Cosmetic Manufacturing Licence in India (2026): The COS-Form Guide Every New Brand Needs
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Last updated: June 2026
For a lot of first-time founders, this is the single scariest part of starting a cosmetic brand in India: the licence. The acronyms alone — CDSCO, SLA, COS-5, COS-8, GMP — are enough to make people freeze, or worse, hand over money to the first "consultant" who promises to make it disappear.
Here's the calming truth: which licence you need depends almost entirely on one thing — who actually makes your product. Once you know that, the whole maze collapses into three clear routes. This guide walks you through all of them, in plain English, current to 2026.
⚠️ A quick, important note: this is general information to help you understand the landscape — not legal or regulatory advice. Rules, forms, and fees change, and they vary by state. Before you file anything, confirm the current position with your State Licensing Authority or a qualified cosmetic regulatory consultant.
Who actually regulates cosmetics in India?
Cosmetics in India are governed by the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and the dedicated Cosmetics Rules, 2020 (the 2020 Rules gave cosmetics their own modern rulebook, separate from drugs).
Two layers of authority matter, and people constantly mix them up:
- CDSCO — the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization, under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, headed by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI). This is the Central Licensing Authority. It handles imports of finished cosmetics and new-cosmetic approvals.
- The State Licensing Authority (SLA) — your State Drug Controller. This is who actually issues manufacturing licences.
The single most common confusion online: people search for a "CDSCO manufacturing licence." CDSCO does not grant manufacturing licences. Your state does. Get that one fact straight and you're already ahead of half the internet.
The COS forms, in one table
Every licence and permission has its own form. Here's the whole alphabet in one place:
| What it's for | You apply in | You receive | Issued by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Own manufacturing licence | COS-5 | COS-8 | State Licensing Authority |
| Loan licence (make at someone else's site) | COS-6 | COS-9 | State Licensing Authority |
| GMP self-declaration (filed with the above) | COS-7 | — | (submitted with COS-5 / COS-6) |
| Import registration (finished cosmetics) | COS-1 | COS-2 | Central Licensing Authority (CDSCO) |
| New-cosmetic prior permission | COS-12 | COS-3 | Central Licensing Authority (CDSCO) |
Keep this table. Ninety percent of the licensing conversation is just knowing which row you're in.
The three routes — mapped to what you need
Route A — Third-party / contract manufacturing (best for most new brands)
You partner with a GMP-certified manufacturer who already holds a COS-8 licence. They make the product; you own the brand, the design, and the marketing.
The licence you personally need to manufacture: none. Because you're not the manufacturer — they are, and their licence covers the production. This is exactly why third-party manufacturing is the standard launch route in India (and why we made the full case for it in our 3P-vs-own post). What you do still need is the ordinary business and product-compliance stack: a registered business, GST, a trademark, and compliant labelling on the finished product (more on that below).
One labelling detail to know: under Rule 34, if your product is made by someone other than you, the label must carry the actual manufacturer's name and address (or "Made in…" for imports). Your contract manufacturer will know this — but it's your brand on the front, so make sure it's right.
Route B — Loan licence (COS-6 → COS-9)
You don't own a factory, but you want to hold the licence yourself while manufacturing at someone else's GMP-approved premises. You apply in Form COS-6; the State Licensing Authority issues the loan licence in Form COS-9.
This sits between fully outsourced and fully owned. You take on more regulatory accountability and paperwork than Route A, in exchange for holding the licence in your own name. It's a route some brands choose as they grow and want more direct control before committing to their own plant.
Route C — Your own manufacturing licence (COS-5 → COS-8)
You build and run your own GMP-compliant facility. This is the big one — and, as we've argued elsewhere, rarely the right first move for a new brand. But here's exactly what it involves.
Inside the own-manufacture licence (COS-5 → COS-8)
Where you apply: the identified online portal (SUGAM / your state's portal); offline at the SLA office if the portal is down. Manufacturing at more than one premises? You need a separate application and licence for each site.
