Do you need a license to tattoo? 36 states license the shop, 29 license the artist, 10 license neither

Whether you need a license to tattoo depends on which license you mean. 36 states license the shop under a state rule. 29 license the artist. 24 do both, 12 license the shop and not the artist, 5 license the artist and not the shop, and 10 license neither at the state level and leave it to the county or the city. Here are all 50 states and the District of Columbia in one table, each row read from the state's own rule and its agency's page, with the text linked.

Of the 36 shop licenses, 26 come from a state office and 10 come from your county or health district under a state rule: California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Utah and West Virginia. Of the 29 artist licenses, 26 are state-issued and 3 are handled at the county health department under a state rule: California, Kentucky and Tennessee. 9 states have no shop license of their own but named counties or cities do, and 10 states are the same for the artist, though not the same ones. 3 states license no shop as such but approve or inspect it before an artist may work there: Maine, Mississippi and North Carolina. Arizona and Idaho license nobody, and New York's shop permit is on the books with no rules behind it, so the answer there is your county.

Each state name links to its page on this site, which carries the whole rule: who inspects, how often, the record, the consent form, and the age.

This is a plain-language summary, not legal advice. Your local health department has the final word. Ask them, and bring your records.

The 24 that license both

Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

In these 24 the artist's license travels and the shop's does not. Iowa's artist permit stays with the artist when they change shops, while its shop permit is nontransferable and wants a new application within 30 days of any change of owner or location. Alabama's facility license is not transferable to another person or address. Oregon licenses the person and the place as 2 separate things, and a shop open to the public needs the facility license on top of every artist's own.

The 12 that license the place, not the person

Delaware, Illinois, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.

Texas is the clearest: every studio needs a DSHS license for each place of business, the application names each artist, and the rules put the duties on the license holder. Michigan's facility license covers everyone working in the shop. Utah keeps a file on every artist instead of a license: full name, job description, dates of employment, phone, email, a copy of a government photo ID and the training certificate, for the inspector. South Carolina licenses the facility and asks the artist to be 21 and hold 4 current certificates, displayed publicly: bloodborne pathogens, tattoo infection control, first aid and adult CPR. Nevada has no state artist license, and Clark County, which is Las Vegas, issues a body art card to every artist in it.

The 5 that license the person, not the place

Connecticut, Maine, Mississippi, New Hampshire and North Carolina.

North Carolina permits people, not places: the permit is in the artist's name, lists the shop's address, and the premises are inspected before it is issued. Maine ties the practitioner's license to a specific approved establishment, so the shop is approved without being licensed. Mississippi registers the person and inspects the establishment before a registration there is issued or renewed. Connecticut licenses the technician statewide and leaves the shop to the town: the only shop-level provision in state law is the annual sanitary inspection.

The 10 where the state licenses nobody

Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Wyoming.

That is not 10 states with no license. Colorado's counties license the shop, and Denver licenses the artist. Indiana's Allen, Delaware and Vigo counties and the cities of Hammond and East Chicago require a shop permit. Maryland's Baltimore City, Allegany, Worcester and Calvert counties have ordinances of their own. Massachusetts licenses both through every town's board of health, under a state model regulation. Pennsylvania's Philadelphia and Erie County certify both. South Dakota's Sioux Falls licenses both under its city code. Wyoming's Laramie and Natrona counties issue permits. New York City licenses the artist. Arizona and Idaho have nothing at the state level and no named county program either, except Coconino County's inspections in Arizona.

In these 10 the answer to the question is a phone call to the county, and the regulator table says who picks up.

What a license costs, where the rule prints the number

Louisiana is the most expensive door: $1,000 to register the shop and $500 a year to renew, $200 then $150 for the manager, and $100 then $60 for each operator. Illinois is $500 with the application plus $50 for each additional work station. Michigan's facility license is $500 a year. New Mexico's shop license is $300, applied for and renewed annually. Alabama's is $250 the first year and $200 to renew. Montana's is $185. North Dakota's is $135 a year. Hawaii's is $125 to apply and $75 a year to renew. Delaware's is $100.

On the artist's side, Connecticut charges $250 to apply and $200 every 2 years. Arkansas charges $100 a year. Maine charges $50 for each operating location. New York City charges $100 for the application and $26 for the course. Colorado's Boulder County charges the shop $353 a year plus a $312 plan review, which is a county fee under no state license at all.

The license says the state knows where your chairs are. It says nothing about what happened in them, which is what the record is for and what the inspector reads when they come.