How to Start a Microblading Business in Hawaii
Microblading in Hawaii belongs to the health department, not the beauty board, and everything about the business follows from that assignment. Tattooing is regulated by the Department of Health's Sanitation Branch under sections 321-371 to 321-383 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes and title 11, chapter 17 of the Hawaii Administrative Rules, and permanent makeup is tattooing inside that framework: the rules define tattooing as marking or coloring the skin by pricking it and introducing pigment, which is a precise description of microblading. The artist therefore holds a Department of Health tattoo artist license, earned not with school hours but with an approved bloodborne pathogen course, a tuberculosis and syphilis screening, and a $75 fee, renewing every January 31 at $7.50. The premises hold a tattoo shop permit, $125 for the first year and $75 a year after, expiring every December 31, and an artist may tattoo only inside a permitted shop. No cosmetology or esthetician license substitutes for any part of it. Around the health licenses sits the ordinary Hawaii stack: a $50 LLC, a $15 annual report due at the end of your registration quarter, a $50 trade name for five years, and the general excise tax on every procedure receipt. This guide walks the route in order.
Hawaii sources last reviewed: November 3, 2026
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Licensing facts are never sponsored and are checked against official sources.
Who regulates microblading in Hawaii
The Department of Health regulates tattooing in Hawaii, through its Sanitation Branch, under a statutory scheme at sections 321-371 to 321-383 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes and rules at title 11, chapter 17 of the Hawaii Administrative Rules. The definition decides the classification: tattooing means to mark or color the skin by pricking and introducing pigment into or under the skin, and a person who performs that work, with or without compensation, is a tattoo artist in the eyes of the law. Microblading, powder brows and every other permanent makeup technique introduce pigment into the skin with a needle instrument, so the entire permanent makeup menu sits inside the tattoo framework, and Hawaii creates no separate permanent makeup credential, endorsement or exemption anywhere in the sources the department publishes. The Barbering and Cosmetology Licensing Act, chapter 439A, which governs the salon trades, does not authorize tattooing for any of its licensees, and an esthetician or cosmetologist license confers no right to perform it.
Section 321-374 draws the two hard lines of the system. No person may practice as a tattoo artist, with or without compensation, or hold themselves out as qualified, without a valid tattoo artist license, physicians and osteopathic physicians excepted. And a licensed tattoo artist may perform tattooing only in a permitted tattoo shop or a permitted temporary location, so the artist's license and the premises permit are both required, always, and neither substitutes for the other. A microblading business is therefore two Department of Health filings plus the general business stack: the Business Registration Division for the entity and trade name, the Department of Taxation for the excise tax, the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations for any employees, and the county for zoning. The beauty board enters the picture only if the same premises also offer salon services, which take their own shop license on top of the tattoo permit, never instead of it.
Hawaii microblading at a glance
| Item | Hawaii rule |
|---|---|
| Regulator | Department of Health, Sanitation Branch, under HRS sections 321-371 to 321-383 and HAR title 11, chapter 17 |
| Classification | Microblading and permanent makeup are tattooing; no separate permanent makeup credential exists |
| Artist license route | An approved bloodborne pathogen course for the tattoo industry, a tuberculosis and syphilis report, and a $75 fee; the department no longer gives its own tattoo examination |
| Artist renewal | Licenses expire January 31 of each year; renewal fee $7.50; the health screening applies at renewal as at issuance |
| Shop permit | Initial permit $125 for one year; renewal $75 a year; all permits expire December 31 of each year |
| Place of work | A licensed artist may tattoo only in a permitted tattoo shop or permitted temporary location |
| Temporary artist license | For artists not licensed in Hawaii: up to 14 consecutive days a year, applied for at least 60 days ahead, $100 nonrefundable application fee |
| Temporary location permit | Up to 7 consecutive days a year: $50 application fee plus a $500 permit fee for an event with not more than 40 artists |
| Tax on services | General excise tax at 4 percent plus a 0.5 percent county surcharge, on gross receipts; license $20 one time on Form BB-1 |
| LLC and trade name | Articles of Organization $50; annual report $15 by the end of the registration quarter; trade name $50 for five years |
| Minimum wage | $16.00 an hour from January 1, 2026; $18.00 from January 1, 2028, for any employees |
The tattoo artist license, step by step
The artist license is built on health controls rather than training hours. Under the Department of Health's current licensing procedures, in effect since January 20, 2013, the department no longer conducts tattoo artist examinations. The applicant instead passes a bloodborne pathogen course developed specifically for the tattoo industry, from an approved provider, and files the application for a new tattoo artist license with three attachments: the Tuberculosis and Syphilis Report Form, a copy of the bloodborne pathogen course certificate, and the $75 fee, non-refundable if the applicant fails to qualify. The statute frames the same route from the other side: no license issues unless the applicant passes an examination prescribed by the director or meets the criteria the statute sets in its place, and the department's procedures make the approved course the operative path. Training certificates from microblading academies are private credentials; the license steps the state recognizes are the course and the screening.
