Dearborn Heights, MI Business Licensing & Operations: Tattoo & Body Modification (2026)

Dearborn Heights City Code § 20-389, adopted by Ord. No. H-95-2 on February 28, 1995, regulates tattooing of minors rather than licensing tattoo parlors generally. A person who does not hold a current medical license from the State of Michigan may not apply, or contract to apply, a tattoo, meaning any image, insignia, letters or other indelible graphic illustration placed in or under the skin of someone under eighteen through injection of inks, dyes or pigment by needle, laser, electronic device or other procedure, unless the tattooist first obtains the express written consent of the minor's parent or legal guardian.

That consent must include a current telephone number for the parent or guardian, and the consent itself must be verified either by phone or in person and must be dated within thirty days before the procedure is performed. The tattoo artist or business must keep the signed consent form, showing the parent or guardian's printed name, phone number and date of consent, for ninety days after the tattoo is applied, and must produce it for inspection if the city asks. The section does not set out a specific fine or misdemeanor classification of its own, so a violation defaults to the city's general penalty under § 1-8, a fine of up to $500.00, imprisonment of up to 90 days, or both.

Because Chapter 8 business licensing does not separately list tattoo parlors, this parental-consent rule is the primary tool the city uses to regulate tattooing of minors.