Cobb County, GA Business Licensing & Operations: Tattoo & Body Modification (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing rule
- Board of health's Body Art Rules, adopted by § 62-33(7)
- Scope
- Unincorporated Cobb County only; cities run separate codes
- Enforcement
- Environmental health specialists and county law enforcement (§ 62-34)
- Notice period
- Written notice, deadline, then reinspection before citation issues
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor per § 1-10, up to O.C.G.A. § 15-10-60 max
- Emergency exception
- Imminent danger allows citation without prior notice
- Amendment rule
- Board of health updates need county commission approval to bind
Summary
Cobb County requires tattoo, piercing, and semi-permanent makeup businesses to comply with the county board of health's Rules and Regulations for Body Art, adopted by reference in County Code § 62-33(7). Amendments only bind as ordinance once the county board of commissioners approves and files them with the clerk. Violations are misdemeanors prosecuted in magistrate court, plus injunctive relief.
The county hereby adopts the following rules and regulations that have been adopted by the county board of health: ... (7)Rules and regulations for body art, adopted by the board of health as may be amended from time to time. ... These ordinances and regulations are on file with the clerk of the county and may be reviewed during normal business hours. Any amendment to these ordinances and regulations shall not be effective for enforcement as a county ordinance until the amendments are approved and adopted by the county board of commissioners and such amendments are placed on file with the clerk of the county.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 53).
Full Breakdown
Cobb County Code § 62-33(7) folds the county board of health's Rules and Regulations for Body Art into county ordinance, covering tattoo parlors, piercing studios, and semi-permanent cosmetic makeup operations in the unincorporated county. The rules themselves are not printed in the Code; § 62-33 keeps them on file with the clerk of the county for public review during normal business hours, and any amendment the board of health makes has no force as a county ordinance until the county board of commissioners approves it and the updated text is filed with the clerk.
Enforcement runs through the county board of health and every county law enforcement officer (§ 62-34). When an environmental health specialist finds a violation, the county must mail or personally deliver written notice to the property owner, tenant, or other party in control, spelling out the location, the nature of the violation, the fix required, and a compliance deadline; notice may also be posted conspicuously at the property. § 15-10-63 (or a personally served accusation), but only after sign-off from an environmental health specialist IV, county manager, district director, or district health director.
Imminent danger to life or property lets the district director skip the notice step and cite immediately. The county may also sue for an injunction plus other equitable relief (§ 62-35), and continuing violations are independently treated as a nuisance under § 1-10(e). § 15-10-60; that penalty is on top of, not instead of, license or permit revocation (§ 1-10(d)). § 15-10-66 (§ 62-37). Separately, the zoning code (§ 134-1) classes tattoo and body piercing shops as "other consumer goods and services" uses and defines a semi-permanent cosmetic makeup practitioner as someone who applies semi-permanent tattoos without a mechanical or motorized device, a narrower category than a tattoo shop.
Marietta, Smyrna, Kennesaw, Acworth, Powder Springs, and Austell each run their own body art licensing under their own municipal codes; this article governs only the unincorporated county.
Violations & Fines
A body art violation is a misdemeanor: after notice, a missed compliance deadline, and reinspection confirming the problem persists, an environmental health specialist or officer issues a citation to magistrate court under O.C.G.A. § 15-10-63, or the county attorney or solicitor pursues an accusation under O.C.G.A. § 15-10-66. Conviction brings the maximum fine, jail time, and probation Georgia law allows (O.C.G.A. § 15-10-60), on top of separate license or permit revocation and possible injunctive relief for continuing violations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Cobb County itself write body art rules, or adopt someone else's?
Does this rule apply inside Marietta or Smyrna?
What happens before the county can cite a body art business?
What's the maximum penalty for a body art code violation?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Cobb County
Compare Cobb County to another location·View the Georgia business licensing & operations overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.