Tennessee: Permanent Makeup & Nano Brows Regulation
Verified against official sources, 2026-07-13.
How can you check Nano Brows providers in Tennessee?
No online lookup located: As of 2026-07-13, we did not locate a public online lookup. You may ask the provider for the credential's name and issuing agency.
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
Tennessee Department of Health via county health departments — artist licensing and studio certification under TCA Title 62, ch. 38, Part 2 and TDH Rule 1200-23-03 (CORRECTIONS logged: Part 2 is titled 'General Provisions', and the tattoo rule is 1200-23-03, not 1200-23-06 which is Body Piercing)
Does it cover permanent makeup / nano brows?
Coverage: explicitly-covered
TCA §62-38-201(13) (official tn.gov PDF): tattoo means "any method of placing designs, letters, figures, symbols, cosmetics or any other marks under the skin ... with ink or color by the aid of needles or instruments" — 'cosmetics' is in the statutory definition. TDH states directly: "Microblading is tattooing," requiring licensure under §62-38-204 or the §62-38-210(b) exemption (TDH microblading page; AG Op. 17-31 (2017)). BROAD MEDICAL EXEMPTION: §62-38-210(b): "This part does not apply to any physician, surgeon or any person under the supervision of a physician or surgeon" — physician-SUPERVISED PMU needs no tattoo license (TDH FAQ requires a notarized supervising-physician letter); med-spa PMU commonly runs through this route.
Artist requirements
| License required | Yes |
|---|---|
| Training | 1-year apprenticeship under a TN artist licensed/compliant 3+ years (out-of-state applicants may substitute 2 years' documented experience); sterilization/universal-precautions training (§62-38-204(e)); NEW from 2026-01-01: ≤1-hr human-trafficking-recognition training ('Ink of Hope Act', SB0171/Pub.Ch.19) [enactment via secondary — official PDFs image-only] |
| Exam | written exam administered by the county health department (§62-38-204(f)) |
| Bloodborne pathogen | yes (universal precautions training) |
| Minimum age | 18 (artist); clients under 18 prohibited (Class A misdemeanor) except 16+ cover-up with guardian consent/presence (§62-38-211) |
| Fee | $140/yr (expires Dec 31; lapse >1 yr = full requalification) |
| Renewal | annual (Dec 31) |
Facility requirements
| License required | Yes |
|---|---|
| Inspection regime | county health department issues the studio certificate after inspection; at least 4 inspections/year; critical violations $100 (possible shutdown), minor $25 with 14 days to cure; records kept 2 years (§62-38-207) |
| Fee | $280/yr |
| Renewal | annual (Dec 31) |
Local variation
County-level variation: No
EXPRESS STATE PREEMPTION (rare in this DB): §62-38-210(a): "This part shall supersede all county and local regulations concerning tattooing to give uniformity ... within this state" — counties administer, they cannot add.
Local overlays
Nashville (Davidson County) (county)
Administration only: TCA §62-38-210(a) expressly supersedes all local tattoo regulation, so Metro adds no requirements beyond the uniform state scheme.
Reciprocity
No blanket reciprocity; out-of-state experience (2 yrs documented) substitutes for the apprenticeship but TN's exam/registration still required (§62-38-204(g)); NEW from 2026-01-01: SB0497/Pub.Ch.212 lets artists with 10+ years elsewhere qualify and sign apprenticeship-completion forms [secondary — official PDFs image-only].
Pending / recent changes
Active changes: None identified
Nothing pending — both 2025 tattoo acts are ENACTED effective 2026-01-01 (SB0497 reciprocity; SB0171 'Ink of Hope' trafficking training; statuses via LegiScan/press — image-only official PDFs, flagged). Industry lobbying for a separate PMU license noted (Tattoo Alliance of Tennessee, secondary) — no bill in the 114th GA. Rule 1200-23-03 unamended since 2024-09.
What this means before you book
Tennessee treats microblading and machine nano brows as tattooing: the artist needs a county-issued tattoo artist license ($140/yr, apprenticeship + exam) and the studio a county certificate inspected at least four times a year — there is no statewide online lookup, so verify by calling the county health department. PMU performed under a physician's supervision is exempt from tattoo licensing entirely, so med-spa credentials work differently — ask which route applies.
Statutes & sources cited
- TCA §§62-38-201 to 62-38-213 (tattooing; official text via tn.gov Tattoo_law.pdf)
- Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1200-23-03 (Tattoo Artist and Tattoo Establishment; last revised 2024-09)
- TCA §62-38-211 (tattooing a minor — Class A misdemeanor; 16+ cover-up exception with guardian consent + presence)