Arkansas: Permanent Makeup & Nano Brows Regulation

Verified against official sources, 2026-07-14.

How can you check Nano Brows providers in Arkansas?

Online lookup available: You may search the issuing agency's public lookup for the provider or establishment.

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

Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) — state licensing of body art ARTISTS (by field, exam-based) AND ESTABLISHMENTS; 'permanent cosmetics' is one of five named licensable fields

Does it cover permanent makeup / nano brows?

Coverage: explicitly-covered

§17-26-601(12)(A): "'Permanent cosmetics' means the application of pigment placed in the skin by a needle or other instrument to beautify the body," naming microblading, permanent eyebrows/eyeliner/lip, scalp micropigmentation, and areola work; (12)(B): permanent cosmetics "does not include tattooing" — PC is its OWN licensable field beside tattooing (machine/nano brow methods sit inside the non-exclusive eyebrow subcategory). Physician exclusion: 'artist' excludes "a licensed physician" (§601(1)); minors may receive PC for medical necessity with physician + parental consent (§602(j)).

Artist requirements

License required	Yes
Training	400 clock-hours supervised training over 6-24 months PER FIELD (375 for branding; +250/field to add fields) (§607); annual OSHA bloodborne-pathogens course (§606)
Exam	written + practical exam, $50 fee (§608)
Bloodborne pathogen	yes — annual course
Minimum age	no statutory artist minimum found (UNRESOLVED; artist INSTRUCTORS must be 21+); CLIENTS: body art under 16 BANNED "regardless of parental consent" (earlobe-piercing exception); 16-17 with written parental consent + parent present + both photo IDs + guardianship proof, records 2 yrs (§602); areola/genitalia work and branding barred under 18 regardless of consent
Fee	$100/yr, due Dec 31 of the prior year; unpaid by March 1 = 90-day suspension (§603(e))
Renewal	annual

Facility requirements

License required	Yes
Inspection regime	≥1 ADH inspection per year; license non-transferable, tied to premises; unpaid by March 1 = closure; UNLICENSED OPERATION = CLASS D FELONY (§§602(i), 603) — the harshest unlicensed-practice penalty in this DB
Fee	$150/yr
Renewal	annual

Local variation

County-level variation: No

Statewide ADH scheme; no local layer identified.

Reciprocity

No automatic reciprocity — out-of-state/international licensees may seek a 'qualifications review' ($200 one-time fee, exam fee waived) (§603(a)(3),(e)(2)); temporary guest-artist track for conventions (§§601(8), 609).

Pending / recent changes

Active changes: None identified

No 2025R/2026F act amending §17-26-6/-7 located (UNRESOLVED margins — direct arkleg.state.ar.us bill search queued).

What this means before you book

Arkansas licenses permanent cosmetics as its own ADH body-art field — 400 supervised training hours, written and practical exams, annual bloodborne-pathogen training — plus a separately licensed, annually inspected establishment; you can browse the state's full public roster to verify any artist. Body art under 16 is banned outright, and operating unlicensed is a felony.

Statutes & sources cited

Ark. Code Ann. §17-26-601 et seq. (Body Art; Act 900/2021, amended Act 688/2023 eff. 2023-08-01) — STALE-CITE CORRECTION: the former §20-27-1501 et seq. is REPEALED (all 13 sections); statute text via Justia mirror (official AR Code is Lexis-paywalled), re-source queued
ADH 'Rules for Cosmetology and Body Art in Arkansas' (Board-adopted 2024-01-25, eff. 2024-09-05; 17 CAR ch. 93/Part 54) — official ADH PDF
CITATION-HISTORY NOTE: a standalone 'Permanent Cosmetics and Semipermanent Cosmetics' subchapter (§§17-26-701–713, Act 900/2021) existed briefly and was repealed by Act 688/2023 §18, folding PC back into the general body-art subchapter