How to Register a Product on the CPNP & SCPN: 10 (Stress-Free!) Steps to Legal Compliance

Key Takeaways:

• CPNP meaning: The Cosmetic Product Notification Portal is the EU system used to notify cosmetic products before they are sold.
• Choose the correct portal before you start. Use the CPNP for the EU and the SCPN for the UK. Also, selling in both markets means completing both of them and having a Responsible Person and physical address in both locations.
• Complete your CPSR before registering your products on the portal. A valid CPSR turns your recipe into the structured percentages and ingredient information you need, so you can enter accurate details instead of guessing.
• Prepare all your compliance documents in advance. Having your Responsible Person, PIF, final label, INCI names and allergen information ready makes it much quicker and less stressful.
• Make sure every record matches. Your formula, CPSR, PIF, label and portal notification must describe the same finished product, or you could leave gaps in your compliance.
• Portal registration is not product approval. A CPNP or SCPN reference confirms that information was submitted, but your safety, evidence and ongoing compliance responsibilities do not end when you press ‘submit’.

 

Table of Contents:

1. CPNP vs SCPN after Brexit
2. Appointing your Responsible Person
3. What You Need Before Registration
4. Why the CPNP Feels So Stressful
5. My 10-Step CPNP and SCPN Process
6. FAQs
7. Conclusion

 

For many small cosmetic makers, the Cosmetic Product Notification Portal (CPNP) and the Submit Cosmetic Product Notification (SCPN) portals are demons.

After months of perfecting your formulation, it can be daunting to face government logins, unfamiliar terminology, and ingredient percentages, all while worrying that one mistake could put your product’s compliance at risk.

I see this particularly often among makers working alone, without a regulatory team or experienced colleague beside them.

The good news is that both portals become considerably easier when you understand the order of the process and have a completed CPSR in front of you.

In this guide, I’ll explain how to register a product on the CPNP & SCPN online, what you need before you begin and how to avoid the mistakes that cause the most confusion.

Let’s start by untangling the difference between the CPNP and SCPN:

How has the post-Brexit regulatory landscape affected CPNP compliance for UK brands?

Ever since Brexit, the EU and Great Britain have separate systems.

• The CPNP is the EU portal
• While the SCPN is the UK portal

The SCPN (Submit Cosmetic Product Notifications) portal replaced the CPNP in Great Britain after Brexit. It is overseen by the OPSS (Office for Product Safety and Standards), which is the UK government agency responsible for enforcing product safety rules and running the SCPN system.

Both the EU and the UK require all cosmetic products to be notified on their respective portals before you launch them on the market.

And if you’re selling across both the EU and the UK, you’ll need to submit your products to both platforms under their respective laws.

This is a strict legal requirement. It is illegal to sell unnotified cosmetic products. There are no exemptions, no matter how large or small your business is, and if you fail to comply, you could be subject to immediate sales bans, mandatory product recalls, and severe fines.

And this is where most small craft businesses struggle.

On the front page of the SCPN, you’re immediately hit with a scary notification that tells you all about the potential fines and that you can be imprisoned if you muck up the process. Which is wild when you think about it.

So both the CPNP and SCPN can look intimidating, particularly when you work alone and have never completed a cosmetic notification before.

However, the process becomes much more manageable once you have the correct safety report, formulation information, and supporting documents ready.

Right, now that’s cleared up, let’s talk about the things you need to think about before you even begin the process of how to register a product on the CPNP and SCPN.

Have you appointed your legal responsible person?

This is the first thing you need to think about.

Under EU and UK cosmetic laws, a Responsible Person is the designated legal entity or individual responsible for ensuring a cosmetic product is safe and fully compliant before it hits the market.

An RP acts as your brand’s legal safety net and the main point of contact for the authorities. So if the regulators ever have a question, the Responsible Person is the person they will call.

Big beauty brands might hire a third-party agency to take on this grunt work or pass the role to an importer. But if you’re making bath bombs at your kitchen counter, then 99% of the time YOU will be the Responsible Person.

