New York: Permanent Makeup & Nano Brows Licensing and Regulation
Verified against official sources, 2026-07-12.
How can you check Nano Brows providers in New York?
No online lookup located: As of 2026-07-12, we did not locate a public online lookup. You may ask the provider for the credential's name and issuing agency.
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
New York State Department of Health (PHL Article 4-A); in New York City, the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH)
Does it cover permanent makeup / nano brows?
Coverage: covered-as-tattoo
NYC treats permanent makeup (including microblading and nano brows) as tattooing: full-term DOHMH Tattoo Artist License plus 3-hour Infection Control Course and written exam required (NYC311 KA-01857). Statewide PHL Art. 4-A regulations are still in development, so coverage detail is set by local programs.
Artist requirements
| License required | Yes |
|---|---|
| Training | NYC: 3-hour infection control course ($26) |
| Exam | NYC: written infection-control exam |
| Bloodborne pathogen | yes |
| Minimum age | unknown (artist); clients must be 18+ (Penal Law §260.21) |
| Fee | NYC: $100 / 2 years |
| Renewal | NYC: 2 years |
Facility requirements
| License required | Yes |
|---|---|
| Inspection regime | local health department programs FACILITY-PERMITTING STRUCTURE (relocated from required field, shape normalization 2026-07-18): varies-by-locality (NYC licenses the artist; Nassau and Suffolk run their own body-art programs; facility permitting not uniform statewide). |
| Fee | varies by locality |
| Renewal | varies by locality |
Local variation
County-level variation: Yes
No statewide scheme in effect — PHL Art. 4-A statewide regulations still in development; until then local rules apply and differ by county (NYC, Nassau, Suffolk operate own programs).
What this jurisdiction requires you to be told
The topic is required; the wording is not fixed. A studio must address it, in its own words. Scope: STATUTE LAYER ONLY — NOT a whole-jurisdiction determination. At the state statutory level New York mandates NO permanence, removal, surgical, laser or scarring disclosure; the mandated form content is sterility/needle-handling. TWO LAYERS REMAIN UNCHECKED and either could change this value: (1) PHL §461(2) and §467(4) delegate to the Commissioner of Health ('The commissioner shall make regulations under this section') — 10 NYCRR has NOT been read; (2) PHL §462(2) expressly preserves local authority — 'This article shall not apply to, affect, or restrict the ability of a city, town, village, or county to enact a local law or ordinance prohibiting or restricting body piercing or tattooing' — and NYC, Nassau and Suffolk are UNCHECKED.
What this jurisdiction does require: Signed written consent form (identity + procedure-location fields) and aftercare instructions. Retention and delivery differ by layer — see layer keys; the STRICTER of state and NYC governs an NYC studio.
On permanence, removal and scarring specifically
Not required to be disclosed here. The duties above are real, but none of them compels a studio to tell you that the result is permanent, that removal is difficult, or that scarring can follow. A studio can satisfy this jurisdiction in full and still never raise the subject.
NO — DETERMINED, across three instruments, each read or enumerated at primary tier: (1) PHL Art. 4-A §§460-467, read in full — only the §467(2) sterility confirmation; (2) NYC Health Code ch. 22 §§22-01 to 22-16, read in full — consent is identity + body site (§22-11), aftercare is written care instructions (§22-12); (3) 10 NYCRR Chapter I (State Sanitary Code) — complete Part list enumerated, NO body-art Part exists. PHL §462(2) makes the local layer decisive for an NYC studio, and that layer is read. NAMED RESIDUALS, low probability, not treated as absent: other Title 10 chapters not enumerated; NYC Admin Code tit. 17 ch. 3 subch. 7 (licensing scope) not read.
NY Public Health Law Article 4-A, §§460–467. The ONLY client-signed form mandated by the article is §467(2): the client and tattooist sign confirming the tattooist '(a) Presented all single use needles in a sterile and sealed package... and explained that only approved ink handling procedures would be used; and (b) Opened all single use needles... in the presence of the person receiving such tattoo.' §467(3): copy to client, studio retains not less than seven years. §460-a's consent form is BODY PIERCING ONLY, under-18, and concerns parental permission rather than disclosure content. Mandate type: required-topic. Checked 2026-08-18. This describes what the jurisdiction requires. It is not a statement about any studio's compliance.
Reciprocity
unknown — not addressed in sources reviewed
Pending / recent changes
Active changes: Yes
NYSDOH statewide body-art regulations under PHL Article 4-A are in development; until effective, local rules govern. Watch for adoption — it would restructure this entry.
What this means before you book
In NYC, permanent makeup (including nano brows) may only be performed by an individually licensed DOHMH tattoo artist who has passed the infection-control course and exam; there is no public online register, so ask to see the license. Outside NYC, requirements differ by county (Nassau and Suffolk run their own body-art programs). Tattooing anyone under 18 is illegal statewide regardless of consent.
Statutes & sources cited
- NY Public Health Law Article 4-A (body piercing and tattooing)
- NY Penal Law §260.21 (tattooing a person under 18 prohibited regardless of consent)