For decades, cosmetics manufacturers and distributors based in the Sunshine State have largely had to look no further than Florida’s statutes governing the drug and cosmetics industry as their guidebook for business operation and compliance. This is because the only federal regulation governing cosmetics was enacted in 1938, left the cosmetics industry largely unregulated, and was untouched—until now.

The Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022, or MoCRA as it has become coined, is the first major federal legislation governing cosmetics in nearly a century. MoCRA was signed into law at the end of 2022, as part of a more than 1,600-page omnibus bill, with provisions going into effect on a phase-in basis beginning in 2024. Notably, the act mandates wide-sweeping requirements for manufacturers and distributors of cosmetics products, and because the act will supersede Florida statutory authority it is imperative that Florida-based beauty businesses ensure that they: fall, or do not fall, within the scope of MoCRA; and comply with MoCRA’s provisions should they in fact fall within its parameters.