The screening is a continuing condition, not an entry formality. The rules provide that no tattoo artist license shall be issued or renewed unless the applicant passes a physical examination on the department's forms, including a chest x-ray or tuberculin skin test and a test for syphilis, and the record of that examination is kept on file in the tattoo shop by the permit holder. Artist licenses expire January 31 of each year, renewal applications are filed in writing before that date, and the renewal fee is $7.50. One discrepancy in the department's own papers deserves a plain statement: the rules set the January 31 expiry, while the department's artist application form carries a December 31 expiration field. This guide follows the rules; an artist renewing against the form should confirm the operative date with the Sanitation Branch. Visiting artists have their own instrument: a temporary tattoo artist license for a person not licensed in Hawaii, capped at 14 consecutive days per calendar year for trade shows and demonstrations at a permitted location, applied for in writing at least 60 days before the event, with a $100 nonrefundable application fee and proof of an approved bloodborne pathogen course, or the state tattoo written examination, passed within the last two years.
| Credential or permit | Requirement | Fee | Cycle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tattoo artist license | Approved bloodborne pathogen course, tuberculosis and syphilis screening, department application | $75 initial | Expires January 31 each year; renewal $7.50 |
| Temporary tattoo artist license | For artists not licensed in Hawaii; approved course or state exam within two years | $100 application, nonrefundable | Up to 14 consecutive days per year |
| Tattoo shop permit | Department of Health permit for the premises | $125 initial / $75 renewal | Expires December 31 each year |
| Temporary location permit | For events at a temporary location | $50 application plus $500 permit, up to 40 artists | Up to 7 consecutive days per year |
What the license does not require is as notable as what it does: no apprenticeship hours, no school curriculum, no portfolio review and no state practical examination appear in the department's published route. The state's controls concentrate on bloodborne pathogen training, communicable disease screening and permitted premises. A permanent makeup artist should still train seriously, because clients and insurers ask for it, but should describe that training accurately: it is professional preparation, not a licensing step.
The tattoo shop permit
The premises side is the tattoo shop permit, and section 321-373.5 makes it unconditional: no person may operate a tattoo shop or a temporary location without a valid permit issued by the Department of Health. The statute prices the permit at $125 initially, valid for one year, and $75 a year to renew, with the department permitted to raise the fees by not more than $10 a year. All permits expire December 31 of each year, and the renewal application is filed in writing on or before that date. The department's shop permit application prints the same figures, non-refundable. Because a licensed artist may tattoo only in a permitted shop or temporary location, the permit is what makes any particular room lawful for the work, and a studio that moves rooms moves its permitting with it.
Two features of the shop's position deserve emphasis. The permit holder maintains the artists' health examination records on file in the shop under the rules, so the permitted business is the custodian of the screening system, not just its landlord. And the temporary location permit is a real instrument for this trade's event economy: a location may be permitted for not more than seven consecutive days per calendar year, on a $50 nonrefundable application fee plus a $500 nonrefundable permit fee for an event with not more than 40 participating artists, paired with temporary artist licenses for any artist not licensed in Hawaii. A salon or suite that wants to add permanent makeup should read the place rule first: its beauty shop license does not permit tattooing, and the room needs the Department of Health permit in its own right.
