Missouri: Permanent Makeup & Nano Brows Regulation
Verified against official sources, 2026-07-17.
How can you check Nano Brows providers in Missouri?
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
Missouri Division of Professional Registration — Office of Tattooing, Body Piercing and Branding: STATE licensing of practitioners AND establishments (RSMo 324.520-324.526; rules 20 CSR 2267)
Does it cover permanent makeup / nano brows?
Coverage: explicitly-covered
CORRECTED 2026-07-17 (attorney-review catch — corrections log #2): §324.520.1(5)(a) as amended by SB 70 expressly covers marks made 'with the aid of needles or blades using hand-held or machine-powered instruments' — MICROBLADING-CLASS WORK IS SQUARELY LICENSED, alongside (5)(b)'s cosmetic-purposes needle marks (machine PMU/nano brows). The office's own page (pr.mo.gov, re-fetched 2026-07-17) is headed 'MICROBLADING LICENSURE LAW' and states verbatim: 'The amended law requires those providing tattooing services that fall within the new definition of "tattooing" to obtain a practitioner license and the owner/operator of establishments providing services to obtain an establishment license' — a licensing-TRANSITION notice ('The Division asks for your patience as we work together in accomplishing getting everyone properly licensed'). RETRACTED: the prior note's 'the Office has not been given specific statutory authority to regulate this practice' characterization — that language appears NOWHERE on the current page; its probable ancestors are (a) a stale pre-SB70 page version and/or (b) the office's routine no-legal-determinations disclaimer ('the Office... legally cannot make a determination for you as to whether or not the services you or your establishment provide fall within the definition of tattooing... consult private legal counsel'), and/or (c) conflation with the APPRENTICESHIP-COUNT technicality: per owner-side fetch of the application instructions, 20 CSR 2267-2.010(2)(c) excludes microblading/powder-brows/machine-brows only from the apprenticeship PROCEDURE COUNT — a training-pathway rule, not a practice exclusion (subsection verbatim re-read queued to heartbeat). ANOMALY CLASS registered: agency-disclaims-statutorily-covered-practice. Physician exemption: none found — UNRESOLVED (carried).
Artist requirements
| License required | Yes |
|---|---|
| Training | one of: 300-hr/50-procedure supervised apprenticeship; OR accredited school (300 hrs + 25 procedures); OR 3 years' practice within the last 7 (documented by affidavits/W-2/tax returns) — plus bloodborne-pathogen training (or equivalent) + First Aid/CPR (20 CSR 2267-2.010(2)/.020/.030). APPRENTICESHIP NUANCE (owner-verified 2026-07-17): 20 CSR 2267-2.010(2)(c) excludes microblading/powder-brows/machine-brows from the qualifying PROCEDURE COUNT — microblading-class procedures don't count toward the 50; the license itself fully covers performing them |
| Exam | none in the rule |
| Bloodborne pathogen | yes |
| Minimum age | practitioners must be 18+ (RSMo 324.520.5); clients under 18: written informed parental consent in the practitioner's presence (fraudulent parent impersonation = class B misdemeanor) |
| Fee | $100 application / $100 renewal ($120 combined-discipline) |
| Renewal | biennial, odd years, expires June 30 |
Facility requirements
| License required | Yes |
|---|---|
| Inspection regime | pre-licensure inspection mandatory for new/temporary establishments; ongoing periodic inspections (refusal = discipline grounds); facility standards: nonporous floors, no carpet, sterilization + handwashing sinks, biohazard disposal, 2-yr records, licenses posted (20 CSR 2267-3.010) |
| Fee | $200 application / $200 renewal ($300 combined); temporary per-event $100 |
| Renewal | biennial |
Local variation
County-level variation: Yes
State licensing occupies the practitioner/establishment layer; some municipalities run their own local body-art programs on top (Independence, Jefferson City confirmed by their own pages) — Kansas City does NOT appear to (see overlay).
Local overlays
Kansas City (MO side — Jackson/Clay/Platte counties) (city)
UNRESOLVED-ABSENCE: no KCMO body-art permit layer found on official pages (absence evidenced by program-list omission, not affirmatively stated — do not publish as 'no local rules'); general business license (RD-100) applies. NOTE: the KC metro spans MO+KS — the Kansas side (Wyandotte/KCK) operates under the KANSAS state cosmetology-board licensing regime; see the KS entry's Kansas City overlay.
Reciprocity
YES — substantial-equivalence reciprocity (20 CSR 2267-2.010(6)): application + fee + copy of current out-of-state license and its rules + issuing-state verification letter (dates, discipline); less-stringent-state applicants meet full MO requirements.
Pending / recent changes
Active changes: None identified
The PMU/microblading coverage change is ENACTED (2023 S.B. 70/S.B. 157) and the office is in licensing-transition posture (its page asks 'patience as we work together in accomplishing getting everyone properly licensed'). No pending PMU/microblading bill found in 2025-2026 tracking (UNRESOLVED margins). Historical: HB 425 (2001) standalone 'permanent cosmetics' license — never enacted. PRIOR WATCH LINE RETIRED: the 'microblading authority gap' premise was erroneous (corrections log #2).
What this means before you book
Missouri licenses both the PMU practitioner and the establishment at state level — since August 2023 the tattoo definition expressly covers pigment inserted 'with the aid of needles or blades using hand-held or machine-powered instruments,' so microblading, powder brows, and machine nano brows all require the state license. Ask for both the practitioner and establishment licenses. There is no state exam and no PMU-specific credential; training routes vary (and microblading procedures don't count toward the apprenticeship's procedure quota), so ask about the artist's specific PMU training.
Statutes & sources cited
- RSMo §§324.520-324.526 (practitioner + establishment licensing; 'tattoo' definition amended by S.B. 70 merged with S.B. 157, eff. 2023-08-28 — RE-VERIFIED at revisor.mo.gov 2026-07-17: §324.520.1(5)(a) verbatim: 'A mark made on the body of another person by the insertion of a pigment, ink, or both pigment and ink under the skin with the aid of NEEDLES OR BLADES using hand-held or machine-powered instruments'; (5)(b) adds cosmetic-purposes/scar-coverage needle marks)
- 20 CSR 2267 ch. 1-5 (office rules: qualifications, establishments, fees)
- RSMo 324.520.2 (minors: written informed parental consent executed in the practitioner's presence — subsection CORRECTED from .3; .3 is the intoxicated-patron bar; .5 sets the 18+ practitioner floor)