Georgia: Permanent Makeup & Nano Brows Licensing and Regulation
Verified against official sources, 2026-11-11.
How can you check Nano Brows providers in Georgia?
This is Georgia's official registry — you can look up an individual artist and check their license.
A lookup result reflects only the information shown by the issuing agency. Directory inclusion does not certify a provider's credentials or legal compliance.
Who regulates it
Hybrid: Georgia DPH issues the individual Body Artist Certification statewide (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 511-3-8, adopted 2023-03-06, eff. 2023-10-06); county Boards of Health ('Health Authority') issue studio permits, administer exams, and inspect
Does it cover permanent makeup / nano brows?
Coverage: explicitly-covered
O.C.G.A. §31-40-1(5): "'Tattoo' means to mark or color the skin by pricking in, piercing, or implanting indelible pigments or dyes under the skin. Such term includes microblading of the eyebrow." §31-40-1(4) defines microblading of the eyebrow as "a form of cosmetic tattoo artistry where ink is deposited superficially in the upper three layers of the epidermis using a handheld or machine powered tool made up of needles known as a microblade". Read 2026-11-11 in the enrolled act that created the chapter, Senate Bill 214 of 2019 as passed, published as signed legislation by the Governor's office; the rule text is official at rules.sos.ga.gov. EYELINER IS PHYSICIAN-ONLY: §16-12-5 makes it unlawful "to tattoo the body of any person within any area within one inch of the nearest part of the eye socket" except by a licensed physician. BROWS ARE EXEMPT BY STATUTE, NOT BY GEOMETRY: §31-40-10 provides that "Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to repeal the provisions of Code Section 16-12-5; provided, however, that Code Section 16-12-5 shall not apply to microblading of the eyebrow." An earlier version of this entry reasoned instead that brows simply sit outside the one-inch zone. That reached the right answer for microblading by the wrong route, and the difference matters: the express carve-out names microblading of the eyebrow, so a brow technique that is not microblading rests on the distance argument rather than on §31-40-10. Physician and technician exclusions sit in §31-40-1(3): "tattoo artist" excludes "any physician or osteopath licensed under Chapter 34 of Title 43, nor shall it include any technician acting under the direct supervision of such licensed physician or osteopath, pursuant to subsection (a) of Code Section 16-5-71." So the technician-under-supervision exclusion does exist and is not inside §16-12-5, as an earlier note correctly said — but it is a provision of §31-40-1(3) that cross-refers to §16-5-71(a), rather than a clause belonging to §16-5-71. §31-40-9 lets a county or municipality enact more stringent tattooing and body art laws.
Artist requirements
| License required | Yes |
|---|---|
| Training | no hour minimum; OSHA-compliant bloodborne pathogens/universal precautions training + Basic First Aid/CPR + hepatitis B vaccination proof or signed declination (511-3-8) |
| Exam | county-administered exam(s) per certification category — Tattooing, Piercing, and/or Microblading (exam fee capped at $50) |
| Bloodborne pathogen | yes |
| Minimum age | 18 (applicant); minors: §16-5-71 governs tattooing of minors |
| Fee | exam ≤$50 + DPH certification fee (county schedules vary) |
| Renewal | annual; training certificates may not expire within 6 months of renewal |
Facility requirements
| License required | Yes |
|---|---|
| Inspection regime | county Health Authority inspections (DeKalb: twice yearly; Fulton: routine unannounced); permit displayed at entrance |
| Fee | set by county Health Authority |
| Renewal | permit expires on closure, relocation, or ≥50% ownership change; county renewal schedules apply |
Local variation
County-level variation: Yes
State rule 511-3-8 sets the framework; county Boards of Health are the issuing/enforcement Health Authority for studios — administration varies by county (fees, exam dates) atop uniform state standards.
Reciprocity
No permanent reciprocity — out-of-state artists need a county Guest Body Artist Permit (max 7 days, ≤2 per 30 days) (511-3-8).
Pending / recent changes
Active changes: None identified
No pending GA body-art/PMU bill identified this pass (2025-2026) — UNRESOLVED margins (search-based negative).
What this means before you book
In Georgia, brow work (including machine nano brows and microblading) requires a DPH-certified body artist working in a county-permitted studio — you can check any artist by name in the state's published certified-artist roster. Permanent EYELINER is different: tattooing within one inch of the eye socket is physician-only under state criminal law, so eyeliner offered by a non-physician studio is a red flag.
Statutes & sources cited
- O.C.G.A. §§31-40-1 to 31-40-10 (Body Art Studios)
- Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 511-3-8 (Body Art; eff. 2023-10-06; transition for existing artists/studios extended to 2024-12-31)
- O.C.G.A. §16-12-5 (tattooing within one inch of the eye socket unlawful except by licensed physician — misdemeanor)