Once you step into this role (or appoint someone else to do it), you’ll officially be responsible for:

• Keeping your product safe and fully compliant with local laws.
• Maintaining and updating your Product Information File (PIF).
• Completing the mandatory portal notifications (CPNP for the EU, SCPN for the UK).
• Serving as the primary contact for the authorities.
• Supporting government audits and market inspections, if the authorities demand evidence of your assessment.

Simply put: you are the guide for your own product's journey. While retailers and marketplaces help you sell, you’ll keep control of your compliance. As long as you also hire a qualified assessor and double-check that your safety report matches your formula, you’re fully covered.

Do I need a separate Responsible Person for the EU and the UK?

Yes. If you are based outside your target market, you cannot simply act as your own Responsible Person. Under post-Brexit rules, your legal point of contact must have a physical address right where your product is being sold.

• To sell in the UK: Your RP must be physically located in England, Scotland, or Wales.
• To sell in the EU (or Northern Ireland): Your RP must be physically located inside an EU member state.

If you’re a small cosmetic maker, expanding into the EU post-Brexit is a whole extra journey.

Unfortunately, it is never just a matter of filling out a second online form. You’ll need a trusted, established contact over in the EU, and you’ll have to be completely comfortable sharing your exact formulations and compliance files with them.

For example, your PIF cannot just exist as a vague folder buried on your laptop. Your EU Responsible Person must have access to it at a physical EU address where authorities can inspect it.

Do you have everything you need to start your CPNP & SCPN notification?

Now that you know who the Responsible Person is, you’ll also need to have the following at hand before you attempt the CPNP:

• The Cosmetic Product Safety Report (CPSR)
• The Product Information File (PIF)
• Confidence that your product’s packaging and labelling is compliant and legal
• Information about the ingredients and any allergens
• Confirmation that your raw formula data is accurate

I will now address each point in detail.

Do you have your completed Cosmetic Product Safety Report?

You cannot complete a portal submission without a valid CPSR. Not only do you need one, but if you don’t have one, your submission will quickly degenerate into a guessing game.

I regularly see makers start out with a recipe written out in grams, but a CPSR will already have converted those grams into the structured percentages and formula details required by the portal.

This first major point of confusion is what really intimidates people, who rightly worry if their figures won’t add up properly.

If you have a CPSR right beside you, you can transfer the details directly into the system, rather than guessing or stressing that you might make a mess of it.

Have you assembled your complete Product Information File (PIF)?

Another common mistake I hear from makers is that they treat the CPSR as the complete compliance file.

In reality, your CPSR forms just one part of your Product Information File (PIF), which brings together the wider evidence supporting your product.

So you’ll still need to build a full PIF. If you don’t, you could fall through the regulatory safety net. If Trading Standards or EU regulators ask for your PIF and you’re only able to provide a CPSR, you won’t be compliant.

Is your product's packaging and labelling fully compliant?

Your physical label, CPSR, and the details you put into the portal must match perfectly. So before logging in, do a line-by-line review of your physical label side-by-side with your safety report to make sure every required piece of text is completely accurate and legal before you submit it online.

Your label must include:

• The name and address of the 'Responsible Person'
• How much the product weighs or its volume (e.g., 50g or 100ml)
• The date of minimum durability (‘Best Before’ date) or, where the minimum durability is more than 30 months, a ‘Period After Opening’ (PAO)
• List of ingredients
• The batch number
• The function of the product (if not obvious)
• Any necessary safety warnings (like 'keep out of eyes')

Do you have your exact ingredient and allergen information ready?

You will need your final INCI names and declarable allergen breakdowns also on hand before you begin.

INCI stands for International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients. In very simple terms, an INCI name is the official, standard scientific name used across the world to identify a cosmetic ingredient on a product label.

Instead of using everyday names, brand names, or local languages, INCI creates a universal language so everyone knows exactly what is inside a product, no matter what country it was made in.

Here’s an example: Vitamin E = Tocopherol

Allergen calculations can feel like a whole different subject, and I know they frighten many makers. However, our labelling guide walks you through calculating which allergens must be declared on your product label using the documentation provided with your fragrance or essential oils.

Find out more: View all of our guides here.

Have you double-checked that your raw formula data matches your CPSR?

Of course, with a CPSR in your hands, your safety assessor will have already done all of the heavy lifting, including verifying your INCI names, checking safety limits, and confirming your product category.

