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How to Start a Microblading Studio in Illinois: Licenses, Costs & Requirements

Microblading is the one guide in this Illinois cluster that never touches the cosmetology department. Illinois treats permanent makeup as body art, regulates the room rather than the artist, and charges $500 a year to register the location with the Department of Public Health. An esthetician's license not only fails to authorize the work, the cosmetology department lists microblading among the practices its licensees may not perform.

Researched from Illinois state sources. Our guides are free. We may earn a commission when you use a partner service, at no additional cost to you.

The regulator: the Department of Public Health

An Illinois microblading studio answers to the Department of Public Health, under the Tattoo and Body Piercing Establishment Registration Act (410 ILCS 54) and the Body Art Code at Title 77, Part 797 of the Illinois Administrative Code. The Department's body art page says it in one sentence: the Department regulates all establishments that perform body art procedures such as tattooing and permanent makeup, including microblading. It then draws the line this guide is built on: these procedures do not fall under the license of cosmetology or esthetics, and body art services must be completely separate from services that fall under those other licenses. The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, which runs cosmetology, completes the pincer from its side by listing microblading in its statement of practices prohibited to cosmetologists and estheticians.

There is no artist license to earn, no state examination and no hour count; the state's control point is the establishment registration and the inspection that follows it. A salon cannot bolt a microblading bed onto its existing registration, because the Public Health registration is a different credential from a different agency, and the separation rule means the brow room cannot double as a facial room. And because the registration belongs to a location and a named operator, moving studios means registering again, not amending a personal file.

Illinois microblading requirements at a glance

Artist rules: no license, and what replaces it

Illinois inverts the usual licensing pattern for body art: the location holds the permit with the Department of Public Health, not the individual. There is no artist application, no state examination and no mandated training hours for microblading. Body artists and apprentices must be at least 18 years old under Section 797.400. Each artist must provide proof of education, and the Department specifies that this includes a bloodborne pathogen training that meets OSHA standards. The registered operator of the establishment is responsible for judging whether an artist is proficient before that artist works on the public, which makes the operator's hiring and training file the compliance record an inspector will ask about.

Two traps sit inside that light touch regime. The first is the salon crossover: an esthetician or cosmetologist who microblades inside a salon is not doing licensed work under a different name. The cosmetology department lists microblading among the practices that constitute the practice of medicine and sit outside its licensees' scope, so the artist's beauty license is irrelevant to the body art question and the establishment registration is the only credential that counts. The second trap is teaching. A studio that sells microblading training is running a school as well as a studio: the Department of Public Health directs anyone planning to teach microblading or micropigmentation to the Illinois Board of Higher Education, whose private business and vocational school requirements apply on top of the body art rules. One boundary works in the artist's favor: body art performed in a physician's office by the physician is exempt from the establishment registration.

The establishment credential: the body art registration

The certificate of registration under Section 797.1200 of the Body Art Code is the studio's core credential. The fee is $500 per annual application, non-refundable, and it covers one work station; each additional station costs $50. The certificate is valid for a single location and a named operator only, and it is not transferable, so a change of operator or address means a new registration rather than an amendment. Registration is renewed every year at the same rates, the only annual state credential in this Illinois cluster. On receipt of a completed application the Department, or a delegate agency acting for it, inspects the establishment for compliance with the Code, and the certificate must be in place before procedures begin.

The Code's facility rules shape the buildout, so read them before signing a lease. The Department requires a minimum of two sinks in every body art shop, one in the restroom and one in the work area reserved for the artist's handwashing and nothing else. The separation rule lives in the same Part: body art services must be completely separate from cosmetology and esthetics services, which in practice means a dedicated room or a clearly separated area that does not share service space with lash beds or facial tables. Since January 2019, body art establishments are also on the list of businesses that must post the Human Trafficking Resource Center notice under 775 ILCS 50/5(f). For events, Section 797.1400 offers the temporary certificate: $250, a maximum of 14 consecutive days, an enclosed non-mobile facility, an application at least 30 days ahead, and an inspection of the location before any procedure is performed.

