China Releases New Regulations on Cosmetic New Ingredients, with Official Policy Interpretation
China Cosmetics
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Recently, China issued new regulations on cosmetic new ingredients, comprising two companion documents — the Provisions on the Administration of New Cosmetic Ingredients Registration, Filing and Data and the Technical General Principles for the Data of Registration and Filing of New Cosmetic Ingredients — which further optimize and refine the registration/filing requirements and technical specifications. CIRS Group has compiled and summarized the main contents for your reference.

Provisions on the Administration of New Cosmetic Ingredients Registration, Filing and Data

On June 26, 2026, China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) issued the Provisions on the Administration of New Cosmetic Ingredients Registration and Filing Data (hereinafter the “Provisions”), effective from July 15, 2026. The NMPA Announcement on Issuing the Provisions on the Administration of New Cosmetic Ingredients Registration and Filing Data (Announcement No. 31 of 2021) is repealed simultaneously. The Provisions consist of 15 articles and further optimize the administration of new ingredients, helping unleash the innovative vitality of cosmetic new ingredients.

On the same day, the NMPA released the official policy interpretation of the Provisions. CIRS Group has compiled and summarized the main contents below.

Official Policy Interpretation (Q&As)

1. What is the purpose of the new Provisions?

To implement the Cosmetics Supervision and Administration Regulation (hereinafter the “Regulation”) and the Measures for the Administration of Cosmetic Registration and Filing, the NMPA issued the original Provisions on the Administration of New Cosmetic Ingredients Registration and Filing Data in February 2021 (hereinafter the “original Provisions”). Before the Regulation took effect, cosmetic new ingredients were subject to an approval regime; after the Regulation, this was changed to a risk-based registration or filing regime. Currently, the vast majority of new ingredients are subject to filing, where submission of the required materials completes the filing.

Due to a limited understanding of the new-ingredient filing system, the original Provisions had some issues: (1) the overall requirements remained too stringent and overly cautious toward lower-risk ingredients, without adequately reflecting a differentiated and refined management philosophy; (2) they mixed administrative and technical requirements, with many technical provisions being too specific and difficult to update in a timely manner, and the data requirements were excessive, driving up R&D and application costs; and (3) after the issuance of the Several Provisions on Supporting Innovation in Cosmetic Ingredients, which sent a stronger pro-innovation signal, the original Provisions no longer matched them, preventing the new policies from taking full effect.

As industry self-discipline and quality-management levels continue to improve, and given the practical need to promote ingredient innovation and industry development, the original Provisions could no longer keep pace. To fully mobilize enterprises' R&D enthusiasm, respond to industry calls, and drive high-quality development, it was necessary to optimize the registration/filing data requirements for new ingredients.

2. What principles were followed in developing the new Provisions?

The new Provisions were developed mainly on the basis of three principles:

  • Law-based administration: strictly following the Regulation and the Measures for the Administration of Cosmetic Registration and Filing, the registration/filing procedures and data requirements for new ingredients were optimized and refined within the regulatory framework;
  • Reducing burden and enhancing efficiency: focusing on the prominent issues raised by the industry, the reform measures aim to clear the bottlenecks of ingredient innovation and boost efficiency in new-ingredient R&D;
  • Efficiency and unity: the administrative-management and technical-requirement parts of the original Provisions were properly separated — the NMPA issues the new Provisions, while the NIFDC issues the Technical General Principles for the Data of Registration and Filing of New Cosmetic Ingredients (hereinafter the “General Principles”). This highlights the seriousness and stability of administrative management while strengthening the professionalism and flexibility of technical requirements.

3. What are the main adjustments made by the new Provisions and the General Principles?

The new Provisions and the General Principles mainly adjust and optimize the following aspects:

  • Clearly delineating management boundaries while ensuring effective coordination: the management requirements and technical requirements for new ingredients are separated, with part incorporated into the new Provisions and part converted into the General Principles, so that the relevant requirements can be adjusted more flexibly and simply to meet industry needs;
  • Adjusting new-ingredient classification and simplifying data submission: the original “higher-risk” function scope — preservatives, UV filters, colorants, hair dyes, skin-whitening, anti-hair-loss, anti-acne, anti-wrinkle (except physical anti-wrinkle), anti-dandruff, and deodorant — is reduced to preservatives, UV filters, colorants, hair dyes, and skin-whitening, simplifying the data requirements and aligning them with the function scope requiring registration under the Regulation. Some registration/filing materials — such as functional-basis data, test-method texts and validation data, and accelerated and long-term stability test data — no longer need to be submitted and are retained by the enterprise on file for inspection;
  • Making full use of existing data and information to avoid repeat testing: in the safety assessment of new ingredients, full consideration is given to existing safety background information and to data such as history of safe use and history of safe consumption. Considering that some new ingredients may already have undergone toxicological testing, to reduce unnecessary repeat tests and R&D costs, the new rules clarify that where tests have already been conducted using other Chinese national standards or internationally accepted methods, the existing data may be used provided this does not affect the safety-assessment conclusion, and the qualification requirements for testing institutions have been adjusted accordingly;
  • Strengthening the application of new technologies and methods, and fully accepting animal-alternative methods: enterprises are encouraged to apply new technologies and methods such as animal-alternative test methods, and may directly use alternative methods included by internationally authoritative bodies, which helps reduce international trade technical barriers and supports Chinese beauty brands in going global. In addition, with sufficient scientific justification, enterprises adopting new strategies or methods for new-ingredient safety assessment may apply for communication with the technical evaluation body.

