Las Cruces, NM Business Licensing & Operations: Tattoo & Body Modification (2026)

Section 19-333 of the Las Cruces Code of Ordinances is a single, direct rule: it is unlawful for any person to tattoo a minor under the age of 18, whether or not the tattoo artist is paid for the work. The section carries forward Code 1988, Section 21-253, and the city has not layered a separate tattoo-parlor or body-art business license, inspection regime or age-verification procedure on top of it in the general Code of Ordinances. Because Section 19-333 does not set out its own penalty, an offense falls back to Section 1-10, the Code's general penalty provision: a violation is a petty misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500, imprisonment of up to 90 days, or both, and each day a continuing violation persists counts as a separate offense.

Section 1-10 also allows the city to seek injunctive relief to stop a continuing violation and does not prevent revocation or suspension of a business license the tattoo shop otherwise holds. A tattoo artist who operates from a fixed business location must still hold the general business license required of any commercial operation, but the tattooing-specific prohibition in Section 19-333 is narrowly aimed at protecting minors from being tattooed, not at licensing the practice of tattooing or piercing establishments generally.