Downey, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Tattoo & Body Modification (2026)

Municipal Code § 9432 regulates body art facilities, including tattoo shops, to protect public health while deferring the technical licensing framework to Los Angeles County. 04(a), no one may establish or operate a body art facility without a current, valid Public Health Permit issued by the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health; there is no separate City health permit layered on top. 04(b). Operators, defined broadly to include any owner, manager, or other person in control, cannot let anyone perform body art at the facility unless that person is registered with the County health department, and must post and display each practitioner's County-issued certificate in a spot visible to patrons.

06 mirrors these duties for the practitioners themselves: no one may perform body art without a current County registration, at a facility without a valid County Public Health Permit, or without their certificate posted and visible. , as it may be amended, meaning the county and state framework, covering sanitation, sterilization, and practitioner training, governs the technical operating standards, while the City's role is to require the permits and postings and to enforce their presence. This section was added by Ordinance 22-1481, adopted April 26, 2022, making it one of Downey's more recently codified business-licensing provisions.