California: Permanent Makeup & Nano Brows Regulation
Verified against official sources, 2026-07-12.
How can you check Nano Brows providers in California?
Online lookup available: You may search the issuing agency's public lookup for the provider or establishment.
Official lookup for California
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
California Safe Body Art Act (Health & Safety Code §119300 et seq., AB 300 (2011)); enforced by county/city local enforcement agencies; in most of the LA metro, LA County DPH Environmental Health Body Art Program
Does it cover permanent makeup / nano brows?
Coverage: explicitly-covered
The Safe Body Art Act explicitly covers permanent cosmetics; LA County's program defines it to include microblading, micropigmentation, lip liner tattoos, and similar procedures. Practitioners register annually with the local enforcement agency; facilities need a public health permit.
Artist requirements
| License required | Yes |
|---|---|
| Training | annual bloodborne pathogen training (statewide minimum) |
| Exam | none identified at state level |
| Bloodborne pathogen | yes |
| Minimum age | unknown — not captured in migrated baseline (enrichment open item) |
| Fee | varies by county |
| Renewal | annual registration |
Facility requirements
| License required | Yes |
|---|---|
| Inspection regime | county/city environmental health inspections; LA County publishes body-art facility inspection results |
| Fee | varies by county |
| Renewal | annual |
Local variation
County-level variation: Yes
Statewide minimum standards with county/city enforcement; within LA County, the cities of Pasadena, Long Beach, and Vernon run their own environmental health departments — studios there register with the city, not the county.
Local overlays
Los Angeles County (county)
Local enforcement agency for the Safe Body Art Act in most of the LA metro: annual practitioner registration + facility public health permit + inspections.
Pasadena (city)
Studios in Pasadena register with the city, not LA County, and are NOT in the county eCompliance portal.
Long Beach (city)
Studios in Long Beach register with the city, not LA County, and are NOT in the county eCompliance portal.
Vernon (city)
Studios in Vernon register with the city, not LA County, and are NOT in the county eCompliance portal.
Reciprocity
unknown — not addressed in sources reviewed
Pending / recent changes
Active changes: None identified
Not swept this session — NY/CA were migrated and enriched from Project 1's baseline; a CA pending-legislation sweep is queued as an open item.
What this means before you book
Every body-art practitioner (including PMU) must register annually in the county where they work, complete annual bloodborne pathogen training, and work from a permitted body art facility. In LA County you can check whether a studio is a permitted body-art facility via the county's public inspection search, but you cannot look up an individual artist; in Pasadena, Long Beach, and Vernon, studios are permitted by the city instead and will not appear in the county portal.
Statutes & sources cited
- CA Health & Safety Code §119300 et seq. (Safe Body Art Act, AB 300 (2011))
Sources
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayexpandedbranch.xhtml?tocCode=HSC&division=104.&title=&part=15.&chapter=7.&article=
- http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/eh/business/body-art.htm
- https://ehservices.publichealth.lacounty.gov/ezsearch
- https://ochealthinfo.com/services-programs/environmental-health/body-art-program