Berwyn, IL Business Licensing & Operations: Tattoo & Body Modification (2026)

Chapter 879 of the Berwyn Code of Ordinances regulates tattoo and body piercing in two short sections. Section 879.01 provides that no person shall engage in the business of providing tattoo or body piercing services without first obtaining a license. The business license rules of Chapter 801 (licenses and fees) and the business regulation certificates of Chapter 802 are the chapter's cross-references for how the license is applied for and paid.

The defining feature is the cap in § 879.02. The total number of licenses for tattoo or body piercing services issued and in force at any one time in a year shall not exceed two. In a city of about 57,000 people, that means at most two studios can operate lawfully at the same time. A third applicant has no path to a license while both are in force, however qualified the artist. The cap counts licenses in force, so a slot opens only when one of the two existing licenses ends.

Both sections date to Ord. 01-02, passed March 13, 2001. The code text does not distinguish between tattooing and piercing for the cap: one combined limit of two applies to businesses offering either service.

Enforcement runs through the general penalty. Section 879.99 has no penalty of its own and refers to § 202.99. Under § 202.99(A), a violation of any code provision without a specific penalty is a fine of not more than $2,000 for each violation, and every day it continues is a separate offense.