Alaska: Permanent Makeup & Nano Brows Licensing and Regulation
Verified against official sources, 2026-11-11.
How can you check Nano Brows providers in Alaska?
This is Alaska's official registry — you can look up an individual artist and check their license.
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
Board of Barbers and Hairdressers (Dept. of Commerce, CBPL) — cosmetology-adjacent model (second in DB after KS): NAMED license categories for Tattooing and 'Permanent Cosmetic Coloring' under AS 08.13; DEC inspects shops
Does it cover permanent makeup / nano brows?
Coverage: explicitly-covered
AS 08.13.220(12), verbatim: "'permanent cosmetic coloring' means tattooing for the purpose of simulating hair or makeup, such as permanent eyeliner, lip color, eyebrows, and eyeshadow." AS 08.13.220(16): "'tattooing' means the process by which the skin is marked or colored... by inserting or ingraining an indelible pigment into or onto the skin, microblading, or microneedling" — microblading and microneedling NAMED in the tattooing definition. Exemption: licensing provisions "do not apply to... a licensed health care professional" (AS 08.13.160(d)(2)) — scope undefined, UNRESOLVED for e.g. an RN outside a shop.
Artist requirements
| License required | Yes |
|---|---|
| Training | Permanent Cosmetic Coloring: at least 250 hours (12 AAC 09.168(a)), including a minimum of 125 hours of theory and a minimum of 75 hours of practical operations. Those two figures are independent minimums rather than a split of the total, so they do not add up to 250; the rule does not allocate the remaining hours. The practical component is three phases of 25 operations — observed, participated in, then performed under supervision without assistance — each including eight lips, eight eyeliners and eight eyebrows, and the rule provides that each phase "may include microblading" (12 AAC 09.168(c)). Tattooing: at least 1,000 hours, including a minimum of 270 hours of theory and 150 hours of practical operations (12 AAC 09.169). Both tracks: CPR + bloodborne-pathogens cards; trainees 18+ at training start (AS 08.13.082(d)) |
| Exam | written exam required (vendor: Prov); practical exam optional at the Board's discretion (AS 08.13.080(d)) |
| Bloodborne pathogen | yes |
| Minimum age | 18+ (trainee floor); CLIENTS: FLAT BAN — "A person may not practice tattooing or permanent cosmetic coloring on a minor" (AS 08.13.217(a)), NO parental-consent exception (unlike piercing); class B misdemeanor + civil penalty up to $5,000/offense (AS 08.13.195) |
| Fee | $330 initial ($150 application + $180 license); 120-day temporary license +$100 (AS 08.13.175) |
| Renewal | biennial, expires Aug 31 of odd years |
Facility requirements
| License required | Yes |
|---|---|
| Inspection regime | shop must be inspected and certified by the Dept. of Environmental Conservation BEFORE licensure (AS 08.13.120); DEC inspects licensed shops annually (AS 08.13.210(b)); owner licensed without exam but must employ a licensed practitioner-manager if not one; temporary shop licenses for conventions/workshops |
| Fee | per CBPL fee schedule |
| Renewal | per Board cycle |
Local variation
County-level variation: No
Statewide Board scheme; no local body-art layer identified.
Reciprocity
TRUE ENDORSEMENT (strongest reciprocity in the DB): an out-of-state licensee "is entitled to a license or endorsement under this chapter without examination or a new period of training" given a valid license + training/testing/experience meeting AK minimums (AS 08.13.100(d)); 6-month temporary permit pending review (AS 08.13.170).
Pending / recent changes
Active changes: Yes
HB 243 (34th Legislature) became law without the governor's signature as ch. 43, SLA 2026, effective 2026-07-03. It concerns the Board of Barbers and Hairdressers' powers. The state licensing booklet dated the day the act took effect prints AS 08.13.030(b)(1) as having the board examine applicants and authorize the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development to issue licenses and permits, and AS 08.13.030(c)(1) as letting the board refuse to issue one. In that same edition the definitions in AS 08.13.220, the training rules in 12 AAC 09.168 and .169, and the notice duty under AS 08.13.215 all read as this entry describes them, so nothing here turns on the act: what is set out above is the law as the state printed it after the act took effect, read 2026-11-11. No tattooing or permanent-cosmetic-coloring rulemaking notices since 2023.
What this means before you book
Alaska licenses PMU as its own 'Permanent Cosmetic Coloring' license through the Board of Barbers and Hairdressers — 250 training hours, a written exam, CPR and bloodborne-pathogen cards — with shops inspected by the state environmental agency before and after licensure; you can check any license in the state's public search. PMU on anyone under 18 is flatly banned with no parental-consent exception. NOTE: a Board statute amendment took effect 2026-07-03; its effect on these requirements is still being confirmed.
Statutes & sources cited
- AS 08.13 (Board of Barbers and Hairdressers; tattooing + permanent cosmetic coloring: .030 authority, .080 exams, .100 licensing/endorsement, .120 shops, .160 exemptions, .175 temp, .210 DEC inspections, .217 minors, .220 definitions) — official statutes/regs booklet, July 2026 edition (Rev. 7/03/2026), read 2026-11-11
- 12 AAC 09 (Board rules; .168 permanent cosmetic coloring training; .169 tattooing training; .002(r) exam-waiver checklist)
- HB 243 (34th Leg.) — enacted as ch. 43, SLA 2026, eff. 2026-07-03 (Board powers). The enrolled text was not retrieved; the July 2026 state booklet prints AS 08.13.030(b)(1) and (c)(1) in the form described in this entry's pending note, and the permanent-cosmetic-coloring definitions and training rules in that edition are as cited here