Provisions on the Administration of Cosmetic Labeling — Full English Translation (2022)

Promulgated by the National Medical Products Administration of the People’s Republic of China on June 3, 2021

Effective: May 1, 2022

Table of Contents

Chapter I — General Provisions

Article 1 — These Provisions are enacted in accordance with the Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Cosmetics and other relevant laws and regulations for the purposes of strengthening the administration of cosmetic labeling, standardizing cosmetic labeling practices, safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, and promoting the healthy development of the cosmetics industry.

Article 2 — These Provisions apply to the administration of cosmetic labeling for cosmetics produced, sold and operated within the territory of the People’s Republic of China.

For the purposes of these Provisions, “cosmetic labeling” means labels, signs, and other identifying carriers used to indicate the basic information, characteristics, and performance of cosmetics on sales packaging.

Article 3 — The National Medical Products Administration shall be responsible for the supervision and administration of cosmetic labeling nationwide. Drug regulatory departments of local people’s governments at or above the county level shall be responsible for the supervision and administration of cosmetic labeling within their respective administrative areas.

Article 4 — Cosmetic registrants and record-holders shall be responsible for the legality, authenticity, completeness and accuracy of cosmetic labels, and shall assume corresponding legal liability in accordance with law.

Cosmetic producers shall inspect the labels of products they produce and shall ensure that the products they produce have labels that comply with the requirements of these Provisions.

Chapter II — Basic Requirements

Article 5 — The minimum sales unit of cosmetics shall have a label. Labels shall comply with the requirements of relevant laws, administrative regulations, departmental rules, mandatory national standards, and technical specifications.

Article 6 — The content of cosmetic labels shall be truthful, lawful and scientific, and shall not contain any false or misleading content, nor shall they be exaggerated or imply medical effects.

Article 7 — Cosmetic labels shall use standardized Chinese characters. Other characters or symbols may also be used simultaneously, but the Chinese character content shall be the predominant text. Where pinyin, ethnic minority scripts or foreign scripts are used simultaneously, the corresponding content expressed in Chinese characters shall not be smaller than the expressions in other scripts.

Article 8 — Cosmetic labels shall be legible, durable, eye-catching, and easy to identify, and shall not easily fall off or be altered. Cosmetic labels shall not use the following methods to present or convey information:

(1) Using medical terms or terms that may cause confusion between cosmetics and pharmaceuticals;

(2) Indicating or implying medical effects or therapeutic functions;

(3) Falsely or exaggeratedly promoting effects;

(4) Using false, forged or unable-to-be-verified scientific research results, statistical data, survey results, abstracts, quotations or other information;

(5) Making defamatory claims or comparisons against other producers or products;

(6) Using names or images of state organs, public institutions, medical institutions, public welfare organizations, or other entities that may cause consumers to misunderstand the quality or safety level of the products;

(7) Other content prohibited by laws, regulations, and departmental rules.

Chapter III — Label Content

Article 9 — Cosmetic labels shall include the following content:

(1) Product name;

(2) Name and address of the registrant, record-holder, or responsible party;

(3) Name and address of the producer, and the production license number;

(4) Product standard number;

(5) Full ingredient list;

(6) Net content;

(7) Shelf life or expiration date;

(8) Usage and safety warnings;

(9) Other content required by laws, administrative regulations and mandatory national standards.

Article 10 — The product name of cosmetics generally consists of the trademark name, common name and attribute name. The product name shall be clear, objective, and easy to understand, and shall not contain misleading or deceiving content.

Article 11 — The name and address of the registrant or record-holder shall be marked on the cosmetic label. Where the registrant or record-holder is an enterprise, the enterprise name and address indicated on its business license shall be marked.

Where cosmetics are produced under a consignment arrangement, both the name and address of the consignor and the name, address and production license number of the entrusted producer shall be marked on the label.

Article 12 — Cosmetic labels shall indicate the full ingredient list by standardizing the Chinese names of raw materials. Ingredients shall be listed in descending order of their content in the formula; where the content is 1% or less, the ingredients may be listed in any order after the ingredients exceeding 1%.

Cosmetic labels shall prominently indicate warning statements, cautions and other content required by laws, regulations and mandatory national standards.

Article 13 — The shelf life of cosmetics shall be indicated in one of the following ways:

(1) Production date and shelf life;

(2) Production batch number and expiration date.

The production date, shelf life, production batch number, and expiration date shall be marked using clear and durable characters and shall be easily visible to consumers.