Forming your business: the LLC
Entity filings run through the Business Registration Division of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, and the division's chapter 428 fee schedule prices the limited liability company at Articles of Organization $50 and an annual report of $15. The annual report falls due by the end of the calendar quarter in which the company was registered, the quarter containing the registration anniversary, each year, a deadline set by the formation month rather than a statewide date. The schedule also lists a name reservation at $10, articles of amendment at $25, and the certificate of good standing, the Certificate of Compliance, at $5. The Department of Health filings do not replace any of this: the artist license is personal, the shop permit attaches to the operating business and its premises, and the LLC is the business that holds the permit, signs the lease and files the taxes. Form it first, and keep the certificate of good standing current for landlords and banks.
Registering your studio name
The trade name registration, Form T-1 with the Business Registration Division under chapter 482, costs $50 and runs for a five year term, renewable at $50 for further five year terms. Registration gives constructive notice of the registrant's claim of use of the name throughout Hawaii for the term, provided the name remains in actual use, and the division states that registration does not grant ownership of the name. Form T-1 is not used to name a new LLC, whose name is registered in its formation filing; it registers the trading name when the studio's brand differs from the entity's legal name. Permanent makeup studios trade heavily on the artist's personal brand, which makes the registration a genuinely useful filing rather than a formality. The Department of Taxation tracks the name in its own system as well: each additional business name or location takes a branch general excise tax license on Form G-50 at no additional charge, and the GET license must be displayed at each place of business, alongside the Department of Health permit the room operates under.
Getting your EIN
The Employer Identification Number is free from the IRS through its online application, issued immediately, and it anchors the studio's Hawaii registrations. The Department of Taxation issues the general excise tax license from the state's Basic Business Application, Form BB-1, and the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations describes the unemployment insurance status report as filed on the same Form BB-1 with the State Tax Office, so the working sequence is EIN first, in the LLC's exact registered name, then BB-1 for the tax license and employer registration, in parallel with the Department of Health artist and shop filings. No intermediary is needed at any step. Keep the IRS confirmation with the Articles of Organization, the trade name certificate and the shop permit, the file a permanent makeup business produces for its landlord, its bank and its insurer.
The general excise tax on permanent makeup receipts
Permanent makeup receipts are taxed in Hawaii like every other service receipt, because the general excise tax follows business income rather than license type. Hawaii has no sales tax; the GET under chapter 237 is imposed on the business on its gross income, total receipts before any deduction, and the Department of Taxation's published summary taxes sales of goods and services and services and professional fees alike. A microblading procedure, a touch-up and a color boost are therefore taxable receipts at the retail and services rate of 4 percent, plus the 0.5 percent county surcharge levied in all four counties, a combined 4.5 percent; aftercare product sales take the same rate.
The studio registers once on Form BB-1 for a one-time $20 license fee, displays the license at the place of business, and files periodic returns on Form G-45 by expected annual liability: monthly with electronic filing required above $4,000 of expected annual tax, quarterly up to $4,000, semiannual up to $2,000, each due twenty days after the period ends, with the annual Form G-49 due on the twentieth day of the fourth month after the tax year ends. A return is due even for a period with no income. Passing the tax on to the client as a visible charge is permitted within the department's published maximum rates, 4.712 percent where the surcharge applies, and is customary, but the liability remains the business's and any amount passed on is itself taxable gross income. Procedure pricing that carries the 4.5 percent inside it is the safe construction; the tax is small per procedure and unforgiving in arrears.
Working inside a permitted shop: stations and rentals
Permanent makeup artists commonly work as guests or renters inside established shops, and Hawaii's framework accommodates the arrangement without creating a renter credential. The artist's license is personal and travels with her; the shop's permit covers the premises; and the place rule holds the two together, because she may tattoo only in a permitted shop or temporary location. A station rented inside a permitted tattoo shop is therefore a lawful seat. A station rented inside a beauty salon, a lash studio or a suite that holds no tattoo permit is not, whatever the host's beauty licenses say, because the beauty shop license does not permit tattooing and the permit is premises-specific. The room, not the artist, is usually the unlicensed element.
