How Much Shelf Life Must Skincare Have Left on Amazon and TikTok Shop?

No US law makes you print an expiration date on a moisturizer. Amazon, TikTok Shop and Walmart ask for one anyway, and each counts the days at a different point.

For a brand made in Korea, that matters. The shelf-life clock starts on the fill line in Korea, weeks or months before a US customer opens the box. Here are the three rules as published, checked on November 2, 2026, and what to settle with your ODM before production.

Does US Law Require an Expiration Date on Skincare?

No, not for cosmetics. FDA says no US law or regulation requires cosmetics to have a specific shelf life or a label expiration date (FDA on cosmetic shelf life). Setting the shelf life is the manufacturer's job.

Shelf life refers to how long a product keeps looking, working and staying safe as expected. Drugs are different: sunscreens, acne treatments and SPF moisturizers need stability testing and a printed expiration date. So on a Korea-made cream, the date is a commercial requirement set by your stores. For what federal law does require on the label, run the US label and MoCRA checks.

Three Marketplaces, Three Different Clocks

Each marketplace measures remaining shelf life at a different moment. TikTok Shop measures at delivery, Amazon at check-in at its fulfillment center, and Walmart at receiving and again while stock sits in storage.

Remaining shelf life is the time left before the printed expiration date. The published rules compare like this:

Sources: TikTok Shop Academy (updated 09/01/2026), Amazon Seller Central help and Walmart Marketplace Learn (updated July 24, 2026), linked in each section below and checked November 2, 2026. Recheck them before you book production.

One decision covers all three: a real, printed expiration date on every unit and carton. If you are still choosing channels, start with the US selling playbook for Korean cosmetics.

What Does TikTok Shop's 365-Day Rule Say?

TikTok Shop says beauty and personal care topicals should reach the customer with at least 365 days of remaining shelf life. If an item has less, the seller must disclose it before purchase and in the listing (TikTok Shop expiration date policy).

The September 1, 2026 version for the United States also says:

1. No sale or shipment after the expiration or best-before date.
2. No sale of products more than 3 years old, whatever the printed date says.
3. Check the date and remaining shelf life before listing and again before shipping.
4. On case packs and display boxes, show the date outside and on each item.

Lot numbers cannot stand in for expiration dates, and stickers over the manufacturer's original date are banned. Violations can cost Account Health Rating points, listings or selling access.

The age cap is the detail founders miss: stock made long before launch can fail it even with a distant expiry. For documents, fees and creators, see the TikTok Shop launch playbook.

Amazon FBA Checks the Date at the Dock

Amazon checks remaining shelf life when stock arrives at its fulfillment center. The general rule is enough time to use the product in full plus 90 days. Its guide table lists 900 days for personal care and beauty products such as lotions and makeup (Amazon: expiration dates on FBA products).

Amazon treats skin creams, cosmetics and anything with a PAO symbol as expiration-dated. A PAO symbol is the open-jar icon showing how many months a product lasts after opening.

The table is labeled a guide, but do the subtraction anyway. A 36-month shelf life is about 1,095 days, which leaves about 195 days between the fill line and Amazon's dock under the 900-day line. A 30-month shelf life leaves about two weeks. A 24-month shelf life falls short on the day it is filled.

Stock past expiry on arrival is marked for disposal, and units near the end of their shelf life become unsellable. Each shipping box may hold one expiry date per ASIN. Whether FBA suits your launch at all is covered in the FBA vs 3PL vs DTC comparison.

How Does Walmart Fulfillment Services Handle Skincare Dates?

Walmart treats every topical item as perishable, even with no printed date. WFS will not receive it within 60 days of expiry and removes it from inventory within 30 days. Perishables with no date at all are rejected (WFS: prepare and pack items).

Dates must read MM-DD-YYYY, YY-MM-DD or YYYY-MM-DD, and a month-only date counts as the first day of that month. Refused or removed stock is returned or disposed of at your expense, without reimbursement (WFS rejected inventory guide). Sixty days sounds generous, but a jar with only a lot code fails at the dock.

Where Do the Days Go Between Korea and the Customer?

The shelf-life clock starts when the batch is made in Korea, not when it reaches the US. Every stop between the fill line and the customer spends days that no platform gives back.

Write your own days next to each step, from your freight quotes and 3PL terms:

1. Production in Korea. The batch gets its manufacture date, and the expiry is normally set from it.
2. QC release and export. Ask for the manufacture date and expiry per lot on the documents your ODM sends at ship-out.
3. Freight and customs. Ocean or air, then clearance at the port.
4. Your US warehouse or 3PL. Waiting stock keeps aging.
5. Platform check-in. Amazon and Walmart measure here.
6. Delivery to the customer. TikTok Shop measures here.

The platform minimum plus your chain's days must fit inside the shelf life your ODM can support. Then divide the run size by expected weekly sales to see how long the last carton waits.

If one run feeds several channels, send the freshest cartons to the strictest channel and the rest elsewhere, as long as each still clears its rule.

Five Date Decisions to Settle With Your Korean ODM

Settle the dates in the production brief, before the first batch is filled. Changing a printed date afterward means relabeling, and TikTok Shop bans stickers over the original date.

1. Print a real expiration date on the container and the US carton, not only a lot code or manufacture date.
2. Choose the printed format by channel. Amazon's and Walmart's published lists share no numeric format, so a run that feeds both needs a decision before printing. Avoid ambiguous dates like 03-04-2029.
3. Mark the outer cartons as well as each unit, and pack each box from a single lot.
4. Get the shelf life in writing with the data behind it. The stability report guide shows what to read.
5. Time the fill to the ship date so the batch is not made months before a booked vessel.

Put these points in the purchase order so the printed date is part of what the factory delivers. Amazon and large retailers also ask for product liability insurance, which is its own checklist.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a PAO symbol replace an expiration date on Amazon or Walmart?
Not on Walmart, which rejects perishable items with no expiration or best-by date. Amazon has a shelf-life setting for products with no printed date, but a printed expiry keeps the dock check simple. Print both.

Can I sell skincare with less than a year of shelf life left on TikTok Shop?
Yes, if you disclose it clearly before purchase and in the listing. Nothing can be sold after its expiration date or once it is more than three years old.

Is a batch or lot number enough for marketplace date rules?
No. TikTok Shop says lot numbers cannot substitute for expiration dates, and Walmart requires a date on perishables. Keep the lot number for traceability, next to the date.

Do these rules apply to Korean sunscreen sold in the US?
Yes, and the federal rule is stricter. An SPF product is an OTC drug in the US, so FDA requires a printed expiration date backed by stability testing.

By Liz Song, K-beauty sourcing consultant.