How to notify imported cosmetics through SCPN
The Responsible Person must notify imported cosmetics through SCPN before GB sale. Set up access, prepare the product and formulation details, upload the relevant label artwork and packaging images, then submit and retain a record matched to the product. Cambridge China Bridge can coordinate the factory document handover.
Set up access under the Responsible Person
Use the official Submit cosmetic product notifications service. It requires GOV.UK One Login, which you can create when accessing the service. If you already have an SCPN account, use the same email address for One Login. Confirm who will submit and who will maintain the account before asking the factory for documents.
Confirm the Responsible Person’s establishment requirements with OPSS. Our beauty sourcing guide explains that role, the safety assessment and the Product Information File. Complete those preparations before notification; account registration alone does not finish the product’s compliance work.
Prepare a product-specific submission folder
The official preparation checklist asks for the product category and name, Responsible Person’s name, Product Information File location and a named urgent contact. It also asks for chemical details, an ingredient summary and details of any nanomaterials or carcinogenic, mutagenic or reproduction-toxic substances.
Ask the factory to identify the exact formula revision and retail product name on its documents. Match these to the safety assessor’s documents and approved artwork. Put this handover into your product specification, including who supplies each document and who checks it.
Choose formulation information that fits the product
A frame formulation describes ingredients using maximum concentrations. If a product does not fit a frame formulation, the official guidance says to notify using exact or range concentrations. Ask your safety assessor to check whether the proposed frame actually covers the factory’s formulation.
Obtain the full quantitative formula for the safety assessment, as explained in our beauty sourcing guide. Agree confidential disclosure early. For notification preparation, reconcile ingredient names and concentrations against that formula; do not guess missing concentrations or select a frame merely because its product description sounds similar.
Upload artwork and identifiable packaging images
The image guidance requires product label artwork, with images in focus and packaging text legible. For a product in an outer box, supply the label artwork and a clear photograph of the box. If instructions or other information appear on a separate leaflet, label, tag or card, attach that artwork too.
Ask the factory for approved artwork files and photographs showing the actual intended retail pack. Compare the product name, ingredient text and Responsible Person details before uploading. Keep obsolete artwork outside the submission folder so an earlier design cannot be selected by mistake.
Submit and keep a usable notification record
Submit the notification before making the cosmetic product available in GB. As a practical release check, inspect the submitted record and retain the confirmation, any displayed reference, submission date, formula revision and uploaded artwork together. Match that record to the stock you intend to release.
Keep an internal change log for formula, packaging and contact changes, and ask the Responsible Person to review the notification whenever those change. The service expressly requires Responsible Person contact information to remain current on SCPN and on marketed products. Cambridge China Bridge’s staff in China can coordinate factory documents and packaging photographs for that review.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need SCPN notification before selling imported cosmetics?
Yes. The Responsible Person must notify before the product is made available in GB. Prepare the safety assessment and Product Information File beforehand.
How do I create an SCPN account?
Open the official Submit cosmetic product notifications service and follow sign in or registration. You need GOV.UK One Login; existing SCPN users should use their existing account email.
Can I use a frame formulation for my cosmetic?
Check that it covers the actual formula. Official guidance requires exact or range concentrations when the product does not fit a frame formulation. Ask your safety assessor to check the fit.
What SCPN records should I keep?
For a usable internal record, keep the submitted confirmation, any displayed reference, formula revision and uploaded artwork together. Match them to the retail product and record subsequent changes.