Texas: Permanent Makeup & Nano Brows Regulation

Verified against official sources, 2026-07-12.

How can you check Nano Brows providers in Texas?

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

Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) — Tattoo and Body Piercing Program (Consumer Protection Division; on-site inspections by the Environmental Sanitation Inspections Branch)

Does it cover permanent makeup / nano brows?

Coverage: explicitly-covered

§146.001(3): "'Tattoo' means the practice of producing an indelible mark or figure on the human body by scarring or inserting a pigment under the skin... The term includes the application of permanent cosmetics." DSHS: intradermal cosmetic (permanent makeup) studios are covered, including pen-style machine devices. Exemption (§146.0025): licensed medical facilities and offices/clinics of Texas Medical Board licensees.

Artist requirements

License required	No individual artist license at this level
Training	none — no individual license or hour minimum; each artist must have the "education, training and experience, or any combination thereof" for aseptic technique (25 TAC 229.405(i))
Exam	none
Bloodborne pathogen	yes — via practice standards referencing OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1030 (25 TAC 229.402(11)); no state-issued certificate
Minimum age	license holder must be 18+ (25 TAC 229.402(24)); clients 18+ (§146.012, cover-up exception with parental consent)
Fee	n/a — studio-level licensing only (officially confirmed: statute licenses studios; DSHS FAQs; no artist category in the DSHS license-search system)
Renewal	n/a; NEW: every studio employee must complete an HHSC-approved human-trafficking prevention course (§146.0075; timeframes in pending rulemaking)

Facility requirements

License required	Yes
Inspection regime	DSHS shall inspect; owners must allow inspection any time the studio operates (§146.016); routine, compliance, and complaint investigations
Fee	posted: $927 initial / $927 renewal (rule fee $900 tattoo-only, $1,200 tattoo+piercing per 25 TAC 229.403(a)); temporary event (≤7 days) $464; license is site-specific — moves/ownership changes need a new/amended application
Renewal	2 years (§146.004(a)); applications online-only since 2023

Local variation

County-level variation: Yes

No express preemption in ch. 146; state law requires municipal/county zoning-compliance evidence with applications (§146.003(a)), and DSHS states some cities "have local ordinances that are more stringent or ban tattooing and body piercing altogether" (e.g., El Paso adds city studio registration + an individual artist license; Dallas has zoning spacing rules in certain districts).

Local overlays

Houston (Harris County) (city)

UNRESOLVED-ABSENCE: no Houston-specific body-art licensing found in official searches (absence not officially confirmed — do not publish as 'no local rules'); state studio license + local zoning are the operative requirements.

Dallas–Fort Worth (city)

UNRESOLVED-ABSENCE for a city health license (not officially confirmed). Dallas imposes zoning-level spacing restrictions in certain districts (e.g., PD 269 Deep Ellum: tattoo studios ≥300 ft from other tattoo/body-piercing studios) — zoning, not health licensing.

Austin (Travis County) (city)

UNRESOLVED-ABSENCE: no Austin-specific body-art licensing found in official searches (absence not officially confirmed); state studio license + local zoning are the operative requirements.

Reciprocity

Not addressed — no individual credential exists to reciprocate; traveling/out-of-state artists may work only at a Texas-licensed studio or under a ≤7-day temporary location license (§§146.001(6), 146.002, 146.004).

Pending / recent changes

Active changes: Yes

(1) DSHS rulemaking in progress to set timeframes/implementation for the §146.0075 human-trafficking training (HB 1778 (2025), eff. 2025-09-01); no Texas Register proposal located as of 2026-07-12. (2) DSHS Sunset review under way (Sept 2025–Dec 2026; staff report Oct 2026; Sunset bill expected Jan 2027) — could restructure the program. Context: SB 378 (2025, barber/cosmetology dermis-procedures ban) vetoed 2025-06-02; SB 2696 (2025, 'advanced cosmetic procedures' TDLR certificate) died in House committee.

What this means before you book

In Texas, permanent makeup — including machine 'nano brow' hair-stroke work — is legally tattooing, and the state licenses the studio location rather than the individual artist: the credential to verify is the studio's site-specific DSHS license (displayed on premises and searchable in the DSHS public license search). Texas sets no training-hour or exam requirement for PMU artists, so ask about the artist's own training; PMU done inside a licensed medical facility or a physician's office is exempt from the studio-license rule. Clients must be 18+ with photo ID and must receive written risk disclosures and aftercare instructions.

Statutes & sources cited

Tex. Health & Safety Code ch. 146 (Tattoo and Certain Body Piercing Studios), §§146.001–146.021
25 TAC ch. 229, subch. V, §§229.401–229.413 (Minimum Standards for Licensure of Tattoo and Certain Body Piercing Studios; last amended eff. 2005-01-01)
Tex. Health & Safety Code §146.0075 (human-trafficking training; added by HB 1778 (2025), eff. 2025-09-01)