CPSR Cost UK: How Much Does a Safety Report Cost in 2026?

Understanding CPSR cost UK sellers face is essential before starting your EU cosmetics compliance journey. The Cosmetic Product Safety Report is the single most important compliance document for any cosmetic product sold in the EU or UK. It is a legal requirement under EU Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009 and the UK equivalent. Without a completed CPSR signed by a qualified safety assessor, your product cannot legally be placed on the market — and you cannot submit your CPNP notification.

So how much should you expect to pay? The short answer is that CPSR cost in the UK currently ranges from around £49 at the budget end to £695 or more for complex formulations through enterprise consultancies. The variation is significant, and understanding what drives the price difference helps you make an informed decision.

What Affects CPSR Pricing?

Formula complexity is the primary driver. A simple anhydrous product with five ingredients — a lip balm or body oil, for example — requires less assessment work than a 30-ingredient water-based serum with active claims. More ingredients means more toxicological profiles to evaluate, more Safety Data Sheets to review, and a more detailed exposure calculation.

Water-based versus anhydrous products create a significant cost difference. Any product containing water requires preservative efficacy testing (also called a challenge test) to demonstrate that the preservative system prevents microbial growth. The CPSR must reference this test data. If you have not yet conducted a challenge test, that is an additional cost on top of the CPSR itself — typically £200 to £400 through a testing laboratory.

Claims made on the product affect the assessment scope. A moisturiser making no specific claims is simpler to assess than one claiming to "reduce wrinkles by 30% in four weeks." Efficacy claims require substantiation data, and the safety assessor must evaluate whether the claims are supported. Products with SPF claims require SPF testing data and fall into a higher complexity tier.

Documentation readiness plays a role in the overall cost, if not always in the CPSR price itself. If your ingredient suppliers have not provided Safety Data Sheets, if you lack Certificates of Analysis, or if your stability testing is incomplete, some providers will charge additionally to chase or compile this information. Others will simply return the project as incomplete until you provide everything.

UK Market Pricing Comparison

Based on current market rates, here is how CPSR cost UK providers typically break down across the market.

Budget tier (£49 to £99): providers like Naturallythinking offer CPSRs at the lower end of the market. At this price point, expect a more templated approach suited to simple, straightforward formulations. These services work well for makers producing basic products with few ingredients and no complex claims. The trade-off is typically less individual attention and longer turnaround times during busy periods.

Mid-market (£150 to £295): this is where the majority of the market sits for standard formulations. Oxford Biosciences charges £189 per CPSR with batch discounts bringing the price down to £98 for volume. Naturally Balmy offers CPSRs at £175 plus VAT. Eldris prices the complete compliance package — CPSR plus PIF plus CPNP notification — as a bundled service starting from £295 for simple formulations. At this tier, you get a thorough individual assessment by a named qualified safety assessor.

Enterprise tier (£349 to £695+): providers like MSDS-Europe charge €349 as a base CPSR fee, plus €89 for CPNP notification and €399 for challenge test coordination — costs that add up quickly. Traditional regulatory consultancies serving pharmaceutical and large cosmetics companies can charge £500 to £2,000+ per product, often with discovery calls, proposals, and retainer structures before work begins.

What Should Be Included in a CPSR?

A compliant CPSR must contain two parts as specified in Annex I of Regulation 1223/2009.

Part A — Cosmetic Product Safety Information covers the quantitative and qualitative composition of the product, physical and chemical characteristics, stability data, microbiological quality, impurities and traces, packaging material information, normal and reasonably foreseeable use, exposure to the product, exposure to the individual ingredients, toxicological profile of each substance, undesirable effects and serious undesirable effects, and any other relevant information.

Part B — Cosmetic Product Safety Assessment is the actual assessment conclusion, where the qualified safety assessor evaluates all the information in Part A and delivers a formal opinion on whether the product is safe for human health. Part B must be signed and dated by the assessor, whose qualifications must be stated.

When comparing providers, check that the quoted price covers both parts fully. Some budget providers produce Part A only, leaving you to source Part B separately — which defeats much of the purpose.

The Qualified Safety Assessor Requirement

The CPSR is not a document that anyone can produce. EU Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009 specifies that the safety assessment in Part B must be carried out by a person who holds a diploma or other evidence of formal qualifications in pharmacy, toxicology, medicine, or a similar discipline. The assessor's qualifications and their professional experience must be stated in the CPSR.

This is worth verifying with any provider you consider. The safety assessor's signature on Part B carries legal weight — they are professionally certifying that the product is safe based on the evidence provided. Any CPSR service should be able to confirm who will assess your product and what their qualifications are.

Hidden Costs to Watch For

The CPSR itself is only one part of the compliance picture. Before you can get a CPSR produced, you need supporting documentation — and obtaining that documentation has its own costs.

Stability testing: if you have not already conducted stability testing on your product, you will need to arrange this through a laboratory. Costs range from £150 to £500 depending on the testing programme. The CPSR cannot be completed without stability data.

Preservative efficacy testing: required for all water-containing products. Budget £200 to £400 through a UK testing laboratory. Without this data, the safety assessor cannot conclude that the product is microbiologically safe.

Safety Data Sheets: you need an SDS for every raw material in your formulation, sourced from the actual supplier you use. If your suppliers have not provided these, chasing them takes time and some consultancies charge for the administrative work involved.

IFRA certificates: if your product contains fragrance, you need an IFRA certificate from the fragrance supplier confirming compliance with IFRA standards and listing all allergens. No IFRA certificate means the fragrance component cannot be properly assessed.

A provider quoting £150 for a CPSR but requiring you to source all documentation yourself may end up costing more in time and effort than a provider charging £295 to £395 who guides you through the documentation requirements and flags gaps early. Consider the total cost of getting compliant, not just the CPSR line item.

CPSR as Part of a Complete Package

The CPSR feeds into two things: the CPNP notification and the Product Information File. You cannot do the CPNP without a completed CPSR, and your PIF is incomplete without it. This is why Eldris bundles all three — CPSR, PIF, and CPNP notification — into a single per-product service rather than charging separately for each component.

Bundling avoids the situation where you pay one provider for a CPSR, then discover you need to pay separately for PIF compilation, then separately again for CPNP submission. Each handoff between providers creates delay, and each separate fee adds up. A single provider handling the full chain from document collection through to CPNP reference number delivery simplifies the process and keeps total costs predictable.

For sellers who also need an EU Responsible Person, Eldris offers bundle pricing through responsible.eldris.ai — combining the EURP appointment with the full cosmetics documentation package at a combined rate.

Making the Right Choice

When evaluating CPSR cost UK sellers should remember that the cheapest option is not always the most cost-effective. Consider what is included in the price, whether the provider handles the full compliance chain or just the CPSR in isolation, the turnaround time, and the qualifications of the safety assessor who will sign your report.

For Amazon sellers and e-commerce brands with one to fifty cosmetic SKUs, the mid-market tier offers the best balance of thoroughness, speed, and value. Enterprise consultancies are designed for large cosmetics houses with complex regulatory needs. Budget services suit very simple products from experienced makers who already have all their documentation in order.

Wherever you land, the CPSR is not optional. It is the foundation of your EU cosmetics compliance, and getting it right the first time saves you from reformulation costs, notification delays, and potential listing suspensions down the line.