Brazil Enforces a Ban on Animal Testing for Cosmetics

By Raissa Havens, Senior Regulatory Specialist, Supply Chain Team, UL Solutions

Brazil has now prohibited animal testing throughout the entire nation through the enactment of Law No. 15.183 of July 30, 2025. There were already a couple regional laws in force, such as Law No. 15.316 of January 23, 2014, for São Paulo and Law No. 7.814 of December 15, 2017, for Rio de Janeiro, and the ban has now expanded to the federal level.

Law No. 15.183/2025 prohibits the use of live vertebrate animals for testing the safety, efficacy, or toxicity of ingredients for cosmetic purposes.

Ingredients and products that were tested before the law's effective date can still be marketed normally; however, they may not include on their label or packaging, phrases such as "not tested on animals" or "cruelty-free”.

Tests that are conducted in the non-cosmetic field are permitted and there are a few exemptions to this law under Article 18, if:

• ingredients cannot be replaced,
• there are concerns on human health impact,
• there are no alternative methods capable of meeting the testing requirements.

For the cases above, tests must be previously approved by the National Council for the Control of Animal Experimentation, affiliated with the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The ban took effect on its publication date, which was July 31, 2025.

The competent health authorities have a 2-year implementation period from the publication date to promote alternative testing methods and ensure the dissemination of these techniques throughout the country.

References

Law No. 15.316 of January 23, 2014

Law No. 7.814 of December 15, 2017

Law No. 15.183 of July 30, 2025