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Selling cleaning products and detergents in Brazil

In Brazil, cleaning products, disinfectants and household pest-control products are saneantes, regulated by ANVISA under RDC 989/2025. Risk 1 products are notified and risk 2 products, such as antimicrobials and strong acids or alkalis, are registered, by a company holding an ANVISA authorisation. Labels carry set warning phrases in Portuguese.

Updated · Each section links to the official source it comes from

Regulator
ANVISA
Main rule
RDC 989/2025, as amended by RDC 1.040/2026
Risk 1
Notification
Risk 2
Registration
Company
ANVISA operating authorisation (AFE) to make or import
Free-sale risk 1 pack size
Up to 10 litres or kilograms

Before a product goes on sale

The questions to answer, in the order they usually come up.

  1. 1Is the product a saneante, and is it for free sale or professional use? Read more
  2. 2Is it risk 1 or risk 2? Read more
  3. 3Does the company hold an AFE, and is the product notified or registered? Read more
  4. 4Do the ingredients and packaging meet the RDC 989 limits? Read more
  5. 5What must the label show, in Portuguese? Read more

The rules, by area

What each area covers, the texts that set it, and what the official pages say.

What counts as a saneante

The products RDC 989/2025 covers and how they are classified.

  • Saneantes are products for inanimate surfaces, textiles and environments, used for cleaning, antimicrobial action, pest control (desinfestantes), and the treatment and disinfection of drinking water and pool water (RDC 989/2025; ANVISA saneantes FAQ).
  • Products are classified by type of sale (free sale or professional use), purpose and risk.
  • RDC 989/2025 replaced RDC 59/2010 and incorporates Mercosur resolution GMC 36/2022.
  • Professional-only products may not be sold where consumers have direct access (Article 25).

How we help: Compliant Always keeps the classification for each product with the evidence behind it, so the answer is on record when a retailer asks. Ask about this

Risk class, notification and registration

How risk decides the route to market, and who may apply.

  • Risk 1 products are notified; risk 2 products are registered (Article 8).
  • Risk 1 products have an oral LD50 in rats above 2,000 mg/kg for liquids and 500 mg/kg for solids (Article 9); cleaning products with a pH above 2 and below 11.5 at 25 °C are risk 1 (Article 10).
  • Risk 2 covers products with pH of 2 or less or 11.5 or more; antimicrobials; pest-control products; products based on microorganisms; products corrosive to skin or causing serious eye damage; products with hydrofluoric, sulphuric or nitric acid; liquids with 10% or more hydrocarbons; and water and pool disinfectants (Article 12).
  • Only companies with an ANVISA operating authorisation (AFE) to make or import saneantes may apply (Article 13), and good manufacturing practice is checked by inspection (Article 14).
  • A product must be regularised before it is advertised or displayed (Article 24), and free samples of unregularised products are not allowed (Article 18).

How we help: Compliant Always reads your pH, LD50 and composition data against the risk criteria, and keeps the notification or registration with the product. Ask about this

Composition and packaging

Banned substances, surfactant rules and packaging limits.

  • Substances classed by IARC as Group 1 carcinogens, and substances with proven mutagenic or teratogenic effects in mammals, are banned (Article 20).
  • Anionic surfactants must be biodegradable, backed by the supplier's technical information (Article 22).
  • Risk 1 free-sale products may contain at most 10 litres or kilograms, in packs that make safe use easier (Article 23).
  • Food, drink, medicine and cosmetic containers may not be reused for saneantes (Article 30).

How we help: Upload a formula and Compliant Always reads each ingredient against the bans, and keeps the surfactant suppliers' biodegradability data with the product. Ask about this

Labelling

The phrases and particulars a saneante label must carry.

