Can mouthwash be exported to China, and is it filed like toothpaste?

Mouthwash can be exported to China, but it is not filed as toothpaste merely because it is used in the mouth. Toothpaste has its own filing rules. A mouthwash may be an ordinary cosmetic when it is applied in the mouth for a cosmetic cleaning or freshening purpose and does not claim to treat oral disease. A mouthwash whose purpose is to treat infection, act as a drug or serve as a disinfectant should not be forced into cosmetics or toothpaste filing. Follow the rules and system requirements in force at the time of submission for the precise oral-care border.

Published 11 November 2026 · Updated 11 November 2026

How to judge the path

Anti-caries, desensitizing or other toothpaste-type efficacies do not automatically transfer to a rinse. See toothpaste.

Whitening rinses should be read against whether they remain cosmetic oral-care products or become something else.

Typical documents, tests and labels

If the rinse qualifies as an ordinary cosmetic, Testing and ordinary cosmetics filing may proceed in parallel. The ordinary filing cycle is about 10–20 days in total, depending on completeness and supplementary requests. That timing applies only to ordinary cosmetics filing, never to special cosmetics registration and not as a guaranteed import timeline. For general-trade import of a finished product, complete the required filing or registration before import, appoint a Domestic Responsible Person, and apply a Chinese label that meets the Cosmetics Labeling Rules. Customs and inspection-quarantine formalities are a separate process. Cross-border e-commerce retail import is a different channel with list, platform and personal-use limits; it is not a blanket “no filing” rule and not a path to unrestricted domestic resale. Jinshang Testing organizes the compliance work. Testing is coordinated with partner laboratories, and those laboratories issue the reports they perform. After a record is issued, check it on the official NMPA filing query https://hzpba.nmpa.gov.cn/gccx/ and the NMPA data-search page https://datasearch.nmpa.gov.cn/datasearch/home-index.html#category=hzp.

Cautions

Do not claim to treat periodontitis, ulcers or infection on a cosmetic mouthwash. Alcohol content and any restricted oral substances must meet the applicable technical standards.

Questions we are often asked

Can I use a toothpaste filing number on a matching mouthwash?

No. They are different products and, in many cases, different product classes. Each needs the record that matches what it actually is.

Is a fluoride rinse toothpaste?

Not automatically. Classify it by definition, intended use and the rules then in force rather than by the presence of fluoride alone.