All you will need to do here, then, before logging into the portal, is double-check that the data you're typing in matches your CPSR line for line. If anything, just a quick sanity check to catch any accidental typos or misclicked drop-down menus before hitting submit, which will guarantee that your notification is 100% compliant from day one.

Feeling nervous about the CPNP and SCPN portal? Here is why that’s completely normal (and why I wrote this article):

The CPNP has long been a headache for cosmetic makers. That’s because when you're running a small business from your kitchen table without a regulatory team or experienced colleague beside you, the formal language of the portal — and fear of making a legal mistake that could land you in jail (their scary words) — make what is actually a structured process feel far more intimidating than it actually is.

If you recall at the beginning of this article, I said that it has been compared to a ‘demon’. Now I wouldn’t go that far, but it is a source of great pain for people starting and launching their own products.

Is the SCPN easier to use than the CPNP?

There are features of the SCPN that are definitely an upgrade on the CPNP. However, the UK’s SCPN can be intimidating at first sight, but has clearly defined steps.

But you can stop and return to the SCPN, which is something you can’t do with the CPNP (which is another reason why many people find it so stressful). You can save your SCPN submission as a draft, should you need to seek clarification on something, so that you only have to press ‘submit’ when you’re ready.

Here’s my 10 steps for a stress-free portal submission on the CPNP & SCPN:

If you have by now followed the preparation steps above, the CPNP should no longer feel like a big scary demon.

After all, you’ll already have your Responsible Person in place, your CPSR will be complete, your PIF has been assembled, and your final formulation and label information are ready to use.

So here we go, this is how you do it:

Step 1: Create your EU Login account

The first step is to create an account for the person who will use the portal.

This should not be stressful because you are not yet entering any technical formulation data. At this stage, you are simply creating the login that will allow your Responsible Person or authorised user to access the system.

Make sure the account is created using accurate business and contact information. It’s much easier to get this right at the beginning than to untangle incorrect account details later.

Step 2: Request access to the CPNP

Once the EU Login account has been created, the user will need the appropriate access to the CPNP.

This can sound like another regulatory hurdle, but it is simply how the system controls who can submit and manage cosmetic product notifications. Your EU Responsible Person should already understand their role and the access they require, so you should not have to guess your way through it alone.

Remember that the Responsible Person is not just somebody whose address appears on your label. They are taking on a genuine compliance role and need access to the information required to support it.

Step 3: Complete your Responsible Person’s profile

The next step is to enter or confirm the Responsible Person’s details within the system. This part should be straightforward because you’ve already established the Responsible Person’s identity, address and responsibilities before beginning the notification.

Step 4: Begin a new product notification

Once the account and Responsible Person profile are ready, you can start a new notification for the cosmetic product.

Remember, this is much less daunting when you have the CPSR beside you because, rather than working from a recipe scribbled in grams or trying to remember what you used, you can refer directly to the structured product information that your CPSR has already prepared.

Step 5: Select the most appropriate product category

Next, you will be asked to categorise your product according to its type and intended use.

This is one of the areas where the portal’s formal INCI language can make people second-guess themselves, as discussed above.

However, you should already know the product’s agreed cosmetic function from your CPSR, label and earlier discussions with your assessor. This makes it a relatively straightforward step.

Step 6: Enter the product and formulation details

This is often the step makers worry about most, but it is also where having a completed CPSR makes the greatest difference.

Your CPSR has already taken your working recipe and presented the finished formulation in a structured format. That means you should be able to enter the required ingredient or concentration information without recalculating the product from scratch.

Work through it line by line and do not rush. You’ll be transferring verified information from your compliance documents into the portal, and it's important to take your time with this.

Step 7: Provide any additional information required for specific ingredients

Some products need extra information, especially if they contain essential oils. However, your safety assessor and Responsible Person should already know whether this applies to your product.

That is why it is important to do everything in the right order. If your formula has already been checked properly, you’re simply entering information you already know, not discovering new problems at the last minute.

Step 8: Upload the final label and packaging information

You will need to provide the required label and packaging information.

Again, this should be a transfer exercise rather than a last-minute compliance review. You’ll already have checked that the Responsible Person’s details, ingredient list, product function, quantity, batch information, warnings and durability information are correct.

