For UK brands selling into the EU
"I do not have a Responsible Person in the EU, so I know legally I cannot sell there, but where does the CPSR cover me for in terms of sales?"
— a maker on the Soapmaking Forum, July 2021
You have a file, it is real, and its scope is oddly hard to pin down.
The fact that decides everything else
A responsible person established in Great Britain is not designated within the Community (Art. 4(1)). An EU launch needs a designation inside the Union, however good the GB file is. That is not a comment on UK providers. The establishment requirement is separate.
For a GB brand shipping into the Union with no written mandate, Art. 4(5) puts the role on whoever imports the product — their address on your pack, your file in their hands. How Art. 4 places the role →
We can be appointed as your EU Responsible Person, by written mandate. Registration covers the safety report and the file. Custody — keeping the file and watching the registers after that — is a yearly line. What each costs →
What travels out of a GB file
| What you have | Into an EU file? |
|---|---|
| A GB responsible person | No — Art. 4(1) requires designation in the Union |
| A UK safety report | Read, not assumed. Send it; we say what is usable before anything is redone |
| Stability, challenge, CoAs | Yes — this is usually the expensive half you already bought |
| An SCPN notification | No. CPNP is a separate submission by the EU responsible person (Art. 13(1)) |
| Your artwork | Needs the EU responsible person's name and address (Art. 19(1)(a)) |
The data travels. The signature and the designation do not. Does a UK CPSR work in the EU? The full answer, with Northern Ireland →
Manufacturing or sourcing through Korea as well as selling from the UK? For Korean brands →
A marketplace field about Reg. (EU) 2023/988 is a different obligation. Clearing it does not clear Art. 4.
All of it runs online, from where you are. You sign in to our user-friendly client portal with a link we email you, see the documents your product needs with the reason for each, and upload them next to their line. There are no couriers and no trip to Belgium. If your manufacturer already has the papers, your part takes about an hour. Once the last document is in and the formula is declared, the signed safety report usually follows within 3 working days. Comparing responsible persons before you sign a mandate? Nine questions to ask →
Registration starts at €345; the Responsible Person mandate is €360 per product, per year across the EU. What each line covers →
Questions people ask
Does a UK CPSR or a UK Responsible Person cover the EU?
The designation does not. What of the report can be reused is a question about your document — send it.
Will my home address have to go on the label?
Only where you are the designated responsible person. Designating someone established in the Union takes your home address off that artwork (Art. 19(1)(a)).
Tell us the product, the variants and the markets — a fixed quote in writing.