Halal cosmetics have their own standards: GSO 2055-4:2021 in the Gulf, UAE.S 2055-4 in the UAE, OIC/SMIIC 4:2018 in SMIIC member states and MS 2634:2019 in Malaysia. A halal certification body checks the maker's ingredient evidence, alcohol controls, line cleaning and records against the standard its target market accepts.
This guide is for formulators, QA managers, contract manufacturers and suppliers of cosmetic chemicals and biochemicals who sell into the GCC, Malaysia, Indonesia or other OIC markets.
Which standards set halal requirements for cosmetics and chemicals?
Each market uses its own cosmetics standard or scheme. They come from different bodies and were published in different years, so the first step is to find out which one your buyer or regulator expects.
The Gulf standard is GSO 2055-4:2021, Halal Products Part 4, on requirements for halal cosmetics and personal care. GSO approved it on 1 July 2021 as its first edition. The UAE's Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) lists UAE.S 2055-4 under a matching title, Requirements for Cosmetics and Personal care. MoIAT's page does not show the UAE edition, so confirm it with the ministry.
SMIIC, the standards institute of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, published OIC/SMIIC 4:2018, Halal Cosmetics General Requirements, on 22 March 2018. Its technical committee on halal cosmetic issues (TC2) developed it, according to SMIIC's announcement. Malaysia's standard is MS 2634:2019, Halal cosmetics General requirements, approved on 25 March 2019 as a first revision.
| Market | Cosmetics standard or rule | Owner | Edition or date | Who certifies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GCC | GSO 2055-4:2021 | GCC Standardization Organization (GSO) | Edition 1, approved 1 July 2021 | Halal certification bodies meeting GSO 2055-2:2021 and its 2024 amendment |
| UAE | UAE.S 2055-4 | MoIAT | Edition not shown by MoIAT, confirm with the ministry | Bodies registered by MoIAT. The Halal National Mark is optional |
| SMIIC member states | OIC/SMIIC 4:2018 | SMIIC (OIC) | Published 22 March 2018 | Bodies working to OIC/SMIIC 2:2019, as accepted by each national authority |
| Malaysia | MS 2634:2019 | Department of Standards Malaysia | Approved 25 March 2019 | JAKIM, or a foreign body JAKIM recognises |
| Indonesia | BPJPH halal product assurance rules | BPJPH | Cosmetics obligation applies after 17 October 2026 | BPJPH issues the certificate |
Why is OIC/SMIIC 1 not the standard for cosmetics?
OIC/SMIIC 1:2019 sets general requirements for halal food. GSO 2055-1:2015, a Gulf Technical Regulation approved on 5 November 2015, does the same for food in the Gulf. Some older material builds a cosmetics system on these food documents. That misses the cosmetics standards listed above.
The certification body standards are different again. GSO 2055-2:2021, amended in October 2024, and OIC/SMIIC 2:2019 set requirements for the bodies that issue halal certificates. A manufacturer is not certified to them. They matter to you because they decide which certificates your buyers will accept.
Chemical and biochemical makers whose products go into food have one more document to check. SMIIC lists OIC/SMIIC 24:2020, General Requirements for Food Additives and Other Added Chemicals to Halal Food. A supplier selling the same emulsifier into both cosmetics and food may face both standards.
How does halal certification of cosmetics work in the UAE?
The legal basis is Cabinet Resolution No. 10 of 2014 on the UAE system for control of halal products. MoIAT summarises it this way: the establishment gets halal certificates for its final products and the raw materials used in production from certification bodies the ministry has registered. Those bodies must apply the approved UAE halal standards, which include UAE.S 2055-4 for cosmetics and personal care.
On top of the certificate, MoIAT issues a Halal National Mark. Its halal programme page says the mark is optional and can be granted to a product, a service or a production system. MoIAT's 2022 figures show 1,004 marks issued for cosmetics and personal care products, against 6,581 for food.
In practice, check two things before you choose a certification body. Is it on MoIAT's register of halal certification bodies? Does its registered scope include cosmetics? The UAE system, as MoIAT describes it, rests on certificates from registered bodies.
