Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 146 requires every tattoo and body-piercing studio in Dallas County to hold a Texas Department of State Health Services license. Dallas County HHS supports inspections in unincorporated areas; cities like Dallas and Irving handle in-city zoning and code enforcement.
Under Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 146 and 25 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 229 Subchapter K, DSHS licenses tattoo and body-piercing studios statewide on a two-year cycle. Operators must use single-use needles, autoclave reusable instruments, follow infection control plans, post sanitation procedures, retain client records for two years, and refuse minors except narrow gang-mark exceptions with parental and court consent. Dallas County does not run a separate body-art permit program. Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS) Environmental Health supports DSHS with inspections in unincorporated areas; in-city studios are inspected by DSHS and city code compliance. Mobile, temporary, or convention tattoo events still need DSHS event permits.
Operating without a DSHS Chapter 146 license, tattooing minors outside narrow exceptions, reusing single-use needles, or skipping sanitation logs triggers fines, license revocation, and possible Class A misdemeanor charges under HSC 146.020 referred to the Dallas County DA.
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