Nebraska: Permanent Makeup & Nano Brows Regulation

Verified against official sources, 2026-07-16.

How can you check Nano Brows providers in Nebraska?

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

Nebraska DHHS, Division of Public Health, Licensure Unit — INDIVIDUAL body-art licensing under the combined Cosmetology, Electrology, Esthetics, Nail Technology, and Body Art Practice Act (§§38-1001 to 38-10,171, inside the Uniform Credentialing Act); 'PERMANENT COLOR TECHNICIAN' is a named license class; advisory Board recommends, DHHS issues

Does it cover permanent makeup / nano brows?

Coverage: explicitly-covered

Permanent Color Technician is a distinct named license class — DHHS's own description: "Permanent Color Technician: Includes permanent makeup/cosmetic tattoo. Inserts nontoxic dyes for cosmetic purposes"; microblading assigned to PCT by Board advisory opinion (2017). Medical boundary: no PMU-named physician exemption — the general UCA carve-out (§38-1075(1): other credentialed professionals in 'the usual and customary practice' of their profession) plus §38-10,166 (body art licensure confers no medical practice) — mechanism partly inferred, flagged. BB Glow's classification UNRESOLVED (excluded from esthetics scope 2022; not affirmatively assigned to PCT).

Artist requirements

License required	Yes
Training	NO codified hour minimum (unlike cosmetology 1,800/esthetics 600) — requirements: 18+, US-HS-equivalent education, basic first aid + BBP training (172 NAC 44-003.02: completed 'within 1 year' before applying — CONFLICT FLAG: DHHS's own application PDF says '4 hours of training within 3 years'; unresolved which controls), from approved sponsors (professional body-art orgs, OSHA, AHA, Red Cross, colleges, hospitals, Safety Council)
Exam	JURISPRUDENCE exam ≥75% (statutes/regs knowledge; board-approved; delivered as an online quiz on a third-party platform per DHHS instructions — flagged)
Bloodborne pathogen	yes — initial (≥2 hrs) + CE: 2 hrs BBP per 24 months for renewal (172 NAC 44-005)
Minimum age	18+ artist; CLIENTS: under 18 permitted ONLY with prior WRITTEN consent of parent/court-appointed guardian who MUST BE PRESENT during the procedure; consent retained 5 YEARS (§38-10,165 verbatim; Class III misdemeanor ≤3 months/$500 per §28-106); ALSO separate license-discipline exposure (§38-10,171(17)); minor records incl. guardianship proof retained 5 yrs (172 NAC 44-012.03); no absolute sub-18 floor identified (unconfirmed-absence)
Fee	$95 initial (prorated to $25 near cycle end); renewal $118 active; fee waivers: young worker 18-25, low-income, military family
Renewal	biennial — ALL body-art licenses expire March 31 of odd-numbered years; reinstatement = 2 hrs BBP within 24 months + fee

Facility requirements

License required	Yes
Inspection regime	body art facility license (§38-1080): no issuance/renewal until inspected; unannounced initial inspection within 1 yr of application (172 NAC 44-011.02); floor plan + self-evaluation inspection with application; inactive status on failed inspection; REVOKED facility licenses cannot be reinstated (fresh application); void on ownership/location change; ≥30-day notice of changes; may share space with a salon behind ≥6-ft walls — 'The same room can be shared by an esthetician and permanent color technician' (44-012.04(C)(iii)); client records 3 yrs (adults)/5 yrs (minors); autoclave spore tests ≤30 days; two unsatisfactory inspections in 60 days = unprofessional conduct; prohibited: dermal/biopsy punches and lasers, smoking, intoxicated clients
Fee	$150 renewal (verbatim from a 2023-cycle DHHS notice; current-cycle reconfirmation queued); unlicensed operation $10/day ≤$1,000
Renewal	biennial (March 31, odd years)

Local variation

County-level variation: Yes

State licensing + express local authority for ordinances 'at least as stringent' (§38-10,167). Lincoln-Lancaster County requires SEPARATE local establishment permits (annual) AND practitioner permits (3-yr, with a LOCAL written exam) under LMC 8.08 — DHHS's own application says so; Douglas County (Omaha) has a local body-art establishment permit (citation UNRESOLVED — JS-gated page; same-named CO/GA counties excluded as false leads).

Reciprocity

NONE for body art — double statutory exclusion (both read in full): §38-1066 (practice-act reciprocity) covers only cosmetologist/esthetician/electrologist tracks, never the body-art classes; §38-129.02 (general UCA endorsement) enumerates covered acts and the Cosmetology/Body Art Practice Act is NOT on the list. Out-of-state PMU artists file a full original application (out-of-state license used only as background documentation). Sole accommodation: military-spouse temporary license (§38-129.01, ≤1 yr).

Pending / recent changes

Active changes: None identified

LB867 CORRECTION (owner-ordered primary-text check, 2026-07-16 — slip law fetched, Approved by Governor 2026-04-14): §2 amends §38-131 by striking 'initial' (background checks extend beyond initial applications) — BUT §38-131's mandate applies ONLY to its ENUMERATED professions (RN, LPN, PT, psychologist, EMT/paramedic, audiologist, SLP, mental-health, OT, dietitian, social work, physician, PA, dentist, hygienist, optometrist, podiatrist, veterinarian, APRN classes) — BODY-ART LICENSES ARE NOT ENUMERATED, and LB867 amends no §38-10xx section. RETRACTION: the prior note's secondary-sourced claim that the change reaches all UCA credentials incl. body-art renewals was WRONG. LB867 has NO effect on PMU/body-art licensees. Operative mechanics for the record: Sec. 38 makes §2 operative three calendar months after session adjournment. No body-art bill or 172 NAC 44 rulemaking found open.

What this means before you book

Nebraska licenses PMU artists individually as 'Permanent Color Technicians' — a named body-art license requiring first-aid and bloodborne-pathogen training plus a state jurisprudence exam — working in separately licensed, state-inspected body art facilities; microblading falls under the same license per the state's own advisory opinion. Lincoln adds its own local permits and exam, and Omaha requires a local establishment permit. Minors can receive body art only with a parent's written consent and presence. You can verify any license through the state's public lookup.

Statutes & sources cited

Neb. Rev. Stat. §38-1008 (verbatim: "Body art means body piercing, branding, permanent color technology, and tattooing"); §38-1044 (permanent color technology = nontoxic dyes/pigments into or under the subcutaneous skin "for cosmetic purposes" — the PMU/tattoo line is PURPOSE, not technique: §§38-1053/-1054 tattooing = 'decorative or figurative purposes'); §38-1060 (license required; 18+, HS education, board-approved training, exam); §38-1061(2) title protection ('permanent color technician'); §§38-1080/-1081 (facility license); §38-10,165 (minors); §38-10,167 (local ordinances authorized); §38-10,171 (unprofessional conduct)
172 NAC ch. 44 (Body Artists and Body Art Facilities, eff. 2023-06-14; folds in former chs. 45/46): 44-003 applicant requirements, 44-005 CE, 44-007-012 facilities (incl. 012.11 'Ink caps are required if providing tattooing and permanent color technology procedures')
DHHS Board Advisory Opinions: 'Micro Blading Eyebrows — Within Permanent Color Technician practice (9/11/17)'; paramedical tattooing within scope IF inserting dyes; saline removal NOT body art; dermal punches excluded