Merced County, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Tattoo & Body Modification (2026)
Key Facts
- Body art facility permit
- $715 per year
- Practitioner registration fee
- $100 per year, per practitioner
- Ear piercing notification fee
- $49, one-time
- Failure-to-permit penalty
- 3x annual fee plus closure
- Suspended permit reinstatement
- $460 plus reinspection fee
- Fee adjustment
- CPI-adjusted every July 1
- Governing area
- Unincorporated Merced County only
Summary
In unincorporated Merced County, anyone operating a tattoo parlor, body piercing studio, permanent cosmetics business, or ear piercing service must hold an annual body art facility permit from the county's Division of Environmental Health. Merced County Code Section 9.49.010 sets that permit fee at $715 a year, adds a $100 annual practitioner registration fee, and charges a one-time $49 ear piercing notification fee, with all figures adjusted every July 1 for inflation.
Tattooing, body piercing, permanent cosmetics, or ear piercing:
Body art facility permit 715/year Practitioner annual registration fee 100/year Ear piercing notification fee (one-time) 49/year
... Any person who fails to obtain any required construction and/or operating permit prior to commencing work or operation may be subject to closure of the facility or stoppage of work and must pay the original permit fee and a penalty of three times the regular or full annual permit fee. The suspended permit reinstatement fee shall be $460.00 in addition to the fee for reinspection. In order to reopen a facility after permit revocation, the full annual fee and reinspection fee must be paid.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4930839; v8 updated 2026-06-02).
Full Breakdown
010. A body art facility pays $715 per year for its operating permit, and each individual practitioner working in that facility must separately pay a $100 annual registration fee. A business that offers only ear piercing, rather than full tattooing or body piercing, instead pays a one-time $49 notification fee. These figures sit inside the same countywide Environmental Health fee table that covers restaurants, pools, medical waste generators, and dairies, and personnel or contractors of the Division of Environmental Health carry out the inspections and billing behind them.
010 requires that "as a condition for the issuance of a permit, the permittee must have clearance from the appropriate planning agency to operate," and failing to obtain that planning clearance triggers suspension of the health permit. All fees in this section, apart from state-set surcharges, are adjusted every July 1 based on the change in the Consumer Price Index for the West Urban area, so the $715 and $100 figures move over time. This applies only inside the unincorporated county; the incorporated cities of Merced, Los Banos, Atwater, Livingston, Dos Palos, and Gustine run their own separate business licensing and are not covered by this county fee schedule.
Violations & Fines
Section 9.49.010 states that a facility operating without the required permit faces closure or a work stoppage and a penalty of three times the regular annual permit fee, on top of the original fee owed. Reinstating a suspended permit costs an added $460 plus the reinspection fee, and reopening after revocation requires paying the full annual fee again. Unpaid fees add a 25% penalty after 30 days, double after 60 days, and are referred to Revenue and Reimbursement after 90 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Merced County require a permit to open a tattoo or body piercing shop?
What if a shop offers only ear piercing, not tattooing?
What happens if a business operates without the required permit?
Do the tattoo and body piercing permit fees ever change?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Merced County
California rules heatmap·Compare Merced County to another location·View the California business licensing & operations overview
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