Which ingredients and records do halal auditors check?
Halal questions in cosmetics centre on materials that can come from more than one source. The list below is AGS's practical summary, not the wording of any standard. Your certification body's rulings decide what is acceptable.
- Glycerine, fatty acids, stearates and many surfactants can come from animal fat or plant oils. Auditors ask for the source in writing, not an assumption.
- Collagen, gelatin, keratin and some hyaluronic acid are animal-derived or can be. They need halal evidence for the animal and its processing.
- Enzymes and fermentation-derived actives need the source organism and the growth media checked.
- Ethanol and other alcohols in fragrances, toners and cleaning agents. Positions differ between schemes and bodies, so get your body's position in writing.
- Colourants such as carmine, which is made from cochineal insects.
Behind each material sits a record trail. Auditors typically want a current halal certificate or source statement for each sensitive material, checked against an approved materials list. They compare formulation sheets with that list and look at batch records.
Where a line also runs non-halal products, they ask for cleaning and changeover records. They also check that a reformulation or supplier change triggered a halal review before launch.
Halal controls sit on top of cosmetics good manufacturing practice. Our guide to ISO 22716 cosmetics GMP covers that base. Containers and closures raise their own questions, covered in our guide to halal packaging under UAE.S.
What changes for Malaysia and Indonesia?
In Malaysia, JAKIM lists cosmetics and personal care as a halal certification category, with a separate category for contract manufacturing (OEM). JAKIM recognises selected foreign certification bodies and can withdraw that recognition. In March 2025 it announced withdrawals for bodies in France, Croatia and China. A Gulf or SMIIC certificate is therefore not automatically valid for Malaysia.
Indonesia has a legal deadline. BPJPH stated in May 2025 that under Government Regulation 42 of 2024, drugs, cosmetics, chemical products, genetically engineered products and consumer goods must be halal certified after 17 October 2026. Exporters should confirm with BPJPH how the date applies to their product and whether their foreign certificate is recognised.
Can one halal assurance system serve several markets?
One internal system can, but one certificate cannot. Ingredient approval, supplier evidence, segregation, cleaning, traceability, training and internal audit are common to every scheme. A single set of procedures can run them.
The certificates stay separate. Each market accepts certificates issued under its own scheme, by a body it registers or recognises. A practical design keeps one procedure set and a checklist for each scheme you hold. It applies the strictest position wherever schemes differ, for example on ethanol.
How AGS can help
Each kit contains editable Microsoft Word documents for a halal assurance system in this sector:
- UAE.S HAS - Chemicals, Biochemicals & Cosmetics: 39 documents.
- GSO HAS - Chemicals, Biochemicals & Cosmetics: 41 documents.
- SMIIC HAS - Chemicals, Biochemicals & Cosmetics: 45 documents.
- Integrated HAS - Chemicals, Biochemicals & Cosmetics (GSO, JAKIM, SJPH, SMIIC, UAE.S): 39 documents.
More halal kits are in the Food Safety and Halal collection.
Frequently asked questions
Is halal certification mandatory for cosmetics sold in the UAE?
The Halal National Mark is optional. MoIAT says Cabinet Resolution No. 10 of 2014 requires halal certificates for final products and raw materials from bodies it registers. Confirm with MoIAT how this applies to your product and its claim.
Are OIC/SMIIC 4 and GSO 2055-4 the same document?
No. They are separate standards from different bodies, published in 2018 and 2021. Work from the text your certification body audits against.
Do halal pharmaceuticals follow the cosmetics standard?
No. SMIIC publishes a separate standard for them, OIC/SMIIC 50-1:2022, Halal Pharmaceuticals Part 1.
Does buying documentation make a product halal certified?
No. Only a halal certification body can certify a product, after auditing how your system works in practice.
AGS provides independent documentation toolkits. This guide and the kits are not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by GSO, MoIAT, SMIIC, JAKIM, BPJPH, the Department of Standards Malaysia or any halal certification body. Buying documentation is not halal certification.
Reviewed October 2026. Facts checked against the sources current at publication.
