Tattoo Licensing•

The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) licenses tattoo artists -- not tattoo parlors.

• DOHMH tattoo regulations are aimed to control the spread of infectious diseases (i.e. "Does she do the job safely?").
• Basic safety principles include:
The work area must be kept clean and hygienic.
Needles and other objects for penetrating the skin must be sterile.
Tattooists and their clothing must be clean. No exposed cuts, wounds, etc.
Needles and other objects, which have touched blood or body fluids, must be disposed of appropriately.
• DOHMH rules do not address tattoo quality or design (i.e. "Is she a good artist?").
• Tattoo license applicants must take an infection control course and pass an exam.
• In 2002, more than 600 licenses have been given out.
• Tattoo licenses are valid for two years.
• Tattoo license applications are available at the Department of Consumer Affairs Citywide License Center, 42 Broadway, Manhattan.