Aesthetics and Special Treatment Licensing in London and Kent

Do you need a licence for aesthetics treatments?

• London: premises usually need a special treatments licence under the London Local Authorities Act 1991, and boroughs such as Bromley also register each practitioner.
• Kent: district councils register the practitioner and the premises for skin-piercing activities under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982. Laser and IPL are not on the Kent lists we checked.
• England-wide: the national scheme under the Health and Care Act 2022 is not in force yet. See the national licensing scheme for England.

Bromley: special treatments licence and therapist registration

Cosmetic College is in Bromley (Orpington BR6), so Bromley is the council most of our learners ask about first. Bromley special treatments licences cover any beauty treatment that involves massage, manicure, acupuncture, tattooing, cosmetic piercing, chiropody, light treatments, electrical treatments and other similar treatments, plus saunas, steam rooms and other baths. The premises guidance notes (revision September 2025) also list tattooing and micropigmentation, electrolysis, lasers and IPL.

New premises applications are £706 for tattooing, piercing and lasers, or £616 for all other treatments. Annual renewal is £354 or £306. Variation to treatments costs £89, transfer £178, a temporary licence £89 per month, and a copy of a licence £41. Bromley also says every therapist working in the borough must be registered, and you cannot work as a therapist without that registration. Therapist registration is £76 for a new registration, a renewal or a variation (therapist registration page).

Mobile beauticians who visit clients in their own homes do not need a premises licence, according to Bromley. The council has not said on that page whether therapist registration still applies, so ask licensing before you start. Applications take 28 days once received and paid, with no tacit consent. The applicant must give notice to the police and send a copy to London Fire. Refusal grounds include practitioners who are not suitably qualified and do not hold the LB Bromley Registration of Therapist Badge. Appeals go to the Magistrates' Court within 21 days. Licence conditions (approved 28 June 2010) require indemnity insurance covering the treatments offered, kept on the premises.

Accepted qualifications are not published online. Email licensing@bromley.gov.uk for information on qualification levels, Bromley's microblading industry training list or the LSTWG exemption list (December 2021). Anti-wrinkle injections and dermal fillers are not listed either way on Bromley's pages, so ask Bromley licensing. Contact: Public Protection, Bromley Civic Centre, Churchill Court, 2 Westmoreland Road, Bromley BR1 1AS. Phone 0300 303 8657.

Croydon, Lewisham, Greenwich and Bexley

Croydon

Premises offering special treatments must have a special treatments licence (massage, acupuncture, manicure, piercing and tattooing, sauna and light, electric or vapour treatments). A new licence is £582 (Part A £423 plus Part B £159; Part A is non-refundable). Renewal is £540, transfer £387 and variation £390. Adding a tattooist, piercer or practitioner costs £129. Licences run 1 August to 31 July, so pro rata fees can apply. See Croydon's special treatment licence fees.

Lewisham

From 1 April 2026, Lewisham's special treatments licences charge £403 for a full licence covering classes 1 to 3, or lower amounts by class (£311 class 1 only, £242 class 2 only, £208 class 3 only). Micropigmentation and microblading sit in Class 1. IPL and laser have their own fee of £553. Body piercing and tattooing are £219 each. Renewal costs the same as the application; a transfer or variation costs 25% of the application fee. Lewisham also has a registration form for mobile therapists.

Royal Greenwich

You need a special treatment licence to provide special treatments at premises (massage, tattooing and microblading, water treatments, electrical treatments, other health and beauty treatments). Providing or advertising without a licence is an offence, with a fine of up to £2,500. Fees listed on the application page are £631.09 for a new or lapsed licence, £490.35 for renewal and £94.48 for a variation. Greenwich's A to Z of treatments (2023) marks anti-wrinkle injections and dermal fillers as not requiring a licence, lists lasers and IPL as a light treatment, and lists microblading under tattooing.

Bexley

Bexley fees are by category. Category A (light treatments, including laser, or electric treatments) is £989 to grant and £797 to renew. Category B (tattooing, semi-permanent make-up, micropigmentation and microblading) is £789 to grant and £598 to renew. Category C is £589 / £450. Adding practitioner(s) costs £65 for one, then £40 for each additional one in the same application. See the special treatment licensing fees. Standard conditions (1 July 2024) say practitioners must be named on the licence and aged 18 or over, that suitable qualifications for all treatments shall be Ofqual regulated, and that new practitioners must be applied for at least 28 days before they start. Bexley's A to Z (October 2024) marks anti-wrinkle injections, dermal fillers and microneedling as not requiring a licence, and puts lasers, IPL, laser tattoo removal and plasma pen in Category A, with micropigmentation in Category B.

Kent: skin piercing registration (Sevenoaks, Dartford, Tonbridge and Malling, Maidstone)

Kent district councils register the person and the premises under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982. Laser, IPL and injectables are not on the registration lists of the four councils checked below.

Sevenoaks requires separate practitioner and premises registration for acupuncture, electrolysis, ear and nose piercing, cosmetic body piercing, tattooing and semi-permanent skin colouring (micropigmentation, microblading, temporary tattooing). The council says anti-wrinkle injections, fillers and microneedling do not currently require registration. From 1 April 2026, fees for semi-permanent skin colouring, tattooing and cosmetic body piercing are £190 for the premises and £206 per practitioner. Electrolysis and acupuncture are £174 / £158. Ear or nose piercing with a gun is £125 / £26.

