Burleson, TX Business Licensing & Operations: Tattoo & Body Modification (2026)

Section 50 of Appendix B, the City of Burleson zoning ordinance, defines TATTOO STUDIO as an establishment where licensed personnel apply an indelible mark or figure to the human body by scarring or inserting a pigment under the skin using needles, scalpels or other related equipment in accordance with Chapter 146 of the Texas Health and Safety Code. A tattoo studio can include a permanent cosmetic makeup studio as an accessory use, provided it meets state licensing requirements for both.

The use appears on one use list: the specific use permit list in § 78-110 for the C, commercial district. That route is an ordinance amendment requiring a site plan, a public hearing, a recommendation from the planning and zoning commission and action by the city council. The printed conditions set hours (no earlier than 10AM, Sundays no later than 6PM, all other days no later than Midnight), bar studios from residential areas, ban flashing and neon signs, and prohibit loitering on the permitted premises. The council also considers the distance to residentially zoned areas, churches, schools, day-care facilities, and other tattoo studios; the code prints no distance number. The application for a building permit must be accompanied by a copy of the applicant's state license.

Under § 130-105 the permit is not a permanent change in zoning, and the use reverts to the original district if the premises is voluntarily vacated for six months or more. A building permit, if required, must be secured within one year of the grant or the permit is void, and the board of adjustment has no jurisdiction over specific use permit decisions. Under § 130-110 the council weighs sign location, lighting, parking adequacy and the safety of the motoring public and pedestrians. The C district sets a 20 feet minimum front yard and a two stories or 35 feet height limit (§§ 78-115, 78-120).