Core documents (per Part-II of the Second Schedule; fees per the Third Schedule):
- Cover letter and site master file
- Plant layout and list of equipment / machinery
- List of cosmetic products you intend to make
- Proof of qualified technical staff
- Evidence of GMP compliance and a self-declaration in Form COS-7
- Ownership or rental documents for the premises
- An undertaking of compliance with the Cosmetics Rules, 2020
- Fee receipt
Your competent technical staff must hold at least one of these qualifications:
- A Diploma in Pharmacy approved by the Pharmacy Council of India (Pharmacy Act, 1948); or
- Registration under the Pharmacy Act, 1948; or
- An Intermediate examination pass with Chemistry (or a recognised equivalent); or
- A bachelor's degree in Cosmetic Technology from a recognised university.
Your premises must meet the Good Manufacturing Practice requirements set out in the Seventh Schedule.
The timeline: the State Licensing Authority is required to grant the licence within 45 days of verifying your documents. After grant, expect a site inspection within 30 days to confirm your GMP self-declaration. (Helpfully, if the authority fails to inspect within 30 days, the licence is deemed valid.)
Fees & validity: the grant fee is set in the Third Schedule — commonly cited at around ₹10,000 for up to ten items in each category, with a smaller fee (about ₹500) per additional item (treat these as indicative and confirm the current figures). Crucially, the licence then stays valid as long as you pay a retention fee every five years — it isn't a "reapply from scratch" renewal. Miss the retention fee and a 2%-per-month late fee kicks in; leave it unpaid past 180 days and the licence is deemed cancelled.
The approvals people forget — even on Route A
Going third-party doesn't make you exempt from product compliance. Whoever makes it, these apply to what you sell:
- Labelling per the Cosmetics Rules, 2020 (Rule 34) and the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 — net quantity, MRP, manufacturing details, and the rest.
- Prohibited ingredients — your product must not contain raw materials restricted under IS 4707.
- No animal testing — Rule 39(7) bans testing cosmetics on animals in India.
- New cosmetic? If your product uses a genuinely novel ingredient not recognised for cosmetic use anywhere, you need prior permission from the Central Authority — apply in Form COS-12, permission granted in Form COS-3 — before you make or import it.
- Importing finished cosmetics to sell? That's a different track: import registration in Form COS-1, certificate issued in Form COS-2 by CDSCO, valid five years. (Note: this is for finished cosmetic products — not empty packaging or components.)
So which route should a new brand actually take?
For the overwhelming majority of brands launching in 2026, the answer is Route A — third-party manufacturing, no manufacturing licence of your own. You stay asset-light, you launch in weeks instead of a year, and the regulatory weight of production sits with a partner who does it every day. Loan licences and own facilities are decisions to revisit once you've proven the brand and your volumes justify the control. We break that trade-off down fully in our third-party vs own manufacturing guide.
Where packaging fits — and how RENTRASPA helps
Notice what isn't on any licensing form: your bottle. Packaging itself doesn't need a manufacturing licence — but it absolutely carries the labelling that the Cosmetics Rules and Legal Metrology require, so the surface you print on, and the quality of the glass that represents your brand on a shelf, genuinely matters.
That's where RENTRASPA comes in. We're a wholesaler-importer of premium cosmetic glass packaging — bottles, jars, vials, droppers, pumps, and closures — held as ready stock in India and shipped from Chennai. While your manufacturing partner handles the licence and the formula, we make the packaging side simple:
- MOQ from one — buy a few pieces to prototype your label and prove your compliance layout before you commit to a full run.
- In stock, dispatched within 3 working days, so packaging never holds up a launch.
- Pre-order standard lines in ~30 days, and make it yours with printing, painting, or hot-stamping from 1,000 pieces.
Sort the licence route first, keep production asset-light — and let RENTRASPA take care of the glass your compliant, beautiful product goes into.
Browse the RENTRASPA cosmetic glass range →Order samples →Talk to us about your packaging →
RENTRASPA — Premium Cosmetic Packaging. Imported cosmetic glass, ready stock in India, dispatched nationwide. Order from one. This article is general information, not legal or regulatory advice; always confirm current requirements with your State Licensing Authority or a qualified consultant.