The economics follow the salon pattern with the tax running on both sides. The renter's procedure receipts are her own taxable gross income under her own general excise tax license, taken on Form BB-1 for the one-time $20 fee; the host shop's rental income is taxable gross income to the shop, with the tax commonly passed on within the rent; and the written agreement should fix the rent, the tax treatment, the services the station is used for and responsibility for the shop-side duties, including the health record file the permit holder maintains for artists working in the shop. Classification follows conduct as elsewhere: the artist who sets her prices, keeps her book and receipts and pays a fixed station rent is an independent business inside permitted premises, while the artist the shop schedules, prices and pays is an employee, with the $16.00 minimum wage in 2026, rising to $18.00 in 2028, withholding and unemployment contributions behind the label. Guest artists visiting from out of state use the temporary artist license, applied for at least 60 days ahead, rather than the host's goodwill.
Hiring artists: wages, unemployment and Hawaii mandates
An employed artist is paid under the wage framework the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations administers: a minimum wage of $16.00 an hour from January 1, 2026, and $18.00 an hour from January 1, 2028; overtime generally after forty hours in a workweek under chapter 387; paydays at least twice a month, within seven days after the end of each pay period, with the required statements; and a minimum civil penalty of $500 for wage and hour violations under the department's current enforcement position. Per-procedure commission plans have to clear the hourly floor in every pay period, tested against hours worked.
The employer's registrations begin with the first hire: a status report within twenty days after hiring an employee, described by the department as filed on Form BB-1 with the State Tax Office; registration in the unemployment system; and quarterly reports on Form UC-B6 due with payment by the end of the month after each quarter, April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31, including quarters in which nobody was paid. New employers pay a flat contribution rate for approximately their first two years. Two Hawaii mandates complete the budget: prepaid health care under chapter 393, coverage for employees working twenty or more hours a week, and temporary disability insurance under chapter 385 for eligible employees disabled away from work, both administered by the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. None of these obligations varies with the Department of Health licenses; they run with employment itself.
The local layer: counties, zoning and inspections
The county layer decides where a tattoo shop may open. Zoning, building permits, signage and change of use run through the City and County of Honolulu, Maui County, Hawaii County and Kauai County, and tattoo premises are a use some districts treat restrictively, so the zoning answer belongs at the front of the site search, before the Department of Health application. The state's own premises control is the shop permit itself, issued by the Department of Health's Sanitation Branch, and the health framework follows the shop into operation: artists work only in permitted locations, the permit holder keeps the artists' examination records on file in the shop, and the department's rules govern the sanitary operation of the premises. The licenses and permits are displayed at the place of business, with the general excise tax license beside them. One county item is uniform statewide: the 0.5 percent county surcharge inside the GET is levied by every county, so the combined rate on procedure receipts is 4.5 percent on every island.
Insurance for a Hawaii permanent makeup business
Neither the tattoo statutes nor the Department of Health rules read for this guide set a liability insurance minimum for a tattoo artist or a shop permit, so coverage is set by the lease and by the procedure's risk profile, which is substantial: permanent makeup works at the eye and the lip with needles and pigments, and its claim pattern runs to infection, pigment reactions, scarring and eye injury. A professional liability policy written for tattooing and permanent makeup by name is the core purchase, because general beauty policies commonly exclude pigment work, and an esthetics policy should never be assumed to reach it. Add the general liability the landlord requires at lease-set limits and property coverage for equipment and fit-out. Artists renting stations inside a permitted shop should confirm in writing whether the shop's policy reaches their procedures; ordinarily it does not, and the artist carries her own. On the employment side, workers compensation insurance is a statutory duty for Hawaii employers, and the prepaid health care and temporary disability systems are insurance arrangements administered under the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. The Department of Health filings cost $75 and $125; the insurance program is the real annual cost of the license to practice.
