- • 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.
- • There are currently approximately 1,900 licensed tattoo artists in
New York City.
- • Tattoo licenses are valid for two years.
- • Tattoo license applications are available at the Department of
Consumer Affairs Citywide License Center, 42 Broadway, Manhattan, and online
at DOHMH
License, Permit and Course Information.
- • DOHMH inspects tattoo parlors on a complaint basis.
For more information, call 311.
