EU vs UK Responsible Person: The Two-RP Rule for Selling Cosmetics After Brexit
After Brexit, selling cosmetics in both the EU and the UK means appointing two separate Responsible Persons. Compare EU vs UK RP rules, CPNP vs SCPN notification, OPSS enforcement, and labelling and PIF obligations.
Since the end of the Brexit transition period on 1 January 2021, the European Union and the United Kingdom run separate cosmetic regulatory systems. The practical consequence is easy to get wrong: a brand that sells the same product in both markets must appoint two separate Responsible Persons - one legal entity established in the EU (or the wider EEA) and a second established in the UK. A single RP cannot cover both markets.
A Responsible Person (RP) is the named legal entity that a regulator holds accountable for a cosmetic product's compliance and safety in its market. No cosmetic product may be legally placed on the EU or UK market unless an RP has been designated for it. This guide explains what the RP does, the legal basis on each side of the Channel, how the two regimes compare, and how brands practically manage two RPs at once.
What is a Responsible Person, and why does every cosmetic need one?
The Responsible Person is the entity a regulator holds accountable for a cosmetic product. Under both the EU and UK systems, only products for which an RP has been designated may be placed on the market. The RP is the single point of contact for the authorities, the keeper of the product's safety documentation, and the party legally answerable if something goes wrong.
Crucially, the RP must be established inside the market it serves. An RP for the EU must have an address in the EU or EEA; an RP for the UK must have an address in the UK. This territorial requirement is the whole reason Brexit created a two-RP problem - the entity that acted as a single EU RP before 2021 can no longer cover the UK, and a UK entity cannot cover the EU.
What is the legal basis in the EU and the UK?
In the EU, the Responsible Person is defined and mandated by Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, the EU Cosmetic Products Regulation. Article 4 requires that every product placed on the market has a designated RP established in the Union, and Article 5 sets out the RP's obligations to ensure the product complies with the Regulation.
The UK regime is a near-mirror image, because it began as the same law. When the UK left the EU, Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 was carried over into domestic law - originally as "retained EU law," now termed "assimilated law" - and adapted by the Product Safety and Metrology etc. (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. The result is the UK Cosmetics Regulation, which keeps the same article structure but substitutes the UK for the EU. It is enforced through the Cosmetic Products Enforcement Regulations 2013 and policed by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS).
Because the two texts share a common ancestor, the substance of what an RP must do is almost identical. What differs is jurisdiction: where the RP sits, which portal it notifies through, and which authority it answers to.
Why does Brexit mean two Responsible Persons?
Before 1 January 2021, a single RP established anywhere in the EU could cover the whole single market, including the UK. After the transition period ended, the UK became a third country relative to the EU, and the EU a third country relative to the UK. Each side now requires an RP established within its own borders.
So a brand selling in both markets needs:
- an EU/EEA Responsible Person with an address in an EU or EEA country, notifying through the EU portal; and
- a UK Responsible Person with a UK address, notifying through the UK portal.
There is no mutual recognition and no grandfathering. Products that were notified on the EU system before Brexit were not automatically carried across to the UK system - Great Britain notifications had to be made afresh with a UK RP.
What are the Responsible Person's obligations?
The core duties are the same on both sides of the Channel. For every product, the RP must ensure a compliant safety assessment exists, hold the technical file, notify the product, keep records, and act when problems arise. Because the UK Regulation is the assimilated version of the same text, the article numbering lines up.
| Obligation | What the Responsible Person must do | Reference (EU and UK) |
|---|---|---|
| Product safety | Ensure the product is safe for human health under normal or reasonably foreseeable use | Article 3 |
| Safety assessment (CPSR) | Ensure a Cosmetic Product Safety Report is completed by a qualified safety assessor | Article 10 and Annex I |
| Product Information File | Hold and keep the PIF, available to the authority, for ten years after the last batch was placed on the market | Article 11 |
| Notification | Notify the product before it is placed on the market | Article 13 |
| Labelling | Ensure compliant labelling, including the RP's own name and address | Article 19 |
| Undesirable effects | Record and report serious undesirable effects (SUEs) to the authority | Article 23 |
| Non-compliance and recalls | Take corrective action, withdraw or recall unsafe product, and cooperate with the authorities | Articles 5, 25-26 |
Two obligations deserve emphasis. First, the Cosmetic Product Safety Report (CPSR) - the safety assessment set out in Annex I - must be completed by a suitably qualified safety assessor before the product goes on sale, and the RP is responsible for ensuring it exists and stays current. Second, the Product Information File (PIF) must be kept readily accessible at the address shown on the label and retained for ten years after the last batch was placed on the market, ready for inspection.
Who can be the Responsible Person?
The RP does not have to be the brand owner. Both regimes allow several options, provided the entity is established in the relevant market:
- The manufacturer, if it is established in the market - an EU manufacturer for the EU, a UK manufacturer for the UK.
- The importer, who by default becomes the RP for each product it brings into the market, unless it designates another established party in writing.
- A distributor, if it places the product on the market under its own name or trademark, modifies a product already on the market in a way that affects compliance, or is designated by written mandate.
- A third-party RP service - a specialist company that acts as RP for brands with no legal entity in the market. This is the most common route for brands selling cross-border.
Designation must be made in writing and accepted in writing by the RP. A non-EU or non-UK brand cannot simply name itself as the RP for that market; it must appoint an entity established there.
