North Dakota: Permanent Makeup & Nano Brows Regulation

Verified against official sources, 2026-07-17.

How can you check Nano Brows providers in North Dakota?

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

North Dakota HHS, Food and Lodging Unit — facility-centric state licensing with MOU delegation to eight local public health units (Fargo Cass, Bismarck-Burleigh, Grand Forks, First District/Minot, Upper Missouri, Southwestern, Western Plains, Central Valley). LEAD CORRECTION (our own): NDCC ch. 23-46 is EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES — the body-art statute is NDCC §23-01-35 (researcher caught and discarded the bad lead)

Does it cover permanent makeup / nano brows?

Coverage: explicitly-covered

Statute names cosmetic tattooing directly; the most granular official definition is First District Health Unit's (Minot) 2021 body-art code §1-16, verbatim: "'COSMETIC TATTOOING' means a tattoo... done at procedure sites including... eyebrows, eyelids, lips... includes any procedures referred to... 'permanent makeup', 'micropigmentation', 'micropigment implantation', 'microblading', 'micro-needling with the use of pigment', 'dermagraphics'..."; Bismarck ch. 8-11: 'cosmetic tattooing (including micro blading) aka permanent makeup'. COSMETOLOGY-BOARD MYTH DISCREDITED: secondary sources claim the ND Board of Cosmetology regulates microblading — NDCC ch. 43-11 read in full: 'tattoo' appears once (laser tattoo REMOVAL in 'nonablative procedure'); cosmetology is 'limited to noninvasive care'.

Artist requirements

License required	No individual artist license at this level
Training	facility-centric at state level — no individual state license; operator baseline (NDAC 33-41-01-03): 18+, hepatitis B vaccination (or documented immunity/declination) initiated within 30 days, CPR certification, universal precautions; NO hour curriculum/apprenticeship/exam (complete statute + chapter read). LOCAL ADDITIONS: explicit BBP certification required in Fargo, Grand Forks (ANNUAL), Upper Missouri, First District; First District runs tiered operator/apprentice/student/guest licenses
Exam	none at state level
Bloodborne pathogen	state: universal-precautions practice standard; most delegated jurisdictions add explicit BBP certification
Minimum age	18+ operator; CLIENTS: state = under 18 only with parent/guardian PRESENCE + WRITTEN consent + ID (§12.1-31-13(2) verbatim; class B misdemeanor); LOCAL FLOORS STRICTER: Bismarck — ABSOLUTE ban under 16 for tattoo/PMU regardless of consent (ch. 8-11-02); First District/Minot — ABSOLUTE floor 15 for ALL body art (RE-VERIFIED at the current FDHU code 2026-07-17 per owner order — §5-4 verbatim: 'No operator may perform any body art procedure upon any person under the age of fifteen except' earlobe piercing by licensed piercers/ear piercers — a body-art-wide prohibition with piercing as the EXCEPTION, not an inference from piercing policy; the same fetch confirmed §4-7 genitalia/nipple ban for all minors and consent-form mechanics: parent/guardian proof-of-age copy, surname-match or guardianship documentation, married-minor spouse+certificate provision); Fargo adds photo-ID photocopy retention for minors. B10-class display care: the floor depends on the city
Fee	no individual state fee (local fees by separate schedules — UNRESOLVED amounts)
Renewal	varies by jurisdiction (state annual w/ 60-day grace; Bismarck expires Mar 31; UMDHU/First District renew by Jan 1, fee doubles Feb 1, First District revokes Mar 1)

Facility requirements

License required	Yes
Inspection regime	license required before operating (NDCC §23-01-35(2)); pre-licensure inspection + periodic ('as often as necessary'; Bismarck ≥annual); plan review for new/remodeled facilities; monthly autoclave spore tests as license condition; posted license; non-transferable; temporary (≤14 days) and mobile licenses exist (NDAC -11 to -13); class B misdemeanor for unlicensed operation
Fee	$135/yr state (NDAC 33-41-01-10(5)); delegated-jurisdiction fees set by local resolution (UNRESOLVED amounts)
Renewal	annual (state: expires Dec 31, 60-day grace + late fee)

Local variation

County-level variation: Yes

State floor + express local authority to be 'equal to or more stringent' (§12.1-31-13(4)); eight local health units license via MOU (state fee waived there); materially different local minors floors (Bismarck 16, Minot 15) and BBP/renewal rules; three delegated units' ordinances unreviewed (UNRESOLVED). Minor official-page discrepancy: 'eight' vs 'nine' local units between two HHS pages — unreconciled.

Reciprocity

None found (UNRESOLVED-ABSENCE): facility-centric licensing leaves no individual credential to endorse; no reciprocity language in statute, NDAC, or the five local codes reviewed; First District's 'guest operator license' category exists but criteria unlocated (queued).

Pending / recent changes

Active changes: None identified

HB 1071 (2025) is ENACTED (signed 2025-03-24; permit→license terminology + HHS naming; no substantive change; effective 2025-08-01 by ND default rule — inference flagged). No other body-art bill found in the 69th Assembly or the Jan-2026 special session (non-exhaustive).

What this means before you book

North Dakota licenses the studio (annually, with inspections) rather than the artist, through the state health agency or one of eight local public health units — and it publishes a statewide roster of licensed tattoo and body-art facilities where PMU studios appear by name, so you can check any shop directly. Artists must be 18+, hepatitis-B vaccinated, and CPR-trained. Minors need a parent present with written consent statewide — and some cities go further: Bismarck bans tattooing/PMU under 16 outright, Minot under 15.

Statutes & sources cited

NDCC §23-01-35 (tattooing/body piercing/branding/subdermal implants/scarification — license, fee, penalties; as amended by HB 1071 (2025), enacted 2025-03-24, permit→license terminology; (1)(e) verbatim: "'Tattoo'... includes all forms of cosmetic tattooing"; (4) exemption: "A licensed health care professional acting within that professional's scope of practice and the associated medical facility are exempt" — BROADER than physician-only)
NDAC art. 33-41, ch. 33-41-01 (Tattoo and Body Art): 33-41-01-01(3),(8) — body art includes 'cosmetic tattooing'; 'Cosmetic tattooing is included in the definition of tattooing'; -03 operator standards; -10 facility license $135/yr; -11 to -13 temporary/mobile
NDCC §12.1-31-13 (minors, class B misdemeanor; political subdivisions may be MORE stringent, subsection (4))