Blue Springs, MO Business Licensing & Operations: Tattoo & Body Modification (2026)

Section 405.050(A)(33), Body Art Service, treats tattoo and body-piercing studios as a conditional use, meaning each location goes through the City's conditional use permit process under Section 403.060 rather than being allowed by right. The buffer runs 500 feet from the boundary of the body art property to the boundary of any lot that is zoned residential, used residentially, or that contains a church, school or public park, measured as a straight line without regard to what sits between the two parcels. On top of the spacing rule, the City caps the total number of body art establishments citywide using a population density formula: it will not issue a permit or license once the number of existing establishments exceeds one for every 6,000 residents, based on the official population figure the City Council adopts annually.

That density cap is calculated per establishment rather than per artist, so the code specifically carves out an exception allowing multiple tattoo or piercing artists to co-locate and work out of a single studio without each one counting separately against the citywide cap. Before the City will issue a permit or license, the operator must also produce evidence of licensing from the State of Missouri, both for the body art service establishment itself and for each individual body art service provider working there, layering state credentialing on top of the local zoning buffer and density limit.