Make sure to use the final artwork for the product you genuinely intend to place on the market. Do not upload an old draft and assume you can sort out the differences afterwards.

Your portal notification, CPSR, PIF and physical product label should all correspond. At this point they should all match up, so there won’t be anything to panic about here.

Step 9: Confirm where the product will be sold

Decide your intended markets before beginning. If you know exactly where you plan to sell, you can provide that information confidently rather than making speculative selections.

Remember that an EU CPNP notification does not replace the separate process required for placing the product on the UK market. Selling across both markets means maintaining the appropriate arrangements and notifications for each.

Step 10: Review everything before submitting

Before submitting your product notification on the CPNP, pause and compare the entry against your supporting documents. Check:

• the product name
• the Responsible Person’s details
• the product category and intended use
• the formulation information
• the ingredient and allergen information
• the final label and packaging details

This final review is not about frightening yourself all over again. It is simply a sensible (and sanity) check for typing mistakes, incorrect selections or information copied from the wrong product variation.

Once everything matches, submit the notification and retain the resulting confirmation or reference information within your compliance records.

And you’re done. Phew!

FAQs

Q: Does CPNP registration mean my cosmetic product is certified?

No. People sometimes ask, ‘What is CPNP certification?’ And the phrases ‘CPNP certificate’ or ‘CPNP certification’ are often thrown around. People who use these words often imagine that an authority has examined their product, approved it and issued a certificate confirming that everything is legal. That is not what happens.

Instead, the main purpose of these notification portals is traceability — ensuring that competent authorities have quick access to identify the Responsible Person (RP) and inspect the Product Information File (PIF) if necessary. Any notification number or reference you receive shows that the notification has been submitted. I repeat, it is not a product-safety certificate.

The CPNP records the information submitted about your product. It does not independently check every ingredient, approve your formulation or confirm that your label is correct. Any notification number or reference you receive shows that the notification has been submitted; it is not a product-safety certificate.

I regularly hear people say, ‘I’ve already put it on the portal’, as though that completes the entire compliance process. In reality, it is possible to enter information without having all the evidence needed to support it. And so, successfully filling in the form does not automatically make the product compliant.

The reassuring part is that, if you have followed this article closely, you will simply be recording a product that has already been properly assessed and prepared. So almost certainly, it will be compliant by default.

Q: Is submitting the CPNP notification the end of my responsibilities?

No. The notification is an important step, but it is only one part of your wider responsibilities.

If the authorities ever inspect your product, they will not necessarily be satisfied with seeing a notification number or even the CPSR on its own. They may ask for the complete Product Information File and the evidence supporting the product.

That sounds frightening when you first hear it, but it should not be stressful if you have followed this guide.

Keep your records organised and accessible rather than treating them as something to forget about once you press ‘submit’.

Q: Do I need to update my CPNP or SCPN notification?

Your notification needs to remain accurate. If important information about a notified product of yours changes, you will need to update the relevant portal entry.

This could include changes to the product’s formulation, labelling, name, packaging or Responsible Person arrangements. If you sell through both the EU CPNP and Great Britain’s SCPN, make sure the relevant information remains accurate in both systems.

Q: How much does CPNP registration cost?

CPNP registration itself is free. You’ll need to pay for your CPSR, for an EU Responsible Person, and any PIF support, however.

Q: What is a CPNP notification?

A CPNP notification is the product information submitted through the EU portal before a cosmetic product is placed on the market.

Hopefully, now you know how to register a product on the CPNP & SCPN with confidence.

Registering a product on the CPNP or SCPN becomes far less stressful when you complete the right compliance steps in the right order.

With your Responsible Person appointed, CPSR completed, PIF organised and final product information checked, you can work through the portal confidently instead of guessing what to enter or worrying that something important has been missed. You will also be in a much stronger position to launch your product, answer questions from the authorities and keep your compliance records accurate as your business grows.

At Cosmetic Safety Solutions, we can help you secure a valid CPSR, in addition to helping you understand all of the supporting information you’ll need before beginning your notification. Speak to our team today and take the next step towards registering your product and launching it legally and confidently.