IFRA 51st Amendment in 2026: dates, categories, attar and the 52nd

The IFRA 51st Amendment, notified by IFRA on 30 June 2023, is the current set of IFRA Standards, and all its deadlines have passed, the last on 30 October 2025. The 52nd Amendment is still proposed, and IFRA expects to notify it in January 2027.

This guide is for regulatory, QA and R&D staff at fragrance houses, perfume and attar brands and cosmetics makers in the GCC, and for the buyers who check their certificates.

What does the 51st Amendment require, and by when?

IFRA Standards prohibit ingredients, restrict their use or set purity specifications, based on RIFM safety assessments approved by the independent Expert Panel for Fragrance Safety. IFRA's Code of Practice of April 2021 makes them mandatory for all IFRA member companies.

IFRA's Notification letter lists 48 new and 11 revised Standards in the 51st Amendment, and one merged "Annex on contributions from other sources" for natural contributions and Schiff bases. IFRA's Guidance warns that meeting the Standards may not be enough for regulatory compliance or safety.

IFRA's letter defines an existing creation as a compound already sold, or already in performance evaluation, in a defined consumer product. The grace period covers only that compound in that product. A new creation is any mixture whose brief was issued after the seven-month information-exchange period.

The dates apply to the fragrance mixture, not to finished goods on a shelf. IFRA takes the compliance date as the day the mixture leaves the fragrance house, documented as the earlier of the dispatch date or the invoice date.

What will the 52nd Amendment change?

IFRA consulted on the 52nd Amendment from 12 December 2025 to 12 June 2026 and published its End of Consultation Letter on 31 August 2026. Nothing in it applies until IFRA notifies the Amendment. The calendar dates in the table are our estimates from IFRA's 11-month and 30-month rule.

IFRA expects 48 new restriction Standards on dermal sensitisation, 15 revised restriction Standards and 3 revised phototoxicity Standards. The furocoumarin Standard would become "Furocoumarins in Natural Complex Substances", with a skin-contact limit of 1 ppm for products for deliberate sun exposure and 5 ppm for other leave-on products. Eight individual NCS Standards would be withdrawn.

Two expected changes matter for home fragrance and supplier paperwork. IFRA proposes aligning Category 10B phototoxicity limits with rinse-off products at 50 ppm, and says this affects reed diffusers. Recheck diffuser categories when IFRA notifies. The revised furocoumarin policy would also change how maximum concentrations are shown on the IFRA certificate.

Which IFRA category is your product in?

IFRA's Guidance sorts consumer products into 12 categories, several split into sub-categories. Category 4 is fine fragrance, 5A body lotion, 10A household care mostly with hand contact and 12 air care not meant for skin contact. Table 11 of the Guidance lists product types against each category.

The maximum acceptable concentrations (MACs) in IFRA's restriction Standards apply to the finished consumer product, not to the fragrance mixture. Where a product crosses several uses, the most stringent restriction applies. If a product type is not in Table 11, IFRA leaves the finished-product maker to categorise it.

Body mists (§6.5.6), reed diffusers (§6.5.18) and pillow spray (§6.5.20) have their own sections in the Guidance, so check those as well as Table 11.

How should attar and bakhour be categorised?

IFRA's Guidance §6.5.16 describes attar as a concentrated, ethanol-free fragrance oil preferred by some religious groups. It is worn neat like a fine fragrance or a body oil. It also appears as diluted attar-type fragrances, fabric sprays, incense and reed diffusers, so IFRA says attar cannot be given one category.

IFRA leaves the choice to the finished-product maker, by intended or foreseeable use. Table 10 of the Guidance lists the categories by use:

• worn like a fine fragrance or eau de toilette: Category 4
• used like a body oil or lotion: Category 5A
• intimate exposure: Category 8
• fabric spray or reed diffuser: Category 10A
• incense or other non-skin use: Category 12

If no end use is specified, IFRA recommends the most stringent outcome.

Bakhour is not named in the 51st Amendment Guidance, but Table 10 already puts attar used as incense in Category 12. IFRA's 52nd Amendment letter says §6.5.16 will be revised and retitled "Specific product types described as Attar or Bakhour", for products marketed mainly in the Arabian region. Until IFRA notifies that change, the current §6.5.16 and Table 10 remain the reference.

