By Rahul Bisht, Cotasks · Updated 12 November 2026

The short answer: to sell beauty products in the UAE online, every product needs government registration before it goes live. For cosmetics, that means Dubai Municipality's Montaji system plus federal conformity through MoIAT. The label must be in Arabic and English, and your claims can't sound medical. Supplements follow a stricter, separate route. Skip any of this and Amazon.ae and Noon can block your listing, however good your product is.

If you've been hunting for a one-click way in, there isn't one. But the process is predictable, and most sellers lose weeks on the same few mistakes. This guide walks you through the whole path, in the order that saves the most time.

Not legal advice. UAE rules, fees and portals change, so confirm anything critical with the authority itself before you commit stock or money.

The three gates every product has to pass

Think of the UAE market as three gates in a row. Most guides blur them together, which is exactly why sellers get stuck.

Gate 1: Is it really a cosmetic? Your classification decides everything that follows. A moisturiser is a cosmetic. A cream that "treats eczema" is drifting toward a medical product. A vitamin gummy is a supplement, not a food and not a cosmetic. Get this wrong and you apply to the wrong authority.

Gate 2: Is it registered and conformant? This is the paperwork gate: Montaji, ECAS/MoIAT, or the supplement route.

Gate 3: Does the label and listing match what you registered? Arabic text, ingredient format and, above all, your claims. This is where marketplaces actually catch people.

Step 1: Get your business set up to sell

Before any product work, you need a UAE-licensed entity. Registration is done by a company incorporated in the UAE, such as a local importer, manufacturer or distributor, so an overseas brand can't simply apply on its own.

You'll also need:

• A trade licence that lists the right activity (cosmetics or health products trading). Registration is tied to the licensed business.
• A VAT registration (TRN), which Noon asks for during seller onboarding.
• A bank account for marketplace payouts.

Need help choosing the right licence or structure? Our team at Cotasks can walk you through it. You can also read our guide on how to sell on Amazon.ae and Noon from Dubai.

Step 2: Dubai Municipality product registration (Montaji)

Montaji is Dubai Municipality's digital platform for registering consumer products. For cosmetics, personal care and fragrances, it's the registration that authorises sale in Dubai, including online sales through Amazon.ae, Noon or your own store.

Here's how the process typically runs:

1. Create and activate a Dubai Municipality account for your company.
2. Request the cosmetic registration service on Montaji.
3. Upload your dossier (see below).
4. Pay the government fee online.
5. Dubai Municipality reviews the safety and labelling. It may approve directly, ask questions or request lab testing.
6. You receive the registration certificate.

What goes in the dossier:

• Label artwork showing batch/lot number, shelf life and period-after-opening
• Ingredient list and safety documentation
• Free Sale Certificate from the country of origin (for imports)
• Authorisation letter if you're a distributor or private-label partner
• Trade licence

Good to know:

• Registration is per product, not per brand. Ten SKUs means ten registrations.
• One source puts validity at five years, with renewal subject to review. Confirm this on the portal.
• Free Sale Certificates and registration don't replace each other. Having one doesn't count as having the other.
• Quoted timelines vary a lot. Consultancies cite roughly 2 to 4 weeks for straightforward products and longer when testing is needed. Treat those as rough guides only.
• Fees quoted by consultancies run from several hundred to a couple of thousand dirhams per product depending on category. Check the current fee on the portal.

Step 3: Federal conformity (ECAS through MoIAT)

Montaji is not the whole story. Imported cosmetics also need federal conformity under the ECAS scheme, now run by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT). That certificate is what authorises import at the border. Montaji authorises sale in Dubai.

You need both. Having one doesn't excuse you from the other. If you want a plain-English walkthrough of how the two fit together for your product, talk to our team at Cotasks.

The technical backbone here is two Gulf standards: GSO 1943:2024 (safety, labelling and packaging) and GSO 2528:2024 (cosmetic claims). They replaced the older 2021 and 2016 versions, so if your regulatory documents reference the old ones, ask your supplier to update them.

Step 4: Arabic labelling requirements in the UAE

Arabic labelling trips up more sellers than any other requirement, usually because the label was designed for another market and then "translated" at the last minute.

For cosmetics, expect your label to need:

• Arabic and English text
• Product name and function
• Ingredients in INCI nomenclature
• Batch or lot number
• Expiry date or a PAO (period after opening) symbol
• Country of origin
• Manufacturer details and UAE importer or responsible-party details
• Net content
• Storage instructions and any warnings

Two points matter more than they look.

Translation isn't just a formality. Arabic and English claims have to carry the same meaning. If the English says "helps reduce the look of dark spots" and your Arabic reads like a medical result, you've created a claims problem in one language that the other doesn't have.

Stickers can work, but only if they're clean. Many importers add an Arabic sticker over the original packaging. If you go that route, make sure it covers all mandatory information, stays legible and doesn't obscure required details. Confirm your approach with the authority or your regulatory consultant before printing thousands of stickers.

Not sure whether your artwork passes? Our Cotasks team can review it before you print. For the listing side of Arabic, see our guide to Arabic keywords that sell on Amazon and Noon.

