Legal Requirements for a tattoo studio and tattoo artists

All premises and artists offering tattooing must be registered with the Council under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982.

Upon registration, the premises will be inspected in accordance with health and safety legislation and our Tattooing Byelaws.

Tattoo artists are asked questions on infection control and must demonstrate how they put into practice those control measures. They are also required to show the inspector their work station and all equipment used for tattooing.

Businesses operating without a registration or in poor sanitary conditions can face closure and prosecution.

For more information about licensing, please see Skin Registration - Tattooists, Ear-Piercing, Electrolysis and Acupuncture.

Why hygiene is important

Tattooing involves piercing the skin with a needle and inserting ink into the skin to change the pigment.

Piercing the skin in a dirty environment, using contaminated equipment and/or poor quality ink can lead to unwanted side effects.

These can include itching, pain, skin infections and scarring or worse still you may be exposed to diseases such as Hepatitis and HIV.

Guidance on tattoo safety (cieh.org) is available from the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, this guidance is supported by the UK Health Security Agency.

Other information is available from the Tattoo and Piercing Industry Union (tpiu.org.uk).