Georgia makeup artist rules
Do you need a license to do makeup in Georgia?
Yes. Applying makeup to clients for pay needs an esthetician or master cosmetologist license; salon employees who only apply cosmetics do not need board registration. Below: weddings, events and house calls (not stated), makeup for theater, film, television or photo shoots (no license needed) and applying makeup to demonstrate or sell cosmetics (no license needed), each answered from Georgia's own statutes, rules or board pages, read on October 30, 2026, with the state's own words.
- Makeup for pay
- Full license
- Weddings and house calls
- Not stated
- Theater and film
- No license needed
- Cosmetics counter
- No license needed
Licensed by the Georgia State Board of Cosmetology and Barbers.The board's site Hours and fees for each licenseThe state's own words
Makeup for pay
Do you need a license to do makeup in Georgia?
Yes. Applying makeup to clients for pay needs an esthetician or master cosmetologist license; salon employees who only apply cosmetics do not need board registration.
- License needed
- License needed
- Licenses that allow it
- Esthetician, Master Cosmetologist
- Shorter makeup license
- None
- Exemption
- Beauty shop and salon employees who only apply cosmetics need not be registered with the board.
Georgia is one of 33 states whose official pages put applying makeup for pay under a license.
Weddings, events and house calls
Can a makeup artist work at weddings or in clients' homes in Georgia?
Not stated. Georgia's official pages we read do not say whether licensed makeup work may be done at weddings, events or clients' homes. Ask the Georgia State Board of Cosmetology and Barbers before you book work on location.
- Work outside a salon
- Not stated
Theater, film, TV and photo shoots
Do you need a license to do makeup for theater, film, TV or photo shoots in Georgia?
No license needed. Applying makeup during the production of film, television or musical entertainment needs no Georgia license.
- License needed
- No license needed
- Exemption
- Applying cosmetics during the production of film, television, or musical entertainment is not esthetician work and needs no license.
Georgia is one of 25 states whose official pages exempt makeup for theater, film, television or photo shoots from licensing.
Cosmetics counters
Do you need a license to apply makeup at a cosmetics counter in Georgia?
No license needed. Applying cosmetics in a store where they are sold to consumers needs no esthetician license.
- License needed
- No license needed
- Exemption
- Applying cosmetics in a retail environment where they are sold to consumers is not esthetician work and needs no license.
Georgia is one of 34 states whose official pages exempt applying makeup to demonstrate or sell cosmetics from licensing.
Good to know
What else Georgia asks of makeup artists
- A licensed salon must have a permanent and definite location where its licensed professions are practiced.
- A mobile unit such as a cart or trailer can be licensed as a salon only if it is anchored on the ground in a permanent location.
- A facility where only applying cosmetics is done, with no other licensed practice, is exempt from facility licensing.
- The esthetician curriculum requires 90 service application hours of make-up training.
Sources
What Georgia's official pages say
Each answer above, in the words of Georgia's own statutes, rules or board pages, read on October 30, 2026. Rules change: confirm with the Georgia State Board of Cosmetology and Barbers before you start charging for makeup or booking work on location.
- Makeup for pay
“Waxing, threading, stimulating, cleansing, or beautifying the face, neck, arms,”
legis.ga.gov “mechanical or electrical apparatus or by the use of a cosmetic preparation.”
legis.ga.gov “Make-up = (**90)** = (90 service application hours); shall include instruction by a licensed esthetician instructor in the following subjects”
rules.sos.ga.gov “'Esthetician' or 'esthetics operator' means an individual who, for compensation,”
legis.ga.gov “Performs the services of an esthetician as defined in paragraph (8) of this Code”
legis.ga.gov “'Master cosmetologist' means a cosmetologist who is possessed of the requisite skill”
legis.ga.gov “Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a beauty shop, beauty salon, and”
legis.ga.gov “Applying cosmetics. Such persons shall not be required to be registered by the board.”
legis.ga.gov - Theater, film, TV and photo shoots
“apply to an individual whose activities are limited to the application of cosmetics during”
legis.ga.gov “the production of film, television, or musical entertainment or to the application of”
legis.ga.gov - Cosmetics counters
“cosmetics in a retail environment in which cosmetics are marketed to individuals and are”
legis.ga.gov “readily commercially available to consumers.”
legis.ga.gov - Also good to know
“A salon/shop shall have a permanent and definite location in which the cosmetology professions of master cosmetologist, hair designer, master barbering, barbering II, nail technician, and/or esthetician, are practiced”
rules.sos.ga.gov - Also good to know
“mobile units, including kiosks, carts, mobile homes, trailers, and motor homes, shall not be issued a license as a salon/shop unless they meet all requirements of the Board and are anchored on the ground operating in a permanent location.”
rules.sos.ga.gov - Also good to know
“license under this chapter is exempt from all facility licensing requirements under this”
legis.ga.gov - Also good to know
“Make-up = (**90)** = (90 service application hours); shall include instruction by a licensed esthetician instructor in the following subjects”
rules.sos.ga.gov
Questions
Georgia makeup artist licenses, answered
Do you need a license to do makeup in Georgia?
Can a makeup artist work at weddings or in clients' homes in Georgia?
Is theater, film or photo-shoot makeup exempt in Georgia?
Can you apply makeup at a cosmetics counter in Georgia without a license?
What do you need to open a makeup studio in Georgia?
Plan the rest
Ready to fill your calendar
- Hours, exams and fees for each Georgia cosmetology and esthetician license
- What a Georgia esthetician may and may not do
- Lash extensions, brow tinting and waxing rules in Georgia
- Permanent makeup and microblading rules in Georgia
- What Georgia requires to open a salon or studio of your own
- A deposit and cancellation policy for bridal bookings
Makeup artist rules in other states
Ready when you are
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