Bristol Township, PA Business Licensing & Operations: Tattoo & Body Modification (2026)

Section 205-16 of the Bristol Township Code covers any premises where a personal service artist or operator does body piercing and tattooing. The code defines tattooing as marking or coloring the skin by pricking in, by subcutaneous introduction, nontoxic dyes or pigments so as to form indelible marks or figures or by production of scars. Body piercing is the process of breaching the skin or mucous membrane for the purpose of inserting any object, including jewelry for cosmetic purposes. A personal service artist or operator is anyone who engages in body piercing or tattooing.

The location rule in subsection (b)[1] is the controlling limit. The building or structure of the use must be located no less than 1,000 feet from any residential use or district, school, place of worship, day care center, recreation facility, public park, or another personal service establishment. Because another studio is on that list, two studios cannot stand within 1,000 feet of each other.

The operating standards are short. Services must be performed under sanitary conditions and in compliance with all federal, state and local regulations, rules and laws regulating the procedure. The establishment must also display the notices Pennsylvania law requires about the necessity of parental consent before any procedure is performed on a minor.

On the district side, Use D23 is named among the uses permitted by right only in the P-1 Planned Industrial District (§ 205-63). No commercial or residence district list in Chapter 205 names it. The same 1,000-foot separation language appears in Use D29 for pawnshops and check-cashing establishments. Section 205-16 was last amended on 12-18-2025 by Ord. No. 2025-05, per the amendment note at its head.