Dartford requires every person carrying out acupuncture, cosmetic piercing, tattooing, semi-permanent skin colouring or electrolysis to register at the address where they operate. Evidence of competence is required, and the council asks for training certificates. The premises is inspected after the fee is paid. Dartford says all other beauty treatments not listed do not require registration. For 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027, fees for micropigmentation, microblading, tattooing and cosmetic body piercing are £225 premises and £200 practitioner. Acupuncture and electrolysis are £225 / £150. Ear or nose gun piercing is £150 / £50. Certificates are not transferable and fees are not refundable.

Tonbridge and Malling requires registration for acupuncture, tattooing, electrolysis, ear and body piercing and semi-permanent make-up unless you are a medical practitioner or dentist. Fees listed are £214 for cosmetic piercing, tattooing and semi-permanent make-up, £187 for acupuncture, electrolysis and ear piercing, and £59 for an additional treatment or additional practitioner applied for with the original application. The page does not state which year these fees apply to.

Maidstone covers acupuncture, tattooing, semi-permanent skin colouring, cosmetic piercing and electrolysis under the 1982 Act. The fee was not published on the pages checked. Ask Maidstone for the current amount.

Licence and registration fees compared

Checked on 17 October 2026 from each council's website. Fees usually change each April. Confirm with the council before applying.

Does laser or IPL need a licence?

In the London boroughs checked, yes. Bromley's premises fee has a separate tattooing, piercing and lasers band, Lewisham has an IPL/laser fee, and Bexley puts laser in Category A. In Kent, laser and IPL are not on the registration lists of Sevenoaks, Dartford, Tonbridge and Malling or Maidstone. If you are training for these treatments, see the VTCT Level 4 Certificate in Laser and IPL, the VTCT Level 5 Certificate in Laser Tattoo Removal, and the laser training hub.

Does micropigmentation or microblading need a licence?

Yes in all councils checked. London licenses it as a special treatment (Lewisham Class 1, Bexley Category B, Greenwich under tattooing in its A to Z). Kent registers it as semi-permanent skin colouring. Related courses: VTCT Level 4 Certificate in Micropigmentation and VTCT Level 4 Certificate in Enhancing Eyebrows with Microblading Techniques.

Do anti-wrinkle injections and dermal fillers need a council licence?

Bexley's A to Z (October 2024) and Greenwich's A to Z both mark anti-wrinkle injections and dermal fillers as not requiring a special treatment licence. Sevenoaks says they do not currently require registration. Bromley's pages do not list them either way, so ask Bromley licensing. This is expected to change under the national scheme for England. For regulated injectables training, see the VTCT Level 7 Diploma in Non-Surgical Aesthetic Injectable Procedures and the Pathway to Aesthetics.

The national licensing scheme for England: where it stands

This section is status as at 17 October 2026. Nothing below is final law yet.

Parliament gave ministers power to license non-surgical cosmetic procedures in section 180 of the Health and Care Act 2022. In its response to the 2023 consultation (published August 2025), the government committed to making the highest-risk procedures CQC-regulated activities (only performed by specified regulated healthcare professionals), local authority licensing for lower-risk procedures (practitioner and premises both need a licence), and age restrictions. High-risk restrictions come first, and a further public consultation was promised.

A press release on 6 August 2025 said lower-risk treatments, including anti-wrinkle injections and dermal fillers, will come under the local authority licensing system, and that further consultation will seek views on education, training standards, qualifications, infection control and insurance. Ministerial written answers in January and February 2026 said measures will be made by secondary legislation and are subject to the parliamentary process, and that DHSC intended to consult on proposals for restrictions around the highest-risk procedures in the spring.

• No England-wide licence is in force.
• No start date has been announced.
• The list of procedures and the qualification levels have not been set.
• A further consultation was promised; do not assume one is open without checking GOV.UK.

For the national qualifications question, read what the England scheme may mean for qualifications.

How to apply: a checklist

• Check your council's treatment list.
• Have qualification certificates ready. Councils ask for evidence (Bromley on request; Bexley says Ofqual-regulated; Dartford asks for training certificates).
• Have insurance covering the treatments (a Bromley licence condition).
• Apply through the council portal and pay the fee.
• Expect an inspection or consultation period (Bromley 28 days; Dartford inspects after payment).

Training for licensed treatments at Cosmetic College

Cosmetic College is a VTCT-approved centre in Orpington, and VTCT qualifications are Ofqual-regulated. Use the links below for treatments that councils commonly license or register. Always confirm with your own council which qualifications it accepts.

• VTCT Level 4 Laser and IPL
• VTCT Level 5 Laser Tattoo Removal
• VTCT Level 4 Micropigmentation
• VTCT Level 4 Microblading
• VTCT Level 5 Certificate in Non-Surgical Aesthetic Procedures for Skin
• VTCT Level 7 Diploma in Non-Surgical Aesthetic Injectable Procedures
• Pathway to Aesthetics