  • Mandatory information is in the official language of the country of sale; imported products whose label is in another language carry a visible adaptation sticker (Article 33).
  • The main panel carries the brand, the category, and in bold capitals "CONSERVE FORA DO ALCANCE DE CRIANÇAS E ANIMAIS DOMÉSTICOS" (keep out of reach of children and pets) and "ANTES DE USAR LEIA AS INSTRUÇÕES DO RÓTULO" (read the label instructions before use) (Article 44).
  • The label also shows the AFE number, the manufacturer, the product number (risk 1) or registration number (risk 2), the holder's name, address and telephone, country of origin, net content, directions, lot, expiry, composition, the telephone of a poison information centre (Ciat) and storage instructions (Article 45).
  • Set phrases include "Mantenha o produto em sua embalagem original", "Não reutilize a embalagem vazia para outros fins." and first-aid phrases for eye or skin contact and ingestion (Article 45).
  • Net content follows INMETRO Portaria 249/2021 (Article 45 §1).

How we help: Compliant Always reads your label against the Article 44 and 45 particulars and phrases, and shows which one is missing. Ask about this

Who answers for what

WhoWhat they answer forHow we help
Holder of the notification or registrationThe AFE, the regularisation, the formula and the label.Filings, formulas and labels kept together, by product and lot.
ManufacturerGood manufacturing practice and the composition rules.Specifications and supplier data kept with each product.
ImporterThe AFE for import and the Portuguese adaptation sticker.The foreign supplier's documents read and dated before the goods arrive.
RetailerNot selling professional-only products where consumers have direct access.Questionnaires answered from the record of each product.

States and municipalities

Under the Consumer Defence Code, the federal government, the states and the Federal District make concurrent rules on production, distribution and consumption, and together with the municipalities they oversee and control production, distribution and advertising (Article 55).

Health surveillance is shared: state, Federal District and municipal health authorities license food establishments and receive the communication of start of manufacture for many foods, and INMETRO's delegated state bodies (IPEMs) inspect regulated and pre-packaged products on the market.

Questions businesses ask

What is a saneante in Brazil?
ANVISA's term for products used on inanimate surfaces, textiles and environments for cleaning, antimicrobial action or pest control, and for treating drinking water and pool water (RDC 989/2025).
Do cleaning products need registration with ANVISA?
Risk 2 products need registration; risk 1 products are notified (RDC 989/2025, Article 8). Most ordinary cleaners with a pH above 2 and below 11.5 are risk 1.
Which cleaning products are risk 2 in Brazil?
Those with pH of 2 or less or 11.5 or more, antimicrobials, pest-control products, microorganism-based products, corrosive products, products with HF, sulphuric or nitric acid, high-hydrocarbon liquids, and water and pool disinfectants (Article 12).
Who can notify or register a saneante?
Only a company with an ANVISA operating authorisation (AFE) to make or import saneantes (RDC 989/2025, Article 13).
Which ANVISA rule replaced RDC 59/2010?
RDC 989 of 15 August 2025, which incorporates Mercosur resolution GMC 36/2022 and has been amended by RDC 1.040/2026.
What warnings must a cleaning product label carry in Brazil?
In bold capitals on the main panel: "CONSERVE FORA DO ALCANCE DE CRIANÇAS E ANIMAIS DOMÉSTICOS" and "ANTES DE USAR LEIA AS INSTRUÇÕES DO RÓTULO", plus first-aid phrases and a poison centre telephone number (Articles 44 and 45).
Is there a maximum pack size for household cleaners?
Yes. Risk 1 products for free sale may contain at most 10 litres or kilograms (RDC 989/2025, Article 23).
Do surfactants in cleaning products have to be biodegradable?
Anionic surfactants must be biodegradable, backed by the supplier's technical information (RDC 989/2025, Article 22).
Can I advertise a cleaning product before it is regularised?
No. A saneante must be regularised before it is advertised or displayed (RDC 989/2025, Article 24).
Can an imported cleaner keep its foreign label?
Only with a visible adaptation sticker giving the mandatory information in Portuguese (RDC 989/2025, Article 33).
How does Compliant Always help with selling in Brazil?
Our team reads the rules for the markets you sell in. Compliant Always shows which apply to your product, keeps the documents behind each one ready, and watches the sources for changes. It shows what the requirements say and what your documents show; you decide.

Sources

Compliant Always is a product of Lettuce Labs LLC. It shows what requirements say and what your documents show. It is not legal advice, and you decide.

Tell us what you make, and we will show you the rules for it.

Name the product and the markets you sell in. We will come back to you with what applies in Brazil and what your paperwork needs to show.

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