Step 5: Selling supplements on Amazon UAE (the stricter route)

If you want to sell supplements on Amazon UAE, treat it as a separate project from cosmetics. Supplements are regulated more tightly, and the information online is genuinely inconsistent.

Here's what's reasonably clear:

• Selling unregistered supplements is illegal and can lead to penalties or confiscation.
• Dubai Municipality generally handles general food supplements, while products with medicinal or therapeutic claims, or with restricted or critical ingredients, go to MOHAP (the Ministry of Health and Prevention).
• Sources disagree on which authority handles which products. Several consultancies treat MOHAP as the primary regulator, while others describe a Dubai Municipality route (via Montaji or FIRS) for general supplements. The practical lesson is that classification decides your route, so confirm it with the authority before you spend on testing or artwork.
• Registration is per product, and formula, ingredient or label changes after approval may need to be notified or re-evaluated.
• Amazon.ae and Noon commonly ask for proof of registration before supplements go live. Noon's published listing policy refers to a DHA, MOHAP, Municipality or Montaji certificate for health-related categories.
• Labels need Arabic and English.
• Dubai Municipality turnaround for supplements is commonly quoted at about 20 to 30 working days. MOHAP timing depends on how complex the product is.

Step 6: Claims that can get you blocked

This is the part nobody reads until a listing gets suspended. Under GSO 2528:2024, cosmetic claims need to be truthful, clear and backed by evidence, and they can't turn a cosmetic into something that sounds like a medicine.

Cosmetics: red-flag language

• Words like treats, cures, heals, therapeutic, anti-disease or clinical-sounding terms
• Claiming an ingredient's studies prove your finished product works
• Claims in Arabic that are stronger than the English
• "Dermatologist approved" or "clinically proven" without paperwork you can produce

Supplements: be even more careful

Phrases that are routine in international supplement marketing, such as "supports heart health," "proven to reduce cholesterol" or "clinically tested," can need specific pre-approval in the UAE. If you're not sure, assume it needs approval until someone confirms otherwise.

A safer way to write: describe what the product is and how to use it, then use modest, supportable wording about appearance or feel. "Hydrating body lotion with shea butter" is safe. "Fixes eczema fast" is not.

And keep your marketplace listing consistent with your label. The title, bullets, A+ content, images and Arabic copy should all say what your registered artwork says. A listing that claims more than your label is an easy target.

Step 7: Getting approved on Amazon.ae and Noon

Once your registration is done, marketplace approval is mostly document handling.

Amazon.ae: Beauty and supplements are approval-sensitive categories, so expect to submit proof of registration (for cosmetics, Montaji proof is commonly requested) and to follow Amazon's own category checklist for packaging, labelling, detail pages and ingredients. Upload documents that match your listing exactly. The product name, brand and size on the certificate should match the detail page.

Noon: Noon runs its own whitelisting and the decision is final. Its policy lists documents such as a seller undertaking, VAT certificate and a distribution authorisation agreement, and for health and beauty it points to brand authorisation, an invoice from an authorised distributor and a registration certificate. If Noon asks for more, reply fast, because delays stretch your approval time.

Practical tip: Keep one folder per SKU with the certificate, label artwork, authorisation letter and invoices. When a marketplace asks for documents at 9pm on a Thursday, you'll be glad you did.

The mistakes that cost sellers the most time

1. Designing the label first and checking the rules later. Regulatory review should shape the artwork, not follow it.
2. Registering the brand and assuming SKUs are covered. Each product needs its own approval.
3. Assuming a Free Sale Certificate is enough. It supports your application but doesn't replace registration.
4. Mixing up the two layers. Port clearance (MoIAT/ECAS) and sale in Dubai (Montaji) are different approvals.
5. Copying competitor claims. Some competitors simply haven't been caught yet.
6. Changing the formula or packaging after approval without checking whether you need to notify the authority.

Quick checklist

• Classify the product honestly (cosmetic, supplement or something else)
• Set up a UAE-licensed entity with the right activity and VAT
• Prepare the dossier: artwork, ingredients, safety documents, Free Sale Certificate
• Register through Montaji (cosmetics) or the correct supplement route
• Get ECAS/MoIAT conformity for imports
• Finalise bilingual Arabic and English labels with consistent claims
• Prepare a document folder per SKU
• Apply for category approval on Amazon.ae and Noon
• Match every listing claim to your registered label

FAQs

Tap a question to open the answer.

Final word

Selling beauty online in the UAE rewards sellers who treat compliance as part of the product, not paperwork added at the end. Get the classification right, register each SKU, make the Arabic label say exactly what the English does, and keep your claims modest. Do that and Amazon.ae and Noon become far less intimidating.

If you'd rather hand the paperwork to people who do it daily, get in touch with the Cotasks team and we'll help you map the fastest compliant route for your products.

Official sources worth bookmarking:

• Dubai Municipality (Montaji and product registration)
• Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) (ECAS conformity)
• Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) (supplements and medical products)
• Noon product listing policy
• Amazon Seller Central UAE

About the author

Written by Rahul Bisht at Cotasks. Questions about selling in the UAE? Connect with Rahul on LinkedIn.

Related reading

• How to sell on Amazon.ae and Noon from Dubai: licence, e-Trader, VAT and documents
• Arabic keywords that sell on Amazon and Noon
• Amazon seller account management in the UAE