Renewal and filing calendar
| Item | When | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tattoo artist license renewal, $7.50 | Before January 31, each year | Annual under the Department of Health rules, with the tuberculosis and syphilis screening repeated for renewal |
| Tattoo shop permit renewal, $75 | On or before December 31, each year | All permits expire December 31; renewal application filed in writing |
| Temporary artist license | Applied for at least 60 days before the event | Up to 14 consecutive days per year for artists not licensed in Hawaii |
| LLC annual report, $15 | By the end of the calendar quarter containing the registration anniversary | Filed with the Business Registration Division each year |
| GET periodic returns, Form G-45 | Monthly, quarterly or semiannual by liability; due 20 days after the period | Monthly with e-filing required above $4,000 of expected annual tax; a zero return is still required |
| GET annual return, Form G-49 | Twentieth day of the fourth month after the tax year ends | April 20 for calendar year filers |
| Unemployment reports, Form UC-B6 | April 30, July 31, October 31, January 31 | Due every quarter for employers, including quarters with no paid employees |
| Trade name renewal, $50 | Every five years | Renew with the Business Registration Division before the term lapses |
The tattoo calendar splits its renewals a month apart, the artist on January 31 and the shop on December 31.
Official sources
- Department of Health: HAR title 11, chapter 17, including the tattooing definition, the artist license fee and screening, and the January 31 expiry
- Department of Health, Sanitation Branch: tattoo artist licensing procedures, the bloodborne pathogen course route in effect since January 20, 2013
- Department of Health: application for a new tattoo artist license, the $75 non-refundable fee
- Department of Health: tattoo shop permit application, printing the $125 initial, $75 renewal and $500 temporary permit fees under section 321-373.5
- Act 73, Session Laws of Hawaii 2022: HRS chapter 439A, the beauty licensing act that does not authorize tattooing
- Business Registration Division: chapter 428 fee schedule, Articles of Organization $50 and annual report $15
- Form T-1 trade name instructions: the $50 fee and the five year term under chapter 482
- Department of Taxation: general excise tax rates, the Form BB-1 license and filing schedules
- Department of Labor and Industrial Relations: minimum wage and overtime
- Department of Labor and Industrial Relations: unemployment insurance employer registration
- IRS: apply for an Employer Identification Number online, free
Hawaii microblading FAQ
Is microblading licensed as tattooing in Hawaii?
Yes. Hawaii regulates tattooing through the Department of Health under sections 321-371 to 321-383 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes and title 11, chapter 17 of the administrative rules, and microblading and permanent makeup fall inside that framework: the work may be performed only by a licensed tattoo artist, and only in a permitted tattoo shop or temporary location. No cosmetology license is involved anywhere in the route.
How do you get a Hawaii tattoo artist license for permanent makeup?
Pass a bloodborne pathogen course developed specifically for the tattoo industry from an approved provider, then file the Department of Health application for a new tattoo artist license with the Tuberculosis and Syphilis Report Form, a copy of the course certificate and the $75 fee. The department no longer conducts its own tattoo examinations; the approved course is the education step, and no license issues without the health screening.
What does a tattoo shop permit cost in Hawaii?
The initial permit is $125, valid one year, and renewal is $75 a year, under section 321-373.5 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes. All permits expire December 31 of each year, and renewal applications are filed in writing on or before that date. A temporary location permit for an event runs a $50 application fee plus a $500 permit fee for an event with not more than 40 participating artists.
When does the Hawaii tattoo artist license renew?
Artist licenses expire January 31 of each year under the Department of Health rules, with a renewal fee of $7.50 and renewal applications filed before January 31, and renewal carries the same health screening as issuance: no license is issued or renewed without the department's physical examination, including tuberculosis and syphilis testing. The shop permit runs on a different date, expiring December 31.
Can a licensed esthetician do microblading in Hawaii?
Not on the esthetician license. Microblading marks and colors the skin by introducing pigment, which is tattooing under the Department of Health's definition, and the Barbering and Cosmetology Licensing Act does not authorize it. An esthetician who wants to offer permanent makeup takes the tattoo artist license and works in a permitted tattoo shop, the same route as any other tattoo artist.