How to import cosmetics into the USA, step by step
Updated
To import cosmetics into the USA you need an importer of record, a customs entry (usually filed by a licensed customs broker), a bond for formal entries, the right HTS code and products FDA will admit. Cosmetics need no FDA approval to enter, except color additives, but FDA screens the data on every commercial entry and can detain or refuse goods that appear adulterated or misbranded. This guide walks through each step in the order it happens.
This guide covers moving cosmetics across the border. Whether each product is a cosmetic or a drug, and what its label must say, is covered in FDA cosmetics requirements for foreign brands. Facility registration and product listing are covered in MoCRA compliance for international brands. Settle both before you book freight.
Two gates: CBP and FDA
Every commercial cosmetics shipment passes two agencies at the same time.
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) treats it as merchandise: who the importer of record is, what the goods are, where they were made, what they are worth and what duty is owed.
- FDA treats it as a regulated product. Data about the manufacturer, the FDA product code and the country of production travels with the customs entry, and FDA decides whether the goods may proceed, need examination or should be refused.
Cosmetics other than color additives need no FDA pre-approval to be imported (FDA, Cosmetics Importers), and Prior Notice applies to food only. What matters at entry is whether the product appears adulterated or misbranded.
Importer of record, customs broker and bond
Importer of record (IOR). The IOR is the party legally responsible for the entry: classification, value, origin and payment of duties. A foreign company can be its own IOR. A nonresident corporation needs a resident agent in the state where the port of entry is located, authorized to accept service of process (19 CFR 141.18). Alternatively, a U.S. buyer, distributor or affiliate can act as IOR and take on that responsibility.
Customs broker. Only licensed customs brokers may transact customs business for others (19 CFR 111.2). An importer may self-file on its own account, but that needs access to CBP's ACE system. For a first shipment, a broker is the norm: they arrange the bond, file the entry and transmit the FDA data.
Customs bond. Formal entries need a bond. CBP describes two types (CBP, How CBP Sets Bond Amounts):
| Bond | Covers | Amount, per CBP | Usually fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single transaction | One entry | Generally at least the entered value plus duties, taxes and fees; higher multiples for restricted goods | A first or occasional shipment |
| Continuous | All entries for one year, renewing automatically | At least $50,000 or 10% of estimated duties, taxes and fees, whichever is greater | Regular importing |
The import steps, in order
- Confirm what each product is. A moisturizer with SPF, an antidandruff shampoo or an antiperspirant is both a cosmetic and an OTC drug, with drug requirements on top. Decide this per SKU.
- Check MoCRA status. The manufacturing facility should be registered with FDA and the product listed, unless an exemption applies.
- Check the label and origin marking. Required label information must be in English, and CBP requires each article or its container to be marked with the English name of the country of origin, conspicuously and legibly (19 CFR 134.11). "Made in Korea" is a customs rule, not an FDA rule.
- Assign the IOR, broker and bond before booking.
- Classify every SKU to the 10-digit HTSUS code and confirm the total duty, including any additional tariffs.
- Prepare the commercial invoice and packing list (checklist below), and the safety data sheet for anything flammable or pressurized.
- Book freight. For ocean cargo, the Importer Security Filing (ISF, or "10+2") is due at least 24 hours before the cargo is loaded at the foreign port. Air and courier shipments do not use ISF.
- Entry and FDA review. The broker files the entry with the FDA data; duties and fees become payable; FDA may release, examine or hold.
- Release and delivery to a warehouse that is expecting the goods and receives them against the packing list.
Documents and data checklist
CBP's core entry documents are the entry itself (CBP Form 3461 or its electronic equivalent), evidence of the right to make entry, a commercial invoice, a packing list where appropriate, and whatever other agencies require (19 CFR 142.3). For cosmetics, that last part means FDA data.
| Item | What it must contain | Usually supplied by |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial invoice | Seller and buyer, a detailed description, quantities, unit price and currency, itemized charges (freight, insurance, packing), assists and country of origin, in English or with an accurate English translation (19 CFR 141.86) | Exporter |
| Packing list | Cartons, units and SKUs that match the invoice line by line | Exporter |
| Evidence of right to make entry | Bill of lading or air waybill, or a carrier's certificate naming the owner or consignee (19 CFR 141.11) | Carrier or forwarder |
| ISF (ocean only) | Seller, buyer, IOR number, consignee, manufacturer or supplier, ship-to party, country of origin and HTSUS number; stuffing location and consolidator later | Exporter data, filed by broker or forwarder |
| FDA entry data | Program code COS, a 7-character FDA product code, manufacturer, shipper, FDA importer and deliver-to party (with DUNS or FEI), and country of production, per CBP's published FDA supplemental guide | Exporter data, transmitted by broker |
| Dangerous goods papers | Safety data sheet and the carrier's dangerous goods declaration where the product requires one | Manufacturer and shipper |
Use one description and one code per SKU across the invoice, ISF and FDA data. Mismatches are one of the most avoidable reasons a shipment gets questions.
HTS codes and duties for cosmetics
Most cosmetics fall under Chapter 33 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States. These are the general (MFN) rates shown on the USITC HTS search on October 14, 2026:
| Heading | Covers | General (MFN) rate |
|---|---|---|
| 3303 | Perfumes and toilet waters | Free |
| 3304 | Beauty, makeup and skincare preparations, including sunscreen, manicure and pedicure preparations | Free |
| 3305 | Hair preparations: shampoos, perm and straightening products, hair lacquers, other | Free |
| 3307 | Shaving, deodorant and antiperspirant, bath preparations, room fragrance, other | About 2.4% to 6% by subheading (deodorants 4.9%, bath salts 5.8%) |
MFN is only the base. Additional duties filed under Chapter 99 can sit on top. Since July 24, 2026, Section 301 tariffs of 10% or 12.5% apply to goods from 60 economies, including South Korea, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia, subject to exemptions listed by USTR (Federal Register notice). For Korean goods the Section 301 duty is net of MFN up to 12.5%; for Türkiye and Saudi Arabia it is a flat 12.5% on top of MFN. The 2025 "reciprocal" tariffs ended with the Supreme Court's February 20, 2026 IEEPA ruling, and the temporary Section 122 surcharge that followed expired July 24, 2026.
