Updated October 2026 · 8 min read · Hadjer Ben, COO
Montaji is Dubai Municipality’s online platform for consumer products. Cosmetics and personal care products must be registered in Montaji before they are imported, advertised or sold in Dubai. The applicant is a company with a Dubai trade licence covering cosmetics, or the importer or local agent of a foreign brand. You submit a free sale certificate, a signed ingredient report and a lab test report. Registration costs AED 10 per product and per variant, and a certificate is valid for five years.
Widget System guides beauty brands through Montaji registration as part of an Amazon.ae launch, so listings go live with the registered product details. Everything below comes from Dubai Municipality’s own guidelines, linked at each section. We are not a regulator or a law firm; confirm your case with Dubai Municipality before you import.
Montaji is Dubai Municipality’s integrated smart platform for consumer products. It handles product registration, import and re-export of consignments, product listing, advertisement permits, free sale and registration certificates, and online fee payment.
It covers cosmetics and personal care products, fragrances, detergents, biocides, health supplements, food contact materials and children’s toys. You reach it from the Dubai Municipality website under Services, “Consumer Product Registration Service (Montaji)”.
Sources: Dubai Municipality, Technical Guidelines for Consumer Products E-commerce (v2.0, 14 May 2024); Dubai Municipality, Guidelines for Consumer Products Import and Re-export (v2.0, 2 May 2025); Dubai Municipality, Technical Guidelines for Cosmetics and Personal Care Products (v2.1, 15 Sep 2025).
All cosmetics and personal care products placed on the Dubai market: skin, face, hand, foot, eye and lip care, makeup, sunscreen, shaving products, depilatories, nail products, oral hygiene, baby products, and hair and scalp products. Professional-use, business-to-business and hotel amenity products are in scope too.
Some products are not treated as cosmetics and are out of scope for this registration, including products that claim to prevent or treat a condition (acne, eczema, psoriasis, hair loss), hair or eyelash regrowth products, products used with invasive techniques such as derma rollers, massage oils, nail and eyelash glue, vaginal washes and nasal sprays. Check which authority covers your product before you plan a launch.
Source: Dubai Municipality, Technical Guidelines for Cosmetics and Personal Care Products (v2.1, 15 Sep 2025).
The import guideline refers to a licence from any UAE authority, while the cosmetics guideline asks for a Dubai licence. If your company is licensed outside Dubai, confirm eligibility with Dubai Municipality first.
Sources: Dubai Municipality, Technical Guidelines for Cosmetics and Personal Care Products (v2.1, 15 Sep 2025); Dubai Municipality, Guidelines for Consumer Products Import and Re-export (v2.0, 2 May 2025).
The three Dubai Municipality guidelines list the documents slightly differently, so prepare the full set above rather than the shortest list.
Sources: Dubai Municipality, Technical Guidelines for Cosmetics and Personal Care Products (v2.1, 15 Sep 2025); Dubai Municipality, Technical Guidelines for Consumer Products E-commerce (v2.0, 14 May 2024); Dubai Municipality, Guidelines for Consumer Products Import and Re-export (v2.0, 2 May 2025).
Ingredients must be declared in clear English and/or Arabic, using INCI or botanical names. The label also needs the brand and product name, manufacturer or UAE agent with address, country of origin, pack size, production and expiry dates, batch number, barcode, storage conditions, instructions, intended use and warnings.
Medical claims are not allowed on labels, leaflets or advertisements. Allergens must be listed when they reach 0.001% in leave-on products or 0.01% in rinse-off products.
Source: Dubai Municipality, Technical Guidelines for Cosmetics and Personal Care Products (v2.1, 15 Sep 2025).
| Substance | Limit in Dubai Municipality guideline |
|---|---|
| Lead | 10 ppm |
| Cadmium, arsenic, mercury | 3 ppm (1 ppm in baby, oral and eye products) |
| Parabens | 0.4% each, 0.8% in total |
| Hydroquinone in whitening products | Absent |
| Hydrogen peroxide in skin products | 4% |
| Free formaldehyde, asbestos | Absent |
The guideline also refers to GSO 1943:2016 and EU Regulation 1223/2009 for restricted substances. A lab report that shows these values saves a round of questions.
Source: Dubai Municipality, Technical Guidelines for Cosmetics and Personal Care Products (v2.1, 15 Sep 2025), annex.
Sources: Dubai Municipality, Technical Guidelines for Consumer Products E-commerce (v2.0, 14 May 2024); Dubai Municipality, Guidelines for Consumer Products Import and Re-export (v2.0, 2 May 2025); Dubai Municipality, Technical Guidelines for Cosmetics and Personal Care Products (v2.1, 15 Sep 2025).
Dubai Municipality says all consumer products sold online must comply, whether shipped from a Dubai warehouse or from abroad, and that products must be registered before they are imported to the local market. Products held in a free zone and not sold into the local market do not need registration. The guidelines do not name Amazon or other marketplaces.
Our practice for beauty brands launching on Amazon.ae: register in Montaji before the first shipment into Dubai, use the exact registered product name in the listing, and keep the registration reference with your shipment paperwork. Advertising and promotion of cosmetics, including on social media, also needs pre-approval through Montaji.
Selling in Saudi Arabia is a separate registration with the Saudi Food and Drug Authority. See our page for beauty brands on Amazon.ae and Amazon.sa.
Sources: Dubai Municipality, Technical Guidelines for Consumer Products E-commerce (v2.0, 14 May 2024); Dubai Municipality, Technical Guidelines for Cosmetics and Personal Care Products (v2.1, 15 Sep 2025).
We guide beauty brands through Montaji registration as part of launch planning, then build Arabic and English listings, A+ Content and Amazon PPC, so the product that is registered is the product that is listed.
Montaji is Dubai Municipality’s online platform for consumer products. It handles product registration, import and re-export, product listing, advertisement permits and certificates.
Yes. Dubai Municipality’s cosmetics guideline says no cosmetic may be imported, advertised, sold or distributed in Dubai unless it is registered in Montaji.
AED 10 per product and per variant, according to Dubai Municipality’s e-commerce guideline (v2.0, May 2024).
Five years.
A free sale certificate from the country of origin, an ingredient report signed by the manufacturer, a lab test report and product artwork. Local manufacturers also need ISO 22716, and a halal certificate is required if the label shows a halal logo.
Dubai Municipality’s cosmetics guideline asks for ingredients to be declared in clear English and/or Arabic.
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