Forming your LLC: the $150 filing and the $75 annual report

Most Illinois microblading studio owners form a limited liability company, and the named operator on the body art certificate and the LLC that signs the lease should be the same business on paper, because the certificate is not transferable. Articles of Organization, Form LLC-5.5, are filed with the Secretary of State's Department of Business Services for $150, with standard processing running about ten business days; 24 hour expedited service brings the total to $250. The LLC needs a registered agent with an Illinois street address, and Illinois requires no newspaper publication to form.

Every LLC files an annual report with the Secretary of State for $75, due before the first day of the anniversary month of formation. File more than 60 days late and a $100 penalty attaches; leave it unfiled long enough and the Secretary of State administratively dissolves the LLC, a serious problem for an entity holding a lease and an annually renewed body art registration. Adopt a written operating agreement even though it is never filed; studios built around one founding artist's book need the document that says what that book is worth if a partner leaves.

Trading under a name: the assumed name split

A microblading studio rarely trades under its legal entity name, and Illinois splits the assumed name filing by structure. Sole proprietors and general partnerships, and professional corporations, register an assumed business name with the county clerk in the county where the studio operates, under the Assumed Business Name Act (805 ILCS 405). Corporations and LLCs skip the county and register with the Secretary of State, an LLC by adopting an assumed name on Form LLC-1.20. The name on the assumed name filing, the lease and the body art application should match, because the registration is issued to a named operator at a named location.

The county route carries newspaper publication. In Cook County the registration fee is $50, the application is signed and notarized, and the owner must publish the legal notice in a local newspaper once a week for three consecutive weeks, starting within 15 calendar days of registration. Proof of publication, a notarized certificate with the original newspaper clipping, is due back to the Clerk within 50 days, and missing that deadline voids the registration. The Secretary of State route has no publication step, and its fee is prorated on a five year cycle, $150 in a year ending in 0 or 5 down to $30 in a year ending in 4 or 9, so an LLC adopting an assumed name in 2026 pays $120.

Getting your EIN

Your Employer Identification Number is the one free, fast step in an Illinois opening. Apply on the IRS website and the number issues immediately; every LLC and corporation needs one for banking and payroll, and a sole proprietor needs one once they have employees. Illinois paperwork keys off it: the MyTax Illinois business registration and the unemployment insurance account both run under the EIN. Get it after the entity exists and before the state applications.

Sales tax: services are not taxed, retail is, and the entity has its own tax

Illinois taxes retail sales of tangible personal property, not services, and a microblading procedure is a service, so the procedure fee carries no sales tax anywhere in the state. The retail corner of a brow studio is smaller than a salon's: aftercare products and brow care sold are taxable retail sales, and inventory bought for resale is purchased without tax so the tax lands once, on the sale to the client. Pigments and supplies consumed in the procedure sit in the Service Occupation Tax zone, where tax can apply to the cost of goods transferred as part of a service, and the Department of Revenue's ST-1 instructions work through the line.

The rate is built by address. The state base is 6.25 percent, and local taxes stack on top: county and municipal shares, home rule taxes, and transit taxes in the Chicago region, which together push the combined rate in Chicago above 10 percent. The Department's Tax Rate Finder in MyTax Illinois gives the rate for the studio's exact address. Register before the first retail sale on Form REG-1 through MyTax Illinois, which covers both the sales tax account and employer withholding, and report on Form ST-1. The entity layer adds the Personal Property Replacement Tax: an LLC taxed as a partnership pays 1.5 percent of net income under the Illinois Income Tax Act, on top of the members' flat 4.95 percent individual income tax.

Renting space for body art: the registration follows the location

The rental question in body art is not really about employment classification; it is about which registration covers the room. A microblading artist cannot work under a salon's cosmetology registration, because body art is outside that registration entirely, and cannot work under another studio's body art registration unless that registration names that location and that operator. An artist renting a room inside a beauty business therefore needs the location itself registered with the Department of Public Health for body art, with the rental space kept separate from the cosmetology services around it. In a suite building, a dedicated unit registered in the artist's own business name is the clean version of the model, the same per unit logic as the Illinois salon suite guide, with a Public Health certificate instead of a cosmetology registration.