Classification is fact-specific, so have your broker confirm the 10-digit code, and confirm the total rate for your exact code and origin before every U.S. price list. Korean brands should also ask how a KORUS origin claim is treated alongside Section 301 (see launching a Korean beauty brand in the USA). To turn duty into a shelf price, see how to price imported beauty products for U.S. retail.
FDA review at entry and import alerts
Under the FD&C Act (21 U.S.C. 381), CBP delivers samples to FDA on request, and FDA may refuse admission to cosmetics that appear adulterated or misbranded, were made under insanitary conditions, or are forbidden in the country where they were produced. The owner or consignee gets a chance to respond. Refused goods must be exported or destroyed, generally within 90 days, and relabeling under bond may be allowed when the label is the problem.
FDA also keeps import alerts, which allow detention without physical examination for listed firms and products. Three matter most for cosmetics:
- Import Alert 53-17: microbiological contamination.
- Import Alert 53-06: color additive violations, meaning non-permitted, uncertified or undeclared colors.
- Import Alert 53-21: other adulteration, such as heavy metals and insanitary conditions. It absorbed the former 53-18 on mercury skin-whitening creams.
Common triggers: unpermitted or uncertified colors, drug claims on a cosmetic label, skin lighteners (FDA says no OTC skin lightener is legally marketed), mercury and missing English label information.
Small shipments and samples
Sending samples and test orders as low-value parcels no longer avoids customs. CBP suspended the $800 de minimis exemption indefinitely, effective June 24, 2026, and a 2025 law ends it by statute on July 1, 2027. Shipments of $800 or less now need an entry and may owe duties.
- Informal entry is limited to shipments of $2,500 or less, and articles over $250 classified in Chapter 99, Subchapters III and IV cannot use it (19 CFR 143.21). Because Section 301 duties are filed under Chapter 99, a small tariffed shipment may still need a formal entry.
- Mail has a new postal informal entry process for shipments of $2,500 or less, but goods subject to other agency requirements or Chapter 98 or 99 duties must use formal entry, with a compliance date of October 22, 2026. Ask your broker how this applies to FDA-regulated cosmetics.
Comparing courier, air freight and LCL for a few cartons is covered in how to ship your first 100 products to the USA.
Perfume, nail polish and aerosols
Many beauty products are dangerous goods in transport, and the shipper classifies them.
- Perfume with flammable solvents is UN1266, "Perfumery products," Class 3 flammable liquid.
- Aerosols such as dry shampoo or hairspray are typically UN1950, "Aerosols, flammable," Division 2.1.
- Other flammable cosmetics follow their primary function. PHMSA says nail polish, lipstick or hair colorant should not be shipped as UN1266, and may instead be "Flammable liquid, n.o.s." (PHMSA interpretation 20-0011).
For air freight, the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations are the standard airlines recognize; the 68th edition takes effect January 1, 2027. Give your forwarder a current safety data sheet for every formula before booking. The same SDS is what Amazon's hazmat review asks for, as covered in Amazon FBA vs. retail for beauty brands.
Example: a first skincare pallet
Hypothetical example. A Seoul skincare brand plans one LCL pallet to Southern California: a toner, a cream and a daily sunscreen.
Before production: it learns the sunscreen is an OTC drug in the U.S., needing drug registration, an NDC, a Drug Facts label and drug cGMP. It ships only the toner and cream, confirms the factory's MoCRA registration and listings, and adds a U.S. adverse event contact and "Made in Korea" to the labels.
Before booking: it acts as its own importer of record through a licensed broker, with a single transaction bond. The broker classifies both products under heading 3304 (MFN Free) and confirms the total duty, including any Section 301 duty and how the KORUS claim is treated.
Then: the forwarder files the ISF before loading, the broker files the entry with the FDA data, FDA lets it proceed, and the pallet is delivered to a waiting warehouse.
Reduce cost and risk on shipment one
- Start narrow. A few cosmetic SKUs with clean labels are simpler than a full range with drug-cosmetics.
- Fix labels in artwork. Relabeling after arrival is slow and not always allowed.
- Let the broker review the invoice, packing list and SDS before the factory ships.
- Book storage before arrival, so goods do not sit at a terminal.
Abanro is based in Orange County, California, near the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Abanro handles the customs clearance process for you as part of the same shipment. We then receive, store and prepare the goods. We are not a regulatory consultancy, and FDA registration is only handled as a separately quoted specialist service. In eligible cases, we can also act as your importer of record.
If the reason you are importing is to test U.S. demand, the Beauty & Personal Care market entry program puts your products in front of up to 25 selected salons, barbershops, beauty supply stores, boutiques and specialty retailers in Southern California for three months, at $3,950 with one SKU and its first pallet included, plus a 25% commission only on sales Abanro generates. You need no U.S. office, local sales hire or warehouse lease first. Importation, customs clearance, duties and specialist regulatory work are quoted separately and approved by you first.
This guide is general information, not legal, customs or regulatory advice. Tariff rates and customs procedures change often; confirm current requirements for your product and origin with a licensed customs broker before shipping. Duties, taxes and government charges are paid at actual cost, and no clearance or release can be guaranteed.