Maine: Permanent Makeup & Nano Brows Licensing and Regulation

Verified against official sources, 2026-11-11.

How can you check Nano Brows providers in Maine?

Maine licenses the studio, not the artist — you can look up a shop or business here, but you can't check an individual person's license.

Official lookup for Maine

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

Maine DHHS / Maine CDC, Health Inspection Program (HIP) — FIRST TRUE PMU-SPECIFIC LICENSE IN THE DB: 'Micropigmentation Practitioner' is its own statutory chapter (32 M.R.S. ch. 63-A), license category, fee line, and lookup dropdown value, wholly separate from Maine's Tattoo Artist license (ch. 63)

PMU-specific credential — This jurisdiction uses a credential specifically named for permanent makeup, permanent cosmetics, or micropigmentation. The badge does not compare training standards, establish that the credential covers every PMU technique, verify a particular provider, or indicate quality or safety.

Does it cover permanent makeup / nano brows?

Coverage: explicitly-covered

PMU is the license's entire subject. Microblading = micropigmentation by DHHS determination (notice 2022-03-04, upd. 2024-09-04: "the Department has decided to consider microblading as a type of micropigmentation... will not create a separate microblade-only license"; the one-year transitional microblade-only license expired 2022-10-18). Curriculum enumerates eyebrows, eyeliner, lip liner, full lip color; machine-vs-hand is an equipment standard (rule §6), not a license distinction. Exemption (§4312(3), verbatim): "This chapter does not apply to a physician or a person acting under the control or supervision of a physician" — NARROWER than the tattoo chapter's 'practitioner of the healing arts' exemption; independent NP/PA status UNRESOLVED.

Artist requirements

License required	Yes
Training	TIERED by background (rule §8): licensed cosmetologists/estheticians ~37 hrs + 3 supervised procedures; nail techs ~55; electrologists/medical licensees ~37; tattoo artists ~37; GENERAL PUBLIC 200 hrs incl. 14 completed procedures (4 brows/4 eyeliner/4 lipliner/2 full lip) — CONFLICT FLAG: DHHS's 2022/2024 notice claims a reduction to 100 hrs but the filed rule text still reads 200; neither figure publishable as settled. PLUS mandatory AAM BOARD CERTIFICATION within 2 years of licensure (rule §8(I) verbatim; unique in DB). SPCP-claim correction: SPCP/CPCP does NOT satisfy Maine practitioner requirements — SPCP appears only in a notice-level instructor-qualification allowance
Exam	no state exam — competency via tiered training + the third-party AAM board exam within 2 yrs
Bloodborne pathogen	no standalone BBP certificate required (asymmetry vs Maine tattoo/piercing licenses — confirmed across statute, rule, and the HHE-608 form); infection-control knowledge folded into training and §4313(1)(D)
Minimum age	18+ artist (§4315(1)); CLIENTS: FLAT 18+ BAN — rule §4(B) verbatim: "No micropigmentation shall be practiced on the person of any one who is less than 18 years of age, as verified by a driver's license, liquor ID card, military ID card, or other adequate record" — NO consent exception; NOTE the ban lives in the RULE (not a numbered statute section; §4203 is tattoo-chapter only); Maine's three body-art chapters use non-uniform minors standards (piercing allows consent)
Fee	$150 biennial (statutory cap, PL 2025 c. 339; current HHE-608 charges it; rule's $50 is stale); additional inspections $100 charged (statutory cap $200); late $25/<30 days, $100+$25 after
Renewal	biennial (expires Sept 30; §4312(2), (2-A))

Facility requirements

License required	No
Inspection regime	no separate establishment license — the practitioner license attaches to a specific 'micropigmentation facility' which is inspected as part of licensure (≥150 sq ft procedure room, 4-ft partitions, 10/25 foot-candle lighting, autoclave w/ monthly spore tests, approved water/sewage; rule §§3,5); compliance determined at least every 2 years (§4319); conditional-license mechanism for non-compliance (§4312(2-B))
Fee	included in practitioner license (one licensure + one follow-up inspection); additional-location fee UNRESOLVED (tattoo has a $50 line; micropigmentation has none)
Renewal	with practitioner license

Local variation

County-level variation: Yes

Statewide DHHS scheme + home-rule municipalities may layer local requirements (DHHS's own FAQ directs applicants to check local zoning/permits); confirmed example: Westbrook requires a city tattoo-establishment license — but its ordinance names tattoo only, PMU extension UNRESOLVED; no statewide municipal survey performed.

Reciprocity

Equivalency pathway, not true reciprocity (rule §8(H) + DHHS FAQ verbatim): out-of-state applicants must document training hours EQUAL to Maine's §8 requirements AND obtain AAM board certification within 2 years — same substantive bar as in-state applicants.

Pending / recent changes

Active changes: None identified

No amendment. The Revisor's official text of chapter 63-A, read 2026-11-11, states that it "reflects changes made through the Second Regular Session of the 132nd Maine Legislature and is current through October 1, 2026" — which is the session that was still open when this entry last looked. The chapter's amendment history ends at PL 2025, c. 339, so nothing in the 2026 sessions changed micropigmentation licensing. The definition in §4311(2) reads as this entry quotes it and was last amended by PL 2021, c. 125; the $150 licence-fee cap and the $200 additional-inspection cap are both in the current text. An earlier version of this note queued a browser session to settle this once the 2026 general effective date had passed. None was needed: the Revisor publishes the chapter as an ordinary PDF, and what was missing before was simply a reissue. PL 2025 c. 339's originating bill number is still unidentified, which affects nothing stated here.

What this means before you book

Maine is the only state in this database so far with a dedicated micropigmentation license: PMU artists hold their own DHHS license (not a tattoo license), must train under a licensed practitioner on a tiered curriculum, and must earn American Academy of Micropigmentation board certification within two years — with the studio space inspected by the state. PMU is banned outright for anyone under 18. You can check licensed micropigmentation providers through the state's Health Inspection Search.

Statutes & sources cited

32 M.R.S. ch. 63-A, §§4311-4319 (Micropigmentation; official Revisor PDF re-read 2026-11-11, current through 2026-10-01 and reflecting the Second Regular Session of the 132nd Legislature — definition, license, $150 fee cap (PL 2025 c. 339), eligibility, penalties $500-$1,000/violation (PL 2023 c. 113), biennial compliance verified verbatim)
10-144 C.M.R. ch. 211 (Rules Relating to Micropigmentation Practitioners; eff. 1998-01-01 and NEVER FORMALLY AMENDED — carries STALE $50 fee and 200-hr training figures that conflict with current statute/practice; see flags)
CONTRAST: 32 M.R.S. ch. 63 (Tattoo Artists) is a separate scheme; §4311(2) verbatim: "'Micropigmentation' means placing nontoxic dyes or pigments into or under the skin to form marks for cosmetic or medical purposes. 'Micropigmentation' does not include tattooing."