Local tattoo and body piercing studios have started applying for licenses through the Bartholomew County Health Department ahead of a July 1 deadline to comply with an ordinance passed last year setting health and safety standards.
The ordinance, passed by the Bartholomew County commissioners this past August, requires tattoo and body-piercing studios to pay annual fees, pass regular inspections and have employees undergo specialized training.
Under the ordinance, which took effect Jan. 1, Bartholomew County health officials have given tattoo and body piercing studios until July 1 to “make contact with our department and being the process” of applying for a license, said Ashley Ralston, an inspector at the Bartholomew County Health Department.
As of Friday, three of the nine established tattoo and body piercing studios have started the process of getting licensed, Ralston said. An additional tattoo and body piercing studio that is yet to open has also started the process.
Of the businesses currently going through the process, Nordic Ink Tattoos, 880 Jonesville Road, was the furthest along, officials said. So far, no business has been denied a license.
“Nordic Ink is about to go through their final walk through inspection and obtain their license,” Ralston said.
The ordinance, which is required as part of the county’s participation in the Health First Indiana initiative, has been something that the county health department has been interested in for some time, said Link Fulp, director of environmental health at the Bartholomew County Health Department.
“The Environmental Health Division (of the Bartholomew County Health Department) has expressed interest to the Board of Health in developing a tattoo and body piercing ordinance for Bartholomew County for a number of years,” Fulp said previously. “With the introduction of the Health First Indiana funding program we are able to work towards this aspect of public health.”
Before the new ordinance, tattoo and body piercing shops were not licensed by the Bartholomew County Health Department and were only inspected by local health officials when they receive a complaint, which Fulp characterized as a “rare occasion.”
Under state law, tattoo artists are not required to receive formal training on tattooing or register with the Indiana Department of Health. State health officials also are not required to perform routine inspections of tattoo parlors.
However, state law does require tattoo artists to receive yearly training on how diseases are spread by contact with blood. Tattoo artists also are required to wear gloves or other appropriate personal protection while performing tattooing procedures and needles and reusable equipment must be sterilized before being used.
Under the ordinance, tattoo and body piercing studios will have to pay $250 for an annual license. It also allows health officials to inspect licensed facilities on a regular basis, similar to routine restaurant inspections.
In addition, each individual tattoo artist and body piercer are required to show proof of received a Hepatitis B vaccine or show proof of having declined the vaccination by signing a waiver, the ordinance states.
Those workers will also be required to have a minimum level of specified training, as well as pay $25 a year for the same permit, Fulp said previously. The proposed ordinance also prohibits the application of a tattoo or body piercing to a minor without lawful consent.
Fulp said the local ordinance would use the same training requirements and would contain a listing of possible fines if an owner or business remains in violation of a health or safety code after “a number of attempts” to bring them into compliance.
Getting tattoos and piercings can carry certain health risks, especially if studios or shops do not follow proper safety steps, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Some potential risks are skin infections and blood-borne illnesses, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, hepatitis B and hepatitis C, among others. Health officials recommend getting a hepatitis B vaccine before getting a tattoo.
To obtain a license, the facility must submit a plan review application along with a layout of the facility, Ralston said. Once Bartholomew County health officials receive those documents, they schedule an appointment to complete a walkthrough of the facility.
Any changes the inspector determines that the facility will need to make are discussed with the business’ owners, Ralston said. Once those changes are completed, the inspector will do one more walk through prior to issuing a license.
