INCI Name Change Procedure


Companies may petition the International Nomenclature Committee (INC) for an INCI name revision at any time. There is no form or fee for this procedure. An email request addressed to the INC can be sent to Joanne Nikitakis, nikitakisj@personalcarecouncil.org.

Petitions for an INCI name change should include:

  • Current INCI name
  • Trade Name
  • Application number, if applicable
  • Requested revision
  • Technical rationale to support the petition
  • Supporting composition information and/or manufacturing details
  • Analytical data where appropriate

Petitions for INCI name changes are addressed by the INC at regularly scheduled INC meetings. Notification regarding the outcome of the petition is sent via email. Petitioners should be aware that, when new information is submitted through the petition process in support of a name change, the INC may identify a name that is different from the requested name and different from the original INCI name. Petitions for name changes cannot be withdrawn once a decision is rendered, and procedures do not allow the INC to accept petitions from one supplier about another supplier’s ingredients.

Companies that would like to change the trade name of a product that has been assigned an INCI name should send an email request to inci@personalcarecouncil.org. There is no form or fee required for this process, and trade name changes are not reviewed by the INC.