Employment classification still applies to the people. Where the studio does hire artists or front desk staff, Section 212 of the Unemployment Insurance Act (820 ILCS 405/212) runs the familiar test: a worker is an independent contractor only when free from the studio's control, working outside the studio's usual business or premises, and running an independently established trade. An artist working the studio's own beds, on the studio's book, at the studio's prices fails that test, and the studio should run them as an employee, as the next section covers.

Hiring staff: withholding, unemployment, and wages

The first hire triggers the employer stack. Register with the Department of Employment Security within 30 days of starting business as an employer; liability for unemployment insurance generally begins once you pay $1,500 in wages in a calendar quarter or employ someone during 20 weeks of a year. For 2026, contributions apply to the first $14,250 of each employee's wages, and a new employer pays 3.35 percent until it earns its own experience rate, which for 2026 ranges from 0.75 percent to 7.05 percent including the fund building rate. Reports run quarterly on Form UI-3/40 through MyTax Illinois, due April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31. Employers withhold Illinois income tax at a flat 4.95 percent and report on Form IL-941, report every new hire to the Illinois New Hire Directory within 20 days, and carry workers' compensation coverage.

The wage floor is $15.00 an hour statewide for workers 18 and older, with a tipped cash wage of $9.00 where tips bring the total to the full rate, and overtime at one and one half times the regular rate after 40 hours. Body art studios lean on commission and booth style pay for artists, and neither changes the floor: compensation for hours worked still has to clear the minimum wage. The Paid Leave for All Workers Act adds 40 hours of paid leave a year for any reason, earned at one hour per 40 hours worked. Chicago raises the wage bar, covered next.

The local layer: Chicago's regulated license, and everywhere else

Chicago regulates body art twice, once through the state registration and once through its own license. Section 4-6-010 of the Municipal Code lists tattooing, body piercing and tanning facilities among the activities that require a Regulated Business License, and Section 4-6-060, the tattooing section, defines the regulated activity to include permanent makeup. A Chicago microblading studio therefore holds the state body art registration and the city Regulated Business License for the same room. The city license carries a condition no other guide in this cluster has: licensees must maintain commercial general liability insurance of at least $300,000 per occurrence naming the City of Chicago as an additional insured, and must comply with the state registration act as a condition of the city license. Zoning is the other Chicago gate, because the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection flags tattoo shops, microblading and permanent makeup as special uses in some districts, which can add a public approval process to the opening timeline.

Chicago labor law applies to the studio's staff on the usual terms: a $17.05 minimum wage for employers with four or more employees and a $12.96 tipped cash wage from July 1, 2026, adjusted every July 1, plus the city's paid leave and paid sick leave ordinance on top of the state act. Outside Chicago, the local layer varies by municipality in a way cosmetology never does: many Illinois cities and villages license or zone body art establishments locally, sometimes with their own facility rules stacked on the Body Art Code, so the city clerk's office is a required stop before signing. Suburban Cook County's wage ordinance sets $15.40 an hour in municipalities that have not opted out, and the state floor elsewhere is $15.00.

Insurance and the costs that keep coming back

Insurance is a licensing condition in this guide and a prudence item everywhere else in the cluster. Chicago makes it explicit for body art: $300,000 per occurrence of commercial general liability coverage, with the City named as an additional insured, maintained for the life of the Regulated Business License. The state registration itself carries no insurance filing, but a studio performing permanent makeup without professional liability coverage is uninsured against its single most likely claim, and landlords routinely require general liability coverage. Employers add workers' compensation coverage as a legal duty.

Recurring costs run annually here, unlike the biennial rhythm of the cosmetology guides: the body art registration renews every year at $500 for the first station plus $50 per additional station, the Chicago license renews on its own city cycle, and the LLC annual report takes $75 every year. Budget the registration renewal as a fixed annual line, because an expired certificate means the studio cannot lawfully perform procedures at all.

