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

060-1, the use table governing what businesses may operate in the city's commercial and mixed-use zoning districts: C-O (commercial office), C-N (neighborhood commercial), C-G (general commercial), C-R (regional commercial), MX (mixed use), TC-P (transit corridor-pedestrian) and TC-T (transit corridor-transitional). The table lists "Piercing services, tattoo parlors" with a "P" designation in all seven zones, the code's symbol for a permitted use allowed subject to conformance to standards or conditions of the title, without a discretionary permit. That stands in contrast to the table's separate line for "Personal services, other," which excludes piercing and tattoo parlors and instead covers uses such as check-cashing and modeling services; that broader category is prohibited in C-O, C-R and MX and needs a conditional use permit in C-G, TC-P and TC-T.

2266 defines "other personal services" to include check cashing services, modeling services, piercing services, tattoo parlors, and diet and weight reducing services, while excluding laundry, dry cleaning and licensed massage establishments, which are separately regulated. A prospective tattoo studio operator still needs a standard city business license, a building permit for any tenant improvement, and must comply with Alameda County Environmental Health's body art facility permit program, since the zoning code addresses only where the use may locate, not health and safety practice standards. Because the use is permitted outright, the Planning Division reviews a tattoo parlor application administratively for zoning compliance rather than sending it to the Zoning Administrator or Planning Commission for discretionary approval, unless the site also triggers design review for exterior building changes.