Hackensack, NJ Business Licensing & Operations: Tattoo & Body Modification (2026)
Key Facts
- License required
- From the City Health Officer, § 67-1
- Application fee
- $200 per § 67-2
- Governing standard
- NJ Sanitation Code, N.J.A.C. 8:27-1 et seq.
- Exemption
- Ear lobe-only piercing, § 67-4
- Enforcement
- Hackensack Health Department
Summary
Operating a tattoo, body piercing or permanent cosmetics business in Hackensack requires a license from the City Health Officer under Chapter 67, governed by New Jersey's Sanitation Code standards for the trade. The license application carries a $200 fee, and establishments or individuals who pierce ear lobes only are exempt from the licensing requirement entirely.
It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in the business of or operate an establishment where body piercing, ear piercing, tattooing or the application of permanent cosmetics is performed, as those terms are defined in, and governed by, Chapter VIII of the New Jersey State Sanitation Code, N.J.A.C. 8:27-1, et seq., without first obtaining a license from the Health Officer to engage in such business in accordance with the provisions herein and without complying with all of the provisions concerning operation and maintenance of the same as contained in N.J.A.C. 8:27-1, et seq. ... An application for a license to conduct an establishment where body piercing, ear piercing, tattooing or the application of permanent cosmetics is performed shall be accompanied by a fee of $200. ... Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.A.C. 8:27-9.1, establishments and individuals that pierce the ear lobe only shall be exempt from the requirements of this chapter.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4592721; v20 updated 2026-01-06; through 01-06-2026).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 67 of the Hackensack City Code, adopted in 2015 and retitled in 2021, makes it unlawful under § 67-1 to engage in the business of, or operate an establishment for, body piercing, ear piercing, tattooing or permanent cosmetics application without first obtaining a license from the Health Officer. C. , and requires full compliance with that code's operation and maintenance provisions as a condition of the local license. Section 67-2 sets the license application fee at $200, and directs that applications and licensing procedures otherwise follow Chapter 107 of the City Code, except that the application goes to the City Health Officer defined in Chapter 23 rather than to the City Clerk.
Section 67-3 places administration and enforcement of the chapter with the Hackensack Health Department, acting under Chapter 23. C. 1, do not need a Chapter 67 license, distinguishing that lower-risk service from tattooing, permanent cosmetics and other body piercing.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 67 does not set its own fine schedule, so operating without the required Health Officer license, or violating the state sanitation standards it incorporates, is enforced by the Health Department under § 67-3 and is subject to the Code's general penalty provision, § 1-15: a fine up to $2,000, up to 90 days imprisonment, or community service, with each day of continued unlicensed operation a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Hackensack
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