Aurora, IL Business Licensing & Operations: Tattoo & Body Modification (2026)
Key Facts
- License
- Annual license required per location
- Spacing buffer
- 2,640 feet from another licensed shop
- Insurance
- $100,000 professional liability insurance required
- Hours
- No new customers after 10:00 p.m.
- State registration
- Illinois Dept. of Public Health registration required
Summary
Aurora requires an annual city license for every tattoo and body art establishment and bars new locations within 2,640 feet of an existing licensed shop in the same shopping center or strip mall.
It shall be unlawful for any person (1) to operate a tattoo and body art establishment without first having obtained a license as hereinafter provided, or (2) engage in the act of body piercing or tattooing except at a tattoo establishment licensed by this code. ... No tattoo establishment license may be issued to any establishment that is less than two thousand six hundred forty (2,640) feet from another licensed tattoo establishment, measured from property line to property line where there is an existing tattoo establishment in the same single shopping center, plaza or strip mall.
Full Breakdown
Under Aurora Code of Ordinances Chapter 25, Article XI, operating a tattoo or body piercing business without a city-issued license is unlawful, and the total number of licenses is capped citywide by city council resolution. No license may issue for a location within 2,640 feet of another licensed tattoo establishment in the same shopping center, plaza or strip mall, though shops already licensed before September 1, 2023 within that buffer may keep renewing. Licensees need Illinois Department of Public Health registration, $100,000 in professional liability insurance, and must stop accepting new customers after 10:00 p.m.
Violations & Fines
Fines run $50 to $500 per day of violation, with each day treated as a separate offense; the city may also suspend or revoke the establishment's license after notice and a hearing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How close can two tattoo shops be in Aurora?
Do Aurora tattoo shops need state approval too?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Aurora
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