Import & compliance
Do You Have to Notify Health Canada to Sell Cosmetics?
Yes — under the Food and Drugs Act and the Cosmetic Regulations, the party responsible for a cosmetic's first sale in Canada must notify Health Canada using a Cosmetic Notification Form (CNF) within 10 days of that first sale. This applies to soap, hair oil, henna, skin creams and every other product regulated as a cosmetic rather than a food or a drug — Aleppo soap and the wider personal-care range included. There's no fee for filing a cosmetic notification; it's a disclosure requirement, not a licensing purchase.
The obligation sits with whoever is the manufacturer or the importer bringing the product to market in Canada for the first time — not with every retailer that later resells it. A shop stocking soap or hair oil bought from an already-compliant Canadian supplier generally isn't the party responsible for filing.
Who actually has to file
The Cosmetic Regulations place the notification duty on the manufacturer, or on the importer if the product is made outside Canada — whichever party is bringing that specific cosmetic to the Canadian market for the first time (Health Canada — cosmetics; Cosmetic Regulations, C.R.C., c. 869). A retailer or wholesale buyer purchasing already-notified stock from a Canadian supplier isn't the party responsible for that filing — the obligation travels with whoever holds the import or manufacturing relationship, not with everyone downstream who later sells the product.
The 10-day window and what the CNF actually asks for
The clock starts at first sale in Canada, not at manufacture or import — notification is due within 10 days of a product actually being sold, and it covers details like the product category, the responsible party's contact information and the cosmetic's function. There's no cost to file a CNF; it functions as a registry entry for Health Canada rather than a paid licence or approval step, and filing it doesn't amount to Health Canada pre-approving the formulation.
Where this fits alongside labelling rules
Notification is one half of the cosmetic compliance picture; the label itself carries its own separate requirements, including an INCI-format ingredient list — see Do soap labels need INCI ingredient names? for that side of it. Both obligations apply the same way to soap as to any other cosmetic category, whether it's made in Canada or imported, and What are the regulations for selling imported soap in Canada? ties the two together for anyone bringing soap in themselves rather than buying already-compliant stock.
Why this rarely touches a retail or gift-shop buyer directly
A gift shop, spa or specialty grocer stocking Aleppo soap or hair oil bought through a Canadian wholesale supplier is buying product that's already moved through the notification and labelling steps on the way to a domestic warehouse — the same pattern as duty and customs clearance on the food side. That's worth knowing precisely because the question comes up so often from retailers assuming soap is regulated like food: it isn't, and buying already-compliant stock is what keeps most Canadian resellers off the hook for filing anything themselves.
Related questions
Does a retailer reselling soap need to file its own cosmetic notification?
Generally no — the manufacturer or importer bringing the product to market first is the party responsible. Confirm the arrangement directly with your supplier if you're unsure who filed.
Is there a fee to submit a Cosmetic Notification Form?
No — filing a CNF with Health Canada carries no fee. It's a disclosure requirement, not a paid licence.
Is this legal advice?
No. This is general regulatory guidance, not legal advice — confirm your specific obligations directly with Health Canada.