4. Are there unified format templates for the overview of the safety-risk monitoring and evaluation system, the annual safety-monitoring report, and the safety-risk control report?

To make it easier for new-ingredient registrants and filers to organize and submit materials, the NMPA will provide format templates for the relevant documents, including the overview of the safety-risk monitoring and evaluation system, the annual safety-monitoring report, and the safety-risk control report for cosmetic new ingredients. Registrants, filers, or domestic responsible persons may retrieve and use them free of charge on the cosmetic new-ingredient registration and filing information service platform.

5. Besides issuing the new rules, what other optimization measures has the NMPA taken to encourage cosmetic ingredient innovation?

Recently, to support cosmetic ingredient innovation, the NMPA has also taken the following measures:

  • Continuing to build the technical-support system for cosmetic new ingredients, organizing technical-support departments to study and establish a communication mechanism and strengthen technical guidance for new-ingredient registration and filing;
  • Improving the working mechanism for guiding new-ingredient innovation, selecting innovative new-ingredient varieties, and providing early intervention and full-process guidance for eligible varieties;
  • Establishing a working mechanism for the concurrent (parallel) application of new ingredients and their associated products — changing the previous sequential process (new-ingredient registration/filing followed by associated-product registration) into a parallel one, to accelerate the market launch of products using new ingredients;
  • Exploring a dynamic update mechanism for the standards of preservatives, UV filters, colorants, and hair dyes, supporting the timely inclusion into China's list of permitted ingredients of well-performing ingredients that have been scientifically assessed by internationally authoritative bodies and have a history of safe use abroad.

Technical General Principles for the Data of Registration and Filing of New Cosmetic Ingredients

On June 26, 2026, China's National Institutes for Food and Drug Control (NIFDC) issued the Technical General Principles for the Data of Registration and Filing of New Cosmetic Ingredients (hereinafter the “General Principles”). As the general technical requirements for the registration/filing data of cosmetic new ingredients, the General Principles — while ensuring effective coordination with the new Provisions — guide registrants and filers in conducting relevant studies in a scientific manner and preparing standardized and complete registration/filing materials.

The General Principles cover case classification, data-item requirements, and the basic requirements for each data item. Materials submitted by registrants and filers when applying for new-ingredient registration or filing shall comply with the General Principles. Where other technical guidelines or principles also apply, the relevant technical requirements should be referenced as well.

CIRS Reminder

The release of the new Provisions and the General Principles marks a further shift in China's administration of cosmetic new ingredients toward "reducing burden, enhancing efficiency, and encouraging innovation," with positive implications for enterprises engaged in ingredient R&D and applications. CIRS Group offers the following reminders:

  • Watch the classification adjustments: the scope of higher-risk functions has been narrowed; enterprises should re-determine the registration/filing pathway for their new ingredients accordingly.
  • Leverage the data-burden reductions: some materials have changed from "submission" to "retention on file for inspection," and the use of existing data and reduction of repeat testing are encouraged — enterprises can use this to lower R&D and application costs.
  • Note alternative methods: animal-alternative and other new methods are now fully accepted.
  • Track supporting mechanisms: new ingredients and their associated products may now be applied for concurrently (in parallel), and the relevant format templates are being rolled out — enterprises should follow these and plan ahead.

About CIRS

Established in 2007, the CIRS Group is a leading product safety and regulatory consulting firm. CIRS has branch offices in the Republic of Ireland, South Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and China. CIRS Group utilizes its technical expertise, various resources, and international network to provide one-stop compliance services from regulatory compliance, laboratory testing, R&D to data services across multiple industries. This includes chemicals, cosmetics, food and food beverages, medical devices, agrochemical products, disinfectants, and consumer goods. It helps clients gain a competitive advantage by reducing business risks associated with regulatory affairs.

The CIRS cosmetic team provides expert support to ensure that cosmetic products meet stringent global cosmetic regulations and safety standards. 

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With deep expertise in cosmetic regulatory compliance and safety evaluations, our team enables brands to bring products to market efficiently and with confidence.

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