Riverside County, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Tattoo & Body Modification (2026)
Key Facts
- Facility permit fee
- $200/year
- Practitioner registration
- $50/year
- Temporary event permit
- $150
- First-violation fine
- $100
- Administering agency
- Dept. of Environmental Health
Summary
Body art facilities and practitioners in unincorporated Riverside County must hold a Department of Environmental Health permit, with tattooing anyone under 18 a state crime.
This chapter shall apply to all individuals performing body art procedures and all body art facilities located within the County of Riverside. Riverside County hereby adopts, and incorporates by reference, the provisions related to body art as codified in California Health and Safety Code Section 119300, et seq. ... This chapter shall be administered and implemented by the Riverside County Department of Environmental Health.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 84 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Riverside County Code Chapter 8.164 requires every body art facility and body art practitioner in the county to hold a valid permit or registration from the Department of Environmental Health before operating. Facilities pay a $200 annual permit ($150 for a temporary event permit); practitioners pay a $50 registration fee. The chapter layers county rules -- sterile gloves at the point of skin puncture, 72-hour reporting of accidental needle sticks, and three-year medical waste recordkeeping -- on top of the state Safe Body Art Act (Health and Safety Code Section 119300 et seq.). State Penal Code Section 653 separately makes tattooing a minor a crime statewide.
Violations & Fines
Administrative citations run $100 for a first violation, $200 for a second within a year, and $500 for each further violation of the same rule; unregistered practitioners or sterilization/sanitation violations carry a separate $1,000 state civil penalty under Health and Safety Code Section 119323, and facilities can be declared a public nuisance and enjoined.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this cover Riverside city tattoo shops?
Can a minor get a tattoo in Riverside County?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Riverside County
California rules heatmap·Compare Riverside County to another location·View the California business licensing & operations overview
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