Is an IFRA certificate the same as a government certificate of conformity?

No. Gulf trade uses the phrase for two different documents. IFRA does not certify compliance with its Standards (Guidance §6.8). It only offers a template Certificate of Conformity, dated 12 December 2019.

The IFRA certificate is the fragrance supplier's own declaration. It states that a named mixture, up to a stated concentration, can be used in a specified consumer product in compliance with the Standards up to a named Amendment. The certificate does not replace a safety assessment or national rules, and IFRA takes no responsibility for its content.

So check every certificate against your own product. A certificate for one category or concentration does not cover another, and one naming an older Amendment does not show compliance with the 51st.

The government certificate is a third-party conformity check. Saudi Arabia's SFDA designates conformity assessment bodies that issue conformity certificates for cosmetics against SFDA.CO/GSO 1943, GSO 2528, ISO 22716 and the banned and restricted ingredient lists. Our guide to cosmetics GMP in the GCC covers GSO 1943:2024 and GSO 2528:2024.

In practice, your brand customer asks for the IFRA certificate and the conformity assessment body for its own certificate. None of the GCC documents cited in this guide lists the IFRA certificate as a required document.

What do Dubai Municipality and the EU add?

Dubai Municipality's Technical Guidelines for Fragrance Products, Version 2.0 of 4 May 2024, cover perfumes, body mists, aftershaves, alcohol-free concentrated oils, home fragrances, diffusers and scented candles. Under the guideline, no fragrance product may be made, imported, sold or advertised in Dubai unless it is registered in DM's Montaji system. Registration is valid for 5 years.

The Montaji dossier needs an ingredient report, signed or stamped by the manufacturer, giving the exact percentage of each ingredient and listing every allergen above 0.001%. UAE-made products need an ISO 22716 GMP certificate, which our ISO 22716 guide explains. Imports need a Free Sale Certificate, and DM also asks for an accredited laboratory report covering allergens, methanol and Bitrex.

DM's guideline still cites the IFRA 49th Amendment End of Consultation Letter of 18 November 2019 in its references, and its label rules refer to the older 26 allergens. A supplier working to the 51st Amendment and the EU's 2023 allergen list is ahead of that reference, not behind it. Registration routes depend on the emirate and the product, so check with the authority where you sell.

For EU exports, Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/1545 brings in individual labelling for 56 additional fragrance allergens identified by the SCCS. Each must be named above 0.001% in leave-on and 0.01% in rinse-off products, the same thresholds Dubai Municipality uses. Non-compliant products could be placed on the EU market only until 31 July 2026 and may be made available until 31 July 2028.

How AGS can help

The Fragrance Compliance Management System aligned to IFRA Standards (51st Amendment) has 24 documents in editable Microsoft Word. They include a master IFRA compliance manual, a categorisation guide with an attar table, a supplier certificate verification procedure, five forms, six checklists, three registers and four training documents. Its amendment tracking register already carries a 52nd Amendment watch-list. It does not contain the IFRA Standards, Dubai Municipality registration content or an ISO 22716 GMP system.

Frequently asked questions

Do IFRA Standards apply to aromatherapy and medical devices?

Not to aromatherapy applications, medical devices, prescription drugs or products used in occupational settings, which IFRA's Guidance excludes because RIFM assessments do not cover them. An oil sold as a body oil or home fragrance is still in scope. Sunscreens are in scope where they are regulated as cosmetics, as in Europe.

Must a supplier list restricted ingredients on its IFRA certificate?

No. IFRA's Guidance lets suppliers add the concentrations of ingredients subject to IFRA Standards on a voluntary basis. The old "IFRA classes" have been obsolete since the 49th Amendment, so a certificate should name a category instead.

Will the 52nd Amendment cover traces of prohibited substances?

No. IFRA's End of Consultation Letter says the roles of raw material suppliers, fragrance houses and finished-product makers on traces will be reviewed in a future Amendment.

AGS provides independent documentation toolkits. This guide and the referenced kit are not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by IFRA, Dubai Municipality, the SFDA, GSO or the European Commission. It is general information, not legal or regulatory advice. Which rules apply depends on your product, its category and the markets where you sell.

Reviewed October 2026. Facts checked against the sources current at publication.