Gary, IN Business Licensing & Operations: Tattoo & Body Modification (2026)

Chapter 10 of the Gary Municipal Code, titled Businesses, licenses uses ranging from sexually oriented businesses to peddlers and gas stations, but it contains no separate tattoo or body-art licensing article; the only place the Municipal Code addresses tattoo and body piercing establishments is the zoning use list for the M1 Limited Manufacturing District at Sec. 123-217(b)(1)g, which permits them outright provided they are licensed by the state. That listing sits among other retail and service uses allowed in M1, such as self-storage facilities, business incubator facilities, and engineering offices, rather than in a business-district (B1-B5) list, meaning a tattoo studio isn't a permitted use in Gary's retail or general-service business districts absent a special use approval.

Under the general M1 conditions in Sec. 123-217(a)(2), all business, production, servicing, and processing must take place within completely enclosed buildings unless otherwise specified, so a tattoo shop operating in M1 must be fully indoors like any other retail use there. Before opening, the operator needs the zoning certificate required by Sec. 123-34, which the director of the department of development and planning issues only after confirming the use and building comply with the chapter, plus a certificate of occupancy under Sec. 123-35. Because the state license, not a city permit, is the substantive qualification named in the ordinance, Gary's own regulatory role is limited to zoning placement and enclosed-building compliance.