Exporting Cosmetics to the UAE: MoIAT Certificate, Montaji and Labels

Who regulates cosmetics in the UAE

Two authorities matter for ordinary cosmetics. MoIAT runs the federal UAE Scheme to Control Cosmetics and Personal Care Products (Cabinet Decision No. 18 of 2014): products must be registered under the Emirates Conformity Assessment Scheme (ECAS) or hold a conformity certificate before sale, and must meet UAE.S GSO 1943 and the other standards in the scheme's Annex 1. Dubai Municipality (DM) separately requires every cosmetic manufactured, imported, advertised, sold or distributed in Dubai to be registered in its Montaji system.

The Emirates Drug Establishment (EDE), created by Federal Decree-Law No. 28 of 2023, has taken over approvals of medical products from the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP). Federal Decree-Law No. 38 of 2024 defines the cosmetics it covers as products with a medical effect on the skin, hair or nails, and EDE lists medicated cosmetics in its scope. Ordinary cosmetics are not registered with EDE, but claims to prevent or cure a disease, which DM's guideline places outside the cosmetic scope, move a product onto the medicines route.

Other emirates have their own local authorities, so confirm with your importer where the goods will be sold. This note was checked in September 2026. The rules change often: confirm current requirements with MoIAT, Dubai Municipality or EDE before you ship.

MoIAT conformity certificate (ECAS)

The applicant is a company with a valid UAE industry or trade licence, and a MoIAT notified body reviews the documents. MoIAT's regulation card for cosmetics lists AED 670 for the certificate and AED 620 for the document review, and allows one brand, one country of origin and one category, with at most 25 SKUs, per certificate. Applications not completed within 6 months are cancelled.

Test reports must come from an accredited, recognised laboratory, follow UAE.S GSO 1943 for the product category and are valid for 3 years. For imported products, the free sale certificate may be on the manufacturer's letterhead; legalisation is not mandatory and a third-party certificate is also accepted. The card does not state how long the certificate lasts; certification bodies such as Intertek say it is valid for one year and must be renewed every year.

• Valid UAE industry or trade licence of the applicant
• Test report to UAE.S GSO 1943 for the product category
• Formula declaration with ingredients and percentages, issued by the manufacturer
• Free sale certificate for imported products
• Evidence of GMP compliance
• Label artwork (Annex 1) and product safety report (Annex 3) of Cabinet Decision No. 18 of 2014
• Certificate of analysis and an electronic declaration of conformity

Dubai Municipality registration in Montaji

The applicant must be a company incorporated in Dubai, or with a warehouse in Dubai, holding a Dubai trade licence with cosmetics-related activities: a local manufacturer, the importer of a foreign manufacturer, or its agent. It answers for the product's safety and must report changes. Registration is filed through the Consumer Product Registration Service (Montaji) on dm.gov.ae and is valid for 5 years; DM's Technical Guidelines for Cosmetics and Personal Care Products (version 2.1, 15 September 2025) set the rules.

The dossier needs a Free Sale Certificate issued by the regulatory authorities in the country of origin and valid when submitted; if the marketed name differs from the one on the certificate, add a manufacturer's letter attested by a government authority. It also needs an ingredient report giving chemical names, CAS numbers and amounts by weight, signed and stamped by the manufacturer's R&D department, and a test report from an accredited laboratory covering the tests in Annex 1 of the guideline. A GMP (ISO 22716) certificate is mandatory for local manufacturers; halal, organic or vegan certificates, clinical studies and safety assessments are added when the label or product calls for them.

DM's guideline does not publish a registration fee or processing time; ask your importer. Advertising and promotion of the product, including on social media, also need pre-approval in Montaji.

Labels in Arabic and English, and claims

DM's guideline asks for the items below in clear English and/or Arabic, shown so they cannot easily be removed, and forbids medical claims and illustrations inconsistent with social customs and values. The GCC standard is stricter on language: GSO 1943 requires at least the product name, function or instructions for use, warnings and storage instructions in both Arabic and English. A label with all items in Arabic and English meets both.

Claims are covered by the GCC regulation on cosmetic claims, GSO 2528:2024, approved on 1 May 2024: a product with an unacceptable claim may fall outside the cosmetic definition. DM treats products claiming to prevent or cure disease, restore a physiological function or relieve joint or muscle pain as outside its cosmetic scope.

• Brand name and product name
• Manufacturer or UAE agent: name, address and web address
• Country of origin
• Ingredients by INCI or botanical names
• Pack size
• Production and expiry dates, printed or on non-removable stickers
• Storage conditions, instructions for use and intended use
• Warnings
• Barcode and batch number
• Symbols where they apply: period after opening, best before, enclosed leaflet, hazard symbols

Ingredients, testing and halal

GSO 1943 lists prohibited and restricted substances in its annexes; the GCC approved its fourth edition, GSO 1943:2024, on 1 May 2024. DM's guideline still cites GSO 1943:2016, together with the EU Cosmetics Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 and Health Canada's Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist. A formula that meets the EU annexes is a good start, but ask your notified body which GSO edition it tests to.

Annex 1 of DM's guideline sets the tests. Examples: toxic metals (lead up to 10 ppm; 1 ppm for baby, oral care and eye care products); no asbestos or free formaldehyde; no hydroquinone in skin-whitening products; no lard in lip products, creams and soap; no methanol in perfumes; aerobic bacteria and yeasts and moulds under 1,000 CFU/g (100 CFU/g for baby products), with E. coli, S. aureus, P. aeruginosa and C. albicans absent. Perfumes must declare allergens above 0.001% in leave-on and 0.01% in rinse-off products.

DM asks for a halal certificate only when the label carries a halal logo: it must be valid and issued by a recognised Islamic body in the country of origin. The GCC standard for halal cosmetics is GSO 2055-4:2021, and MoIAT keeps a list of registered halal certification bodies, so check with the importer which certifiers are accepted.

Import clearance in Dubai, duty and re-export

The importer needs a Dubai Customs business code (client registration with its trade licence and the authorised person's passport and Emirates ID; AED 100), an importer code from Dubai Trade and a Montaji account. For goods going to the local market it files an import request in Montaji with the bill of entry, bill of lading or air waybill, purchase invoice, packing list and delivery order. DM charges AED 50 per container and may inspect at the port, take samples, or release the goods to the importer's warehouse pending results.

Dubai Customs asks for the invoice, packing list, certificate of origin and permits from the controlling authority. Goods from outside the GCC pay the common customs duty of 5% of the CIF value, plus 5% VAT. The US International Trade Administration (ITA) lists a certificate of origin approved by a chamber of commerce. Since 1 February 2023, import invoices of AED 10,000 or more have had to be attested by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs for AED 150 each; the importer arranges this, so confirm the current rule with its broker.

Goods for re-export are listed, not registered, in Montaji and must leave within 6 months; goods for a free zone are listed with a product image. A UAE registration does not cover the other GCC countries: in Saudi Arabia, for example, cosmetics are listed with the SFDA, as Triplicate's note on the SABER certificate for Saudi Arabia explains.