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

Chapter 13 of Title 2, Division 10 sets a detailed sanitation code for 'tattooing establishments,' defined as premises used for marking or coloring skin with tattoos. Section 2-10-1302 requires running hot and cold water, adequate toilet facilities, metal operating tables finished in white enamel, porcelain or stainless steel, and floors that are swept and mopped within every 24-hour period; a tattoo shop cannot double as a sleeping room or dormitory. Section 2-10-1303 requires owners, on the Health Officer's request, to submit in writing the source of every dye or ink kept on the premises and to update that disclosure whenever a new source is used, and bars retaining any dye or ink from a source the Health Officer has disapproved.

Section 2-10-1304 mandates equipment be scrubbed with soap and a brush, then autoclaved at 15 pounds of pressure per square inch (251 degrees Fahrenheit) for at least 30 minutes, individually wrapped in paper. Stencils under Section 2-10-1305 must be single-use, or precleaned and soaked design-side-down in 70 percent alcohol for at least 30 minutes and air-dried for another 30 before reuse. Practitioners must wash hands for at least 10 seconds, wear gloves discarded between customers, and never smoke while working (Sections 2-10-1310, 2-10-1313). The County Health Officer periodically inspects Irvine shops under Section 2-10-1322, and owners pay a health services fee set annually by County board resolution directly to the County.