Your Illinois renewal calendar

• Every year: the body art establishment certificate of registration renews at $500 for one work station plus $50 per additional station
• Every year, before the first day of the formation anniversary month: LLC annual report, $75
• Continuously: keep the trafficking notice posted and artist bloodborne pathogen training proof on file for inspection
• Every quarter, due April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31: unemployment contributions and wage reports on Form UI-3/40 through MyTax Illinois, for studios with employees
• Every quarter: employer withholding reported on Form IL-941 at the flat 4.95 percent rate
• Within 20 days of each hire: new hire report to the Illinois New Hire Directory
• On the Department of Revenue's schedule in MyTax Illinois: sales tax returns on Form ST-1 covering retail product sales
• Every July 1: Chicago and Cook County minimum wage adjustments take effect; the state wage is reviewed each January
• On any move or change of operator: a new body art registration, because the certificate does not transfer

Official Illinois sources for this guide

• Department of Public Health, Body Art Establishments: the location based registration, artist training proof, and the two sink rule
• Body Art Code, Section 797.1400: the temporary certificate of registration, the $250 fee and the 14 day limit
• Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and Department of Public Health, medspa memo: microblading listed among the practices prohibited to cosmetologists and estheticians
• City of Chicago, Municipal Code Section 4-6-010 record: tattooing facilities and massage establishments as Regulated Business License activities
• Cook County Clerk, assumed business name registration: the $50 fee, publication, and the 50 day proof deadline
• Department of Revenue, ST-1 instructions: the 6.25 percent state rate, local tax layers, and the Tax Rate Finder
• Department of Employment Security, 2026 contribution rates: the $14,250 wage base and the 3.35 percent new employer rate
• Department of Labor, Minimum Wage Law: the $15.00 wage, the $9.00 tipped cash wage, and overtime
• City of Chicago, minimum wage: the $17.05 city wage and the $12.96 tipped wage

This guide is general information researched from official Illinois sources, not legal or tax advice. Requirements, fees and forms change; verify the current rules with the agencies linked above before you file, sign or spend.

Frequently asked questions

Do you need a license to microblade in Illinois?

There is no individual microblading license in Illinois. Microblading is body art, and the registration sits with the location: the establishment registers with the Department of Public Health, and each artist, who must be at least 18, shows the operator proof of education including bloodborne pathogen training that meets OSHA standards. Working in an unregistered location is unlawful however trained the artist is.

How much does the Illinois body art establishment registration cost?

The certificate of registration costs $500 per annual application, covering one work station, plus $50 for each additional station. It is non-refundable, renewed every year, valid for a single location and a named operator only, and cannot be transferred. A temporary certificate for events and trade shows costs $250 and lasts a maximum of 14 days.

Can a salon add microblading under its salon registration?

No. The Department of Public Health states that body art does not fall under cosmetology or esthetics licenses and must be completely separate from services under those licenses, and the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation lists microblading among the practices its licensees may not perform. The location needs its own body art establishment registration, and the body art area must be kept separate from the salon floor.

What training does an Illinois microblading artist need?

The state sets no hour count and issues no artist credential. The artist must be at least 18 years old and provide proof of education, including a bloodborne pathogen training that meets OSHA standards. The registered operator is responsible for judging each artist's proficiency. Studios that teach microblading also have to satisfy the Illinois Board of Higher Education's private business school requirements.

Does Chicago add its own microblading rules?

Yes. Tattooing in Chicago, a definition that includes permanent makeup, requires a Regulated Business License under Section 4-6-060 of the Municipal Code, on top of the state registration. Licensees must carry commercial general liability insurance of at least $300,000 per occurrence naming the City as an additional insured, and tattoo and permanent makeup uses can require special use zoning approval in some districts.

Can I offer microblading at a pop-up or trade show in Illinois?

Only under a temporary certificate of registration from the Department of Public Health. It costs $250, covers a maximum of 14 consecutive days in an enclosed, non-mobile facility, must be applied for at least 30 days before the event, and the location must be inspected before any procedures are performed. The certificate does not transfer between places or people.