Permitted UV Filters — Annex VI
Annex VI of EU Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009 lists UV filters permitted for use in cosmetic products. This grouped page currently contains 33 UV-filter records with the relevant use conditions and limits.
How this annex works
Annex VI lists the 33 UV filters permitted in EU cosmetics. It is the shortest annex and the most actively revised — several entries have been narrowed since 2021 on exposure grounds.
- 33 permitted UV filters, every one with a maximum concentration.
- Not listed means not permitted for UV protection, so a filter approved elsewhere may have no EU entry.
- Nano forms are treated as distinct entries with their own conditions.
- Recent amendments narrowed several filters by product type as well as by concentration.
Thirty-three entries make this the shortest of the annexes, and the gap between it and other markets is why a sunscreen rarely travels unchanged. A filter permitted in Japan, Australia or the United States may have no EU entry at all, and without one it may not be used for UV protection here.
The annex has also moved more than the others in recent years. Homosalate was cut to face products only at 7.34%, which removes it from body sunscreens entirely. Benzophenone-3 was reduced and split by product group. Octocrylene carries a condition about benzophenone arising as an impurity or a degradation product — a substance the formula never adds and that is prohibited in its own right. Each of those changes followed an SCCS reassessment of exposure rather than a new hazard finding.
Nano forms are separate. Where a filter is permitted as a nanomaterial, the entry states it and attaches its own conditions, commonly including that it not be used in applications that may lead to exposure of the lungs by inhalation. A nano grade is not covered by the entry for the conventional one.
As with the other positive lists, the concentration is a ceiling and not a performance claim. What SPF a product achieves is a testing question, and a filter at its maximum is not thereby delivering protection.
Checked against
Annex VI records
33 total| Entry | Substance | CAS | Max concentration | Flags |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | OCTOCRYLENECAS 6197-30-4 | 6197-30-4 | See conditions | |
| 11 | POLYACRYLAMIDOMETHYL BENZYLIDENE CAMPHORCAS 113783-61-2 | 113783-61-2 | 6% | |
| 12 | ETHYLHEXYL METHOXYCINNAMATECAS 5466-77-3 | 5466-77-3 | 10% | |
| 13 | PEG-25 PABACAS 116242-27-4 | 116242-27-4 | 10% | |
| 14 | Isoamyl p-MethoxycinnamateCAS 71617-10-2 | 71617-10-2 | 10% | |
| 15 | Ethylhexyl TriazoneCAS 88122-99-0 | 88122-99-0 | 5% | |
| 16 | DROMETRIZOLE TRISILOXANECAS 155633-54-8 | 155633-54-8 | 15% | |
| 17 | DIETHYLHEXYL BUTAMIDO TRIAZONECAS 154702-15-5 | 154702-15-5 | 10% | |
| 2 | Camphor benzalkonium methosulfateCAS 52793-97-2 | 52793-97-2 | 6% | |
| 20 | ETHYLHEXYL SALICYLATECAS 118-60-5 | 118-60-5 | 5% | |
| 21 | ETHYLHEXYL DIMETHYL PABACAS 21245-02-3 | 21245-02-3 | 8% | |
| 22 | Benzophenone-4; Benzophenone-5CAS 4065-45-6 / 6628-37-1 | 4065-45-6 / 6628-37-1 | 5%(as acid) | |
| 23 | METHYLENE BIS-BENZOTRIAZOLYL TETRAMETHYLBUTYLPHENOLCAS 103597-45-1 | 103597-45-1 | 10% | |
| 23a | METHYLENE BIS-BENZOTRIAZOLYL TETRAMETHYLBUTYLPHENOL (NANO)CAS 103597-45-1 | 103597-45-1 | 10 %(*) | |
| 24 | DISODIUM PHENYL DIBENZIMIDAZOLE TETRASULFONATECAS 180898-37-7 | 180898-37-7 | 10%(as acid) | |
| 25 | BIS-ETHYLHEXYLOXYPHENOL METHOXYPHENYL TRIAZINECAS 187393-00-6 | 187393-00-6 | 10% | |
| 26 | Polysilicone-15CAS 207574-74-1 | 207574-74-1 | 10% | |
| 27 | TITANIUM DIOXIDECAS 13463-67-7[1]/ 1317-70-0[2]/ 1317-80-2[3] | 13463-67-7[1]/ 1317-70-0[2]/ 1317-80-2[3] | 25%* | |
| 27a | TITANIUM DIOXIDE (NANO)CAS 13463-67-7[1]/ 1317-70-0[2]/ 1317-80-2[3] | 13463-67-7[1]/ 1317-70-0[2]/ 1317-80-2[3] | 25% | |
| 28 | DIETHYLAMINO HYDROXYBENZOYL HEXYL BENZOATECAS 302776-68-7 | 302776-68-7 | 10% | |
| 29 | TRIS-BIPHENYL TRIAZINE / TRIS-BIPHENYL TRIAZINE (NANO)CAS 31274-51-8 | 31274-51-8 | 10% | |
| 3 | HOMOSALATECAS 118-56-9 | 118-56-9 | 7,34 % | |
| 30 | ZINC OXIDECAS 1314-13-2 | 1314-13-2 | See conditions | |
| 30a | ZINC OXIDE (NANO)CAS 1314-13-2 | 1314-13-2 | 25% | |
| 31 | PHENYLENE BIS-DIPHENYLTRIAZINECAS 55514-22-2; | 55514-22-2; | 5% | |
| 32 | Methoxypropylamino Cyclohexenylidene EthoxyethylcyanoacetateCAS 1419401-88-9 | 1419401-88-9 | 3% | |
| 33 | BIS-(DIETHYLAMINOHYDROXYBENZOYL BENZOYL) PIPERAZINECAS 919803-06-8 | 919803-06-8 | 10 % | |
| 34 | BIS-(DIETHYLAMINOHYDROXYBENZOYL BENZOYL) PIPERAZINE (NANO)CAS 919803-06-8 | 919803-06-8 | 10 % | |
| 4 | BENZOPHENONE-3CAS 131-57-7 | 131-57-7 | See conditions | |
| 6 | PHENYLBENZIMIDAZOLE SULFONIC ACIDCAS 27503-81-7 | 27503-81-7 | 8%(as acid) | |
| 7 | TEREPHTHALYLIDENE DICAMPHOR SULFONIC ACIDCAS 92761-26-7 / 90457-82-2 | 92761-26-7 / 90457-82-2 | 10%(as acid) | |
| 8 | Butyl MethoxydibenzoylmethaneCAS 70356-09-1 | 70356-09-1 | 5% | |
| 9 | BENZYLIDENE CAMPHOR SULFONIC ACIDCAS 56039-58-8 | 56039-58-8 | 6%(as acid) |
How to use this grouped view
Annex VI lists UV filters permitted for use in cosmetic products. This grouped view helps you review 33 UV-filter records by name, identifier and linked use condition before checking the full legal entry.
Open individual records to review maximum concentration limits, conditions of use and supporting chemical identifiers.