Multi-market guide

Cosmetic label requirements by market.

The label is the first thing an inspector reads and the cheapest thing to get wrong. Here is what must appear on a cosmetic label in the EU, the UK, Switzerland and the US, and where the four markets quietly differ.

A cosmetic product label being checked against multi-market requirements

Reviewed by Cassandra Maddocks, chemist & biochemist · last reviewed 26 July 2026

What must appear on a cosmetic label?

Every major market requires the same core: a responsible party's name and address, an ingredient list, nominal content, durability information, warnings, and a batch code. The differences are in the details: whose address, which language, and which extra particulars. Those details are market-specific and enforceable.

Label requirements across four markets
	EU	UK (GB)	Switzerland	US
Legal basis	Article 19, Reg. 1223/2009	UK Cosmetics Regulation (retained law)	VKos (Swiss Cosmetics Ordinance)	FDCA, FPLA and MoCRA
Name & address shown	EU Responsible Person	UK Responsible Person (a UK address)	The Swiss or EU/EEA responsible firm	Manufacturer, packer or distributor
Ingredient list	INCI, descending order, "ingredients"	INCI, same convention as the EU	INCI, aligned with the EU	Ingredient declaration per FDA labeling rules
Language of warnings	Language(s) set by each member state	English	At least one of German, French or Italian	English
Durability marking	Best-before or PAO symbol	Best-before or PAO, as in the EU	Best-before or PAO, aligned with the EU	No PAO regime; expiry where relevant
Distinct extra	Country of origin for imports	Separate GB label if RP differs from EU	Swiss-language warnings are the usual redesign trigger	Adverse-event contact required since 29 Dec 2024

Primary texts: Article 19 of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 for the EU, GOV.UK guidance for Great Britain, the Swiss Cosmetics Ordinance, and FDA cosmetics labeling rules plus MoCRA for the US.

What does the EU require on the label?

Article 19 requires the Responsible Person's name and address, nominal content, date of minimum durability or period-after-opening, precautions for use, batch number, product function where not obvious, and the INCI ingredient list in descending order. Member states additionally set the language for the mandatory particulars.

The address on the pack must be the EU Responsible Person's, not the brand's head office, which is why appointing or changing your EU setup usually means a label revision.

Some ingredients also trigger mandatory label warnings from their annex entries, retinol’s Vitamin A notice among them; the rules for what you may claim beside them are in our claims guide; see our ingredient rules guide for the entries themselves.

Article 19 of Regulation 1223/2009 on EUR-Lex with the lettering requirement highlighted — Article 19(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, the labelling requirement, as published on EUR-Lex, consolidation of 1 May 2026 (02009R1223, EN, 040.001). Captured 26 July 2026. View the official text.

How is a UK label different from an EU label?

Substantively it is almost identical: the UK retained the EU rules. The practical difference is the address: products sold in Great Britain must show the UK Responsible Person's details. A brand selling in both markets typically carries both addresses, or runs separate GB and EU labels.

The details sit in our UK Responsible Person guide; the underlying rules are in the retained UK cosmetics legislation.

Why do Swiss labels trip up EU-compliant brands?

Language. Switzerland accepts EU-style labelling in substance, but warnings and instructions for use must appear in at least one official Swiss language: German, French or Italian. An English-only label fails that test, and this language rule is the single most common reason Swiss market entry forces a label redesign.

Our Switzerland market page covers the self-monitoring regime the label sits inside.

What did MoCRA change on US labels?

Since 29 December 2024, cosmetic labels for the US market must carry a domestic address, phone number or electronic contact through which the responsible person can receive adverse-event reports. A pending FDA rule on fragrance allergen labelling would add EU-style allergen disclosure, but it is not yet in force.

The in-force duties are summarised on the FDA's MoCRA page; our MoCRA guide separates what is enforceable now from what is still pending.

Can one label work for all four markets?

Often, yes. A carefully designed pack can carry EU and UK RP addresses, Swiss-language warnings and a US adverse-event contact at once. But it is a design exercise with real constraints on small packs, and it only works if every market's particulars are checked against the actual artwork before printing.

That check is exactly what our label compliance review does: $300 per product, against each target market's current rules, before you commit to a print run. Request a label review.

Sources

Primary sources cited in this guide. Regulatory status last verified 26 July 2026.