Cosmetics manufacturing in Vietnam is regulated as a health-adjacent industry: the factory itself must be certified as eligible before the first batch, and every product must be proclaimed before it reaches the market. The ASEAN CGMP system is the yardstick for the factory conditions — investors who design the plant to that standard from day one pass; those who retrofit, pay twice.
The factory gate: certificate of eligibility to produce cosmetics
Under the cosmetics management framework (Decree 93/2016/ND-CP and its guiding rules), a production facility must obtain a certificate of eligibility for cosmetic manufacture from the provincial Department of Health where the plant sits, before production. The assessment is physical: premises layout and flows, water systems, equipment, warehousing, quality control arrangements and personnel — against the ASEAN Guidelines for Cosmetic Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) that Vietnam applies. A foreign-invested manufacturer goes through the same gate as a domestic one, on top of investment registration for the project; contract manufacturing for brand owners uses the same certified-facility logic, with the brand’s proclamation file naming the manufacturing site.
What CGMP actually examines
CGMP is audited as a system. Premises: zoning that separates raw materials, production, filling and finished goods, with controlled flows preventing cross-contamination. Personnel: hygiene rules, health requirements and documented training for production staff. Documentation: master formulas, batch production records, standard operating procedures and traceability from raw material lot to finished batch. Quality control: laboratory capability (in-house or properly contracted) for the tests the product categories require, retention samples and stability thinking. Complaints and recalls: a working procedure, tested before it is needed. Inspectors read the system through its records — a plant that manufactures well but documents badly does not hold CGMP in an audit sense.
After the factory: proclamation per product, and export
Facility certification opens the gate; it does not clear any individual product. Each cosmetic product must complete product proclamation with the competent authority (the Drug Administration of Vietnam for imported products; the provincial health department channel for domestically manufactured ones under the current allocation) and bear the proclamation receipt in its file before circulation. Advertising content and label claims run under the advertising and labelling rules (with the advertising penalty framework now in Decree 87/2026/ND-CP replacing Decree 38/2021 from 15 May 2026). For export, the manufacturer can obtain a certificate of free sale through the health authority; tariff benefits abroad depend on the applicable FTA’s origin rules — the cosmetic file and the origin file are built together where export markets are the business model.
Frequently Asked Questions
What licences are needed to open a cosmetics factory in Vietnam?
The production facility needs a certificate of eligibility for cosmetic production (issued by the provincial health department) after meeting factory conditions, plus enterprise and investment registrations; each product then goes through cosmetic product proclamation before circulation.
What does the CGMP standard for cosmetics include?
The ASEAN CGMP guidelines applied in Vietnam cover premises and zoning, equipment, personnel hygiene and training, documentation and batch records, quality control laboratory functions, and handling of complaints and recalls — audited as one system, not as isolated checklists.
Must cosmetics made in Vietnam be proclaimed?
Yes: cosmetic products must be proclaimed (product notification) with the competent authority before being placed on the market, with the proclamation receipt number on the product file; the manufacturing facility’s eligibility certificate does not replace per-product proclamation.
Are there incentives for exporting cosmetics made in Vietnam?
A certificate of free sale (CFS) is available for export purposes through the health authority channel; tariff preferences depend on the destination FTA and rules of origin, not on the cosmetic regime itself. Vietnamese origin production can use Vietnam’s FTAs where origin criteria are met.
