Importing cosmetics or personal care is a two-step process for regulation.
Cosmetics are regulated under PMDA (Japan FDA). If you are a foreign cosmetics product company without Japanese subsidiary, you are required to have a Japan licensed cosmetics importer of record (IOR). COVUE IOR provides IOR services for importing Cosmetics and Personal Care Products.
All products require pre-approval. The application for approval can only be made by a Japanese licensed cosmetics company. The process takes about 8 weeks.
Steps:
- Register with COVUE IOR.
- Start Cosmetics Product Import Application
- Submit manufacturer & product ingredient formula (by percentage) for pre-notification
- MHLW Product Lab Testing and Cosmetics Certified Product Labelling – these will be created by your IOR and submitted to Japan PMDA for approval
- Manufacturer information and manufacturing flow process
- Submit Application
- Receive approval – Once approved, the products can be imported. However, they must be received by your licensed IOR.
- Create shipping invoice from your covueior.com account
- Contact shipping company of your choice
- Receive shipping into COVUE facility for inspection – Upon arrival, all products will receive label verification, be registered for trace & track and one product of each category will be pulled for lab testing. The process takes 48-72 hours.
- Continue to final destination.
Importing cosmetics and personal care products to Japan? Want to know if your products are subject to Cosmetic Product Approval regulations?
Let COVUE handle it so you can focus on building your Japan business!
When selecting a licensed cosmetics IOR, be sure to choose an IOR that does not place restrictions on your product rights Japan sales channels. COVUE is the preferred IOR choice for foreign cosmetics companies. We do not restrict product rights or sales channels. COVUE is the direct IOR: We own our licenses, compliance teams and, offer the online IOR platform. Take control of your Japan business and IOR with covueior.com
Let COVUE’s regulatory experts help you to speed up the market entry process so can that you can focus on your business. We’re here to help! It’s what we do best,
