Tool 1 · Route and dossier
Which guideline, who files, what goes in the file.
Tick what you are sending to Dubai. The file builds as you answer, each line with the paragraph it comes from. Print it for your importer.
Your Dubai file
- Guideline: cosmetics and personal care (GU116 v2.1, 15 Sep 2025).Skin, hair, make-up, oral care, deodorants and similar products. Registered in Montaji before manufacture, import, advertising or sale (§8).
- Guideline: fragrance products (GU117 v2.0, 4 May 2024).Perfumes, colognes, body mists, aftershaves, perfume oils, room fragrances, diffusers and scented candles (§5.1). Registered in Montaji before sale (§6).
- Free zone only: no registration while the goods stay out of the local market.“Registration is not required for consumer products imported to Free Zone and not intended for local market” (GU18 §10-1). The moment they are sold into Dubai, everything below applies.
- Who files: a Dubai company with a cosmetics trade licence.Incorporated in Dubai or holding a warehouse in Dubai, with a Dubai trade licence showing cosmetics activities (§8.2). For a product made abroad, the importer or the agent applies (§8.1). The applicant answers for the product’s safety and for every document (§8.3).
- Who files: a UAE-licensed company with a fragrance activity.Any of: a commercial licence from a UAE local authority covering fragrance trading; an industrial licence covering fragrance manufacturing; Tajer (Abu Dhabi DED); Intelaq (Dubai SME, home business); E-Trader (Dubai DED, social media selling) (§6-1).
- Online to consumers: the seller needs a Dubai e-commerce set-up.A valid e-commerce licence with consumer-products activity, an importer code from Dubai Trade, a designated warehouse in a Dubai free zone, and the company’s e-commerce portal; the company registers in Montaji with that licence (GU18 §7, §8-1). Parcels arrive as consolidated consignments through the import and re-export service (CPIP); delivery from the free zone to the consumer is auto-approved, with no fee (§11, §13).
- E-commerce file: artwork plus one proof of composition or safety.All-side artwork, and one of: a conformity certificate from a certification body, a composition and concentration report from the manufacturer, or a report from a DM-approved laboratory. Other documents “where deemed necessary”, such as a halal certificate (GU18 §9-1).
- Free sale certificate from Korea, valid when you file.Issued by the authorities of the country of origin or a recognised body such as a chamber of commerce (GU116 §9.1). For fragrance made outside the UAE it is mandatory and must be attested by a government authority in the country of origin (GU117 §7.4).
- Ingredient report signed and stamped by the factory’s R&D.Chemical names, CAS numbers for chemical ingredients such as preservatives, quantities by weight, issued by the manufacturer in the country of origin (GU116 §9.2).
- Ingredient report with exact percentages and allergens above 0.001%.Chemical names, CAS for chemical ingredients, the exact percentage of each ingredient, and every allergen present above 0.001%; signed and/or stamped by the manufacturer (GU117 §7.2). Your perfumer’s IFRA and allergen data feed this sheet.
- Laboratory report from a certified lab, against the annex tests.Accredited methods; the annex sets limits such as lead 10 ppm, cadmium, arsenic and mercury 3 ppm, total bacteria under 1,000 CFU/g (100 for baby products), methanol absent, and allergen labelling at 0.001% leave-on and 0.01% rinse-off (GU116 §9.4 and Annex).
- Tests that may be requested for fragrance.Allergens (label at 0.001% leave-on, 0.01% rinse-off), Bitrex absent, turbidity and visual check, solvents (ethanol, propan-1-ol, diethyl phthalate), water and essential-oil content, methanol absent; by an accredited lab in Korea or elsewhere (GU117 §7.5, table 1).
- GMP (ISO 22716): needed because the product is made in the UAE.Requested for local manufacturers, valid when filed (GU116 §9.3); mandatory only for products made inside the UAE (GU117 §7.3). A product made in Korea does not need it under these two guidelines.
- Product artwork showing every label item.Brand, product name, size or weight, manufacturer details, directions, ingredients and barcode number (GU117 §7.1). See the label sheet for the full list.
- Name differs from the free sale certificate: add an attested letter.A confirmation letter from the product owner, attested by a government authority in the country of origin (GU116 §9.1 note).
- Halal logo on the label: the certificate is mandatory.Issued by a recognised Islamic society in the country of origin and valid when filed (GU116 §9.5). The fragrance guideline does not list it; the e-commerce guideline asks for it “where deemed necessary” (GU18 §9-1). Fine for a missing halal certificate at import: AED 1,000 (GU18 §15).
- Organic or vegan claim: certificate from a recognised body.From a recognised body in the country of origin (GU116 §9.5).
- Clinical numbers on the pack: the studies go in the file.Clinical studies proving the claim or statistic, from recognised bodies in the country of origin (GU116 §9.5).
- AHA product: pH and five label precautions.Final pH 3.5 or more for retail (3 or more for professional use only), with the precautions: use only as directed; avoid the eyes; stop and see a physician if irritation persists; use sunscreen on treated areas; limit frequency or duration (GU116 §9.6).
- Fluoride oral care: a total-fluoride test.Total fluoride content tested in Dubai Central Laboratory or an accredited lab (GU116 §9.6); annex limit 0.15%.
- Disease claim: out of the cosmetic scope.Products to prevent, cure or relieve a disease (acne, eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, hair loss) or that act pharmacologically are not cosmetics under GU116 §5.2. Medical claims must not appear on labels or adverts (§7.1). Another regime applies; this desk does not cover it.
- Mood, calm or sleep claim: out of the cosmetic scope.GU116 §5.2 lists products with “spiritual mental effects/claims (ex: calming, uplift mood, inner peace, improve focusing, meditation)”, products to improve breathing and sleep, and products whose main function is massage oil as outside the cosmetic scope. Change the words, or expect another route.
- Mood claim on a fragrance: our reading, keep it off the label.The fragrance guideline has no out-of-scope list, but its general label rules forbid misleading content and the cosmetics guideline treats mood and sleep claims as outside cosmetics. Our reading, not Dubai Municipality’s.
- Hotel amenities and B2B fragrance: no barcode needed.Fragrances for hotel guests, or traded only between companies and not placed on the market, can be registered through Montaji without a barcode on the artwork (GU117 §8.2). The cosmetics guideline says nothing similar.
- At entry: half the shelf life and six months, minimum.Registered before import (GU116 §10). Imported products need at least 50% of shelf life remaining and not less than six months at entry; the label must be clear, indelible and not easily removable (GU18 §10-1). Use the shelf-life gate to date each batch.
- Every advert, including social media, is pre-approved in Montaji.Brochures, print, campaigns, social media, TV, outdoor and indoor adverts (GU116 §11.2; GU117 §6-5). For cosmetics, gifts, discount coupons and free samples of registered products need no approval (GU116 §11.2 note).
- Valid five years; changes must be reported.Registration lasts five years, with renewal reviewed (GU116 §8.5; GU117 §6-4). Any later change to the registered particulars must be notified or approved (§8.4; §6-3).
- Fee: AED 10 per product and per variant.Stated in the e-commerce guideline (GU18 §13), with AED 50 per container release request. The cosmetics and fragrance guidelines state no fee; confirm with your applicant. Count a range on the shelf-life page.