EU vs UK Responsible Person: a side-by-side comparison
The table below summarises the practical differences a brand needs to plan around.
| Feature | European Union (EU / EEA) | United Kingdom (Great Britain) |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 | UK Cosmetics Regulation - the assimilated (formerly retained) version of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 |
| Enforcement body | National competent authorities in each member state | Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) |
| Where the RP must be established | An EU or EEA country | The United Kingdom |
| Notification portal | CPNP - Cosmetic Product Notification Portal | SCPN - Submit Cosmetic Product Notifications service |
| Label address requirement | Name and address of the EU/EEA RP | Name and address of the UK RP |
| Separate RP needed to sell here? | Yes - an EU/EEA-established RP | Yes - a UK-established RP |
| Safety documentation | CPSR (Annex I) and PIF | CPSR and PIF (same technical content) |
What must the label show, and why does it differ by market?
Both regimes require the RP's name and address to appear on the product container and its outer packaging (Article 19). Because the EU and UK RPs are different legal entities at different addresses, a product sold in both markets will usually carry two different RP addresses - through market-specific labelling or an overlabel for the second market.
If several addresses appear, the one where the RP keeps the PIF should be identifiable. For imported products the EU also requires the country of origin to be stated. Getting the address wrong is not a trivial detail - a missing or incorrect RP address is itself a labelling non-compliance the enforcement authority can act on.
Where does Northern Ireland fit in?
Northern Ireland is the important exception to the idea that the UK is one regime. Under the Windsor Framework, Northern Ireland continues to follow EU rules for cosmetics. Products placed on the Northern Ireland market are treated under Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, are notified through the EU CPNP, and need an RP established in the EU or in Northern Ireland - not in Great Britain.
In other words, when people say "UK Responsible Person" they usually mean the RP for the Great Britain market (England, Scotland and Wales). A brand covering the EU, Great Britain and Northern Ireland has to think in terms of the EU/EEA/NI regime on one side and the Great Britain regime on the other.
How do brands practically manage two Responsible Persons?
Most brands selling into both the EU and Great Britain use one of these approaches:
- Appoint a third-party RP in each market. Specialist RP providers supply an in-region legal entity, an address for the label, PIF hosting and portal notification. It is the cleanest route for a brand with no local presence, at an ongoing per-product or per-year cost.
- Use a local subsidiary or distributor as RP. If the brand already has a group company or a committed distributor in the market, that entity can act as RP. The trade-off is that the RP carries significant legal responsibility, and if it is a distributor, the relationship can complicate switching partners later - a distributor-RP may effectively control your notifications and PIF.
- Let the importer be the RP. For brands that sell through a single importer, the importer is the default RP unless another established party is designated. This is simple, but it ties your market access to that importer.
Whichever route you choose, the appointment must be documented in writing, the label must reflect the correct RP for each market, and the same product may need two safety files reviewed against two increasingly divergent ingredient rulebooks.
Will the EU and UK rules keep drifting apart?
Yes. Although the EU and UK regulations began as the same text, they are now maintained by different authorities and have started to diverge - for example, in how quickly each side restricts or bans specific ingredients. Over time this means a single formula can be compliant in one market and non-compliant in the other, so two RPs are not merely administrative duplication; they increasingly guard against genuinely different requirements. Brands should track the banned and restricted ingredient lists by market rather than assuming the EU and UK stay aligned.
This is exactly the kind of cross-market check that is easy to get wrong by hand. Cosmetica screens a single formula against the rules of every target market at once - the EU, the UK and 15+ others - and attaches a primary-source citation to every finding, so a brand can see where an ingredient or claim is acceptable in one market but restricted in another before it commits to labels, notifications and two RP appointments.
Frequently asked questions
Do I really need two Responsible Persons to sell in both the EU and the UK?
Yes. Since 1 January 2021 the EU and UK have been separate regimes, each requiring an RP established within its own territory. An RP established in the EU cannot serve the Great Britain market, and a UK RP cannot serve the EU market.
Can the same company act as both my EU and UK Responsible Person?
A single service provider can arrange both, but they remain two distinct appointments with two in-region legal entities and two addresses on the label. There is no combined "EU-and-UK" RP status - each market is notified and served separately.
Can a distributor be my Responsible Person?
Yes, a distributor can be the RP if it places the product under its own name or trademark, modifies a product already on the market, or is designated by written mandate. The trade-off is that the RP holds the notifications and PIF, which can make changing distributors harder later, so many brands prefer an independent third-party RP.
Does Northern Ireland need a UK or an EU Responsible Person?
Northern Ireland follows EU rules under the Windsor Framework, so products for the NI market are notified through the EU CPNP and need an RP established in the EU or Northern Ireland - not in Great Britain. The UK Responsible Person requirement in practice applies to the Great Britain market.
What happens if I place a product on the market with no Responsible Person?
It is unlawful. Without a designated RP the product cannot legally be placed on the EU or UK market, and enforcement authorities can order its withdrawal. In the UK, failing to comply with the Cosmetics Regulation can carry criminal penalties, including fines and, for some offences, imprisonment.
Is the RP the same as the "responsible person" under the US MoCRA rules?
No. The US also uses the term "responsible person" under MoCRA, but it refers to the manufacturer, packer or distributor named on the label and works differently from the EU/UK model - there is no equivalent requirement to appoint a US-established third-party RP. Do not assume an EU or UK RP satisfies US obligations, or vice versa.
Sources
Primary sources: Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products (EUR-Lex); European Commission - Cosmetic Product Notification Portal (CPNP); Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 as it applies in UK law (legislation.gov.uk); The Cosmetic Products Enforcement Regulations 2013 (legislation.gov.uk); Office for Product Safety and Standards (GOV.UK); Submit Cosmetic Product Notifications (SCPN) service. This article is general information, not legal or regulatory advice; verify current requirements for your product and market before relying on it.
Cosmetica Editorial Team, Regulatory Editorial Team
Cosmetica's regulatory editorial team writes practical guidance for brand operators navigating cosmetic compliance across global markets.
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