Article 14 — The net content of cosmetics shall be indicated using the legal units of measurement of the State and shall be marked in a prominent position on the display surface of the sales packaging.

Chapter IV — Label Format

Article 15 — Label content that must be indicated on the display surface of the sales packaging shall be marked on the display surface. Where the display surface cannot accommodate all the required content, some content may be marked on the visible surface of the sales packaging.

Article 16 — For cosmetics with small packaging or in small packages, the label content may be simplified in accordance with relevant regulations. Where it is necessary to indicate the product name, the name of the registrant or record-holder, the net content, the production date and the shelf life on the label, other content may be indicated on the package insert.

Article 17 — Where cosmetics are provided in a combination of inner and outer packaging, the label shall be marked on the outer packaging. Labels on the inner packaging shall at least indicate the product name and the production date.

Article 18 — Where the product name, name and address of the registrant or record-holder, ingredient list, usage, expiration date, and other content are marked on cosmetic labels, they shall be expressed in Chinese in accordance with the provisions of these Measures, except for registered trademarks.

Article 19 — The format of electronic labels for cosmetics shall comply with the relevant regulations. Electronic labels shall ensure that consumers can conveniently access complete label information before purchase and use.

Chapter V — Special Requirements

Article 20 — Cosmetics for special use, such as those for hair dyeing, hair perming, spot removal, sun protection, anti-hair loss, acne treatment, and other cosmetics with new effects, shall have the registration certificate number of the special cosmetics marked on the label.

Article 21 — Imported cosmetics shall have the Chinese name, and the name and address of the domestic responsible party, the registration certificate number or record-filing number of the imported cosmetics, and other information marked on the label in Chinese directly on the sales packaging, or on a Chinese label affixed to the sales packaging.

Article 22 — Where cosmetics produced in China are exported and then re-imported, the label information shall include the information of the domestic registrant or record-holder as well as the information required for imported cosmetics.

Article 23 — For cosmetics intended for children, the label shall clearly indicate words such as “for children” or “children’s cosmetics,” and shall include the Children’s Cosmetics Logo in a prominent position on the display surface of the sales packaging. Cosmetics intended for children shall not be labeled with words, symbols, shapes, or patterns such as “food grade” or “edible,” or words implying that the product is food or related to food.

Article 24 — Cosmetic labels shall not contain expressions inconsistent with the characteristics of the product, such as labeling the product as a medical device; shall not use expressions that may cause confusion between cosmetics and disinfection products or other products; and shall not use false, exaggerated, or absolute words.

Chapter VI — Supervision and Penalties

Article 25 — Drug regulatory departments of local people’s governments at or above the county level shall strengthen supervision and inspection of cosmetic labels, and shall investigate and deal with illegal acts in accordance with law.

Article 26 — Drug regulatory departments and their staff members shall keep confidential the commercial secrets they come to know during the performance of their cosmetic labeling supervision and administration duties.

Article 27 — Any organization or individual shall have the right to report illegal acts in cosmetic labeling to the drug regulatory department. The drug regulatory department shall process such reports in a timely manner in accordance with law and keep the identity of the reporter confidential.

Article 28 — Where cosmetic labels violate the provisions of these Provisions, the drug regulatory department shall impose punishment in accordance with the Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Cosmetics and other relevant laws and regulations.

Article 29 — Where cosmetics labels contain false or misleading content, the drug regulatory department shall order the cessation of the illegal act and impose a fine in accordance with the law; where serious consequences are caused, the cosmetics registration certificate or record-filing shall be revoked in accordance with the law.

Chapter VII — Supplementary Provisions

Article 30 — For the purposes of these Provisions:

(1) “Display surface of the sales packaging” means the surface of the cosmetic sales packaging that faces the consumer when the cosmetic is on display;

(2) “Cosmetics intended for children” means cosmetics intended for children aged 12 years and under (including 12 years);

(3) “New effect” means an effect not yet included in the Catalogue of Cosmetics Classification Rules and Classification Catalogue issued by the State Council drug regulatory department.

Article 31 — Where cosmetics are sold in bulk, they shall be accompanied by labels that comply with these Provisions. The administration of labeling of free cosmetic toiletries provided in business service venues such as hotels shall be separately prescribed.

Article 32 — The labeling of toothpaste shall be administered by reference to these Provisions.

Article 33 — Cosmetic labels filed or registered before the effective date of these Provisions may continue to be used until June 30, 2023; after such date, the labeling shall comply with the requirements of these Provisions.

Article 34 — These Provisions shall come into effect on May 1, 2022.

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