK describes a qualified assessor as someone with a university degree in pharmacy, toxicology, medicine or a similar discipline. Much of Part A comes straight from good formulation records: an exact formula by version, supplier documents for each material, IFRA conformity for the product's category, stability observations and batch records. How to structure a perfume batch record and the IFRA Standards guide cover two of those inputs.
The Product Information File
The RP keeps a Product Information File (PIF) for each product, in English, up to date, and for 10 years after the last batch was made available. It contains a description of the product, the safety report, evidence of good manufacturing practice (the guidance points to ISO 22716), and evidence for any claimed effects.
Notification
Before a product is made available to consumers in Great Britain, the RP notifies it to OPSS through the government's online cosmetic product notification service. Products containing certain nanomaterials need an additional notification in advance.
Labelling
The container and packaging must show, among other things:
- the RP's name and UK address, and the country of origin for imported products;
- the nominal content by weight or volume;
- a date of minimum durability or period after opening, as applicable;
- precautions for use;
- a batch number or other identification;
- the product's function, unless clear from its presentation;
- the list of ingredients.
Fragrance is declared as "parfum", with listed fragrance allergens named individually when they exceed the thresholds in Annex III of the UK Regulation. The EU expanded its list of labelable allergens in 2023 (see EU fragrance allergen labelling). Whether, and when, Great Britain adopts the same expansion should be checked against current UK legislation and OPSS guidance; secondary sources disagreed at the time of writing. Brands selling into both markets often label to the stricter EU list, which is generally acceptable as additional information, but confirm this for your products.
The document pack an assessor needs is described in what a safety assessor needs from you. The EU's parallel regime, which still applies to products sold in the EU and Northern Ireland, is in selling perfume in the EU.
A practical sequence for a small brand
- Finalize and lock the formula version; collect supplier documents for every material.
- Check IFRA conformity at your intended concentration and calculate allergen levels.
- Run stability observations on the final product in its packaging.
- Appoint or confirm the Responsible Person.
- Commission the safety assessment with the Part A information.
- Assemble the PIF and finalize label artwork.
- Notify the product to OPSS.
- Make the first production batch and keep its batch record in the PIF.
How these rules compare with those of other markets — and the topics that cut across them, from claims to shipping — is set out in perfume regulations by market.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a safety assessment for a small handmade perfume batch?
Yes, if you make it available to consumers. The requirements apply to cosmetic products regardless of batch size or business size.
Is an EU safety report valid in Great Britain?
The content overlaps heavily, but the GB requirements — including the UK Responsible Person and the OPSS notification — are separate. Many brands have their assessor issue reports covering both.
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.