| Market | Status | Limit | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| European Union | Restricted | ≤ 0.2% | Annex V, entry 5 (preservative max 0.2%; 0.05% in oral) | Source |
| United States | No entry in our compiled ruleset — verify with FDA — FD&C Act + MoCRA. | |||
| South Korea | Restricted | ≤ 0.2% | MFDS ≤0.2% (as preservative; prohibited in aerosol) | Source |
| Japan | No entry in our compiled ruleset — verify with MHLW — Standards for Cosmetics. | |||
| China | Restricted | ≤ 0.2% | NMPA restricted ≤0.2% (released; prohibited in aerosol) | Source |
| United Kingdom | Flagged | ≤ 0.001% | Annex V preamble para 2 — mandatory 'contains formaldehyde' warning-label trigger for formaldehyde-releasing preservatives lowered from 0.05% to 0.001% releasable formaldehyde by SI 2026/23 | Source |
| Canada | Restricted | ≤ 0.2% | Hotlist Part II (Restricted) entry, CAS 50-00-0: not permitted in aerosol products; max 0.01% in non-aerosol products that release formaldehyde vapours; 0.1% in oral products; 0.2% as a preservative in non-oral products; 5.0% in nail hardeners (must ship with nail shields and a skin-sensitivity warning). Confirmed near-verbatim via search corroboration. | Source |
| Australia | No entry in our compiled ruleset — verify with AICIS / TGA. | |||
| India | Restricted | ≤ 5% | IS 4707 (Part 2) Annex B entry 15: permitted only as nail hardener up to 5% (calculated as formaldehyde), cuticles must be protected with grease/oil and label must state 'Contains formaldehyde' | Source |
| Brazil | Restricted | — | Regulated with a maximum-concentration limit under Annex I (restricted substances) of RDC no. 530/2021, now updated/replaced by RDC no. 1.029/2026 (internalizing MERCOSUL/GMC Resolution 06/25, confirmed as a real resolution establishing Brazil's restricted-substances list and revoking RDC 530/2021); the exact numeric % ceiling could not be independently confirmed from the primary annex table in this pass and is therefore omitted rather than guessed. | Source |
| Mexico | Restricted | ≤ 0.2% | Artículo SEGUNDO — 0.20% as free formaldehyde when used as preservative (not permitted in aerosols or products for children); 7.00% permitted only as nail hardener | Source |
| ASEAN | Restricted | ≤ 2.2% | ACD Annex III Part 1, Ref. No 13 — max 2.2% in nail-hardening products, allowed only in Lao PDR, must be labeled "Contains formaldehyde". Verified verbatim. | Source |
| California (US) | Banned | — | Cal. Health & Safety Code §108980(a); CAS 50-00-0 | Source |
| Washington State (US) | Banned | — | RCW 70A.560.020(1)(c) (CAS 50-00-0) — intentionally added prohibition, effective 2025-01-01 | Source |
| Retailer | Status | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clean at Sephora | Banned | Prohibited under Sephora Clean | Source |
| Conscious Beauty at Ulta | Banned | Prohibited under Ulta Conscious Beauty | Source |
| Target Clean | Banned | Prohibited under Target Clean | Source |
| Amazon listing compliance | Banned | Prohibited under Amazon Aware | Source |
| Credo Clean Standard | No entry in our compiled ruleset — verify with The Credo Clean Standard dirty list. | ||
| Whole Foods Body Care | Banned | Listed "unacceptable"; function: preservative. Confirmed verbatim in source PDF table. | Source |
| Whole Foods Premium Body Care | Banned | Unacceptable, Body Care - Premium list. Function: preservative. CORRECTED: the source table's "updated 9-08" qualifier belongs to the adjacent 'fluoride' row, not formaldehyde, which carries no qualifier text. | Source |
| Walmart Sustainable Chemistry | Flagged | Walmart High Priority Chemical (HPC) — one of 8 substances publicly named 2016-07-20 (developed with Environmental Defense Fund) under the Policy on Sustainable Chemistry in Consumables, whose scope covers formulated household cleaning, personal care, and beauty products at Walmart U.S. & Sam's Club U.S. Not a numeric cap — a reduce/restrict/eliminate target via 'informed substitution'; suppliers reported ~95-96% reduction by weight of HPCs since baseline. | Source |
| Walmart Made Without List | No entry in our compiled ruleset — verify with Walmart made-without-list substances. | ||
| CVS store-brand chemicals policy | Banned | Formaldehyde and donors category — restricted across CVS Store Brand Baby & Child, Beauty, Personal Care, and Sun Care product lines (CAS 50-00-0) — verified present in source PDF with matching CAS | Source |
| Costco vendor compliance | Restricted | Formaldehyde is a named COC listed verbatim in the Costco Smart Screening protocol list. | Source |
| Douglas clean criteria | Banned | Formaldehyde excluded from Clean Beauty-labeled products. Confirmed in the program's published exclusion list. | Source |
| The Detox Market banned list | No entry in our compiled ruleset — verify with The Detox Market banned-ingredient list. | ||
2026-07-21 · Compiled from cited primary sources. Informational only — not legal advice.
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