New Hampshire makeup artist rules
Do you need a license to do makeup in New Hampshire?
Yes. Applying makeup to a client for pay needs a cosmetologist or esthetician license. Below: weddings, events and house calls (allowed), makeup for theater, film, television or photo shoots (license needed) and applying makeup to demonstrate or sell cosmetics (no license needed), each answered from New Hampshire'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
- Allowed
- Theater and film
- License needed
- Cosmetics counter
- No license needed
Licensed by OPLC.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 New Hampshire?
Yes. Applying makeup to a client for pay needs a cosmetologist or esthetician license.
- License needed
- License needed
- Licenses that allow it
- Cosmetologist, Esthetician
- Shorter makeup license
- None
New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire?
Yes, on conditions. A licensed artist may work at a client's home only if the client cannot leave home because of a disability, limited mobility or age.
- Work outside a salon
- Allowed
- Conditions
- Only licensees may do this, and only for a person who cannot leave their residence because of a disability, limited mobility or age, at that person's residence.
- Separate permit
- None named
Theater, film, TV and photo shoots
Do you need a license to do makeup for theater, film, TV or photo shoots in New Hampshire?
Yes. New Hampshire's exemptions list no theater or film work, so makeup for pay on a production needs a cosmetologist or esthetician license.
- License needed
- License needed
- Licenses that allow it
- Cosmetologist, Esthetician
Cosmetics counters
Do you need a license to apply makeup at a cosmetics counter in New Hampshire?
No license needed. Demonstrating cosmetics for a manufacturer or distributor, without charge to the customer, needs no license.
- License needed
- No license needed
- Exemption
- Persons acting on behalf of a manufacturer or distributor who only demonstrate a product for sale, without charge to the person being demonstrated on, need no license.
New Hampshire is one of 34 states whose official pages exempt applying makeup to demonstrate or sell cosmetics from licensing.
Good to know
What else New Hampshire asks of makeup artists
- Opening or running any business location for makeup, hair or skin services requires a shop license from the board, which must be posted in the licensed establishment.
- Makeup brushes used on a patron must be disinfected after each use under the board's sanitation rules.
Sources
What New Hampshire's official pages say
Each answer above, in the words of New Hampshire's own statutes, rules or board pages, read on October 30, 2026. Rules change: confirm with OPLC before you start charging for makeup or booking work on location.
- Makeup for pay
“applying makeup or eyelashes to any person, and removing superfluous hair”
gc.nh.gov “Giving facials, applying makeup, giving therapeutic skin care treatments, removing superfluous hair, or applying eyelashes to any person”
gc.nh.gov - Weddings, events and house calls
“Licensees engaged in the practice of their profession upon a person who is not able to leave his or her residence because the person has a disability, limited mobility, or by reason of the person's age in that person's place of residence.”
gc.nh.gov - Theater, film, TV and photo shoots
“applying makeup or eyelashes to any person, and removing superfluous hair”
gc.nh.gov “Giving facials, applying makeup, giving therapeutic skin care treatments, removing superfluous hair, or applying eyelashes to any person”
gc.nh.gov - Cosmetics counters
“Persons engaged in behalf of a manufacturer or distributor solely in demonstrating the use of any machine or other article for purposes of sale, without charge to the person who is the subject of such demonstration.”
gc.nh.gov - Also good to know
“to open, establish, conduct, or maintain a shop without first having obtained a shop license from the board”
gc.nh.gov - Also good to know
“If a make-up brush or neck duster is used, it shall be disinfected after each use.”
gencourt.state.nh.us
Questions
New Hampshire makeup artist licenses, answered
Do you need a license to do makeup in New Hampshire?
Can a makeup artist work at weddings or in clients' homes in New Hampshire?
Is theater, film or photo-shoot makeup exempt in New Hampshire?
Can you apply makeup at a cosmetics counter in New Hampshire without a license?
What do you need to open a makeup studio in New Hampshire?
Plan the rest
Ready to fill your calendar
- Hours, exams and fees for each New Hampshire cosmetology and esthetician license
- What a New Hampshire esthetician may and may not do
- Lash extensions, brow tinting and waxing rules in New Hampshire
- Permanent makeup and microblading rules in New Hampshire
- What New Hampshire 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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