Linden, NJ Business Licensing & Operations: Tattoo & Body Modification (2026)

25, Prohibited Uses, is part of Chapter 31 Zoning's general regulations, and paragraph g singles out tattoo uses for a zone-specific ban: they are specifically prohibited in all zones except for industrial zone districts where retail uses are permitted. That places tattoo shops in the same restricted category as hookah lounges and retail marijuana stores under the same section, though the code does not ban tattooing outright the way it bans hookah lounges citywide; it confines the use to industrial-zoned property. Separately, the Board of Health's fee schedule at Chapter BH6 sets the licensing cost once a location is zoned correctly: Section BH6-2c charges $150 per facility per year for a body art facility that provides tattoo, piercing or permanent cosmetics, and $50 per facility per year for a facility that provides only ear piercing.

Linden's code history shows the city repealed a dedicated Tattoo Parlors and Body Piercing Establishments ordinance by Ordinance No. 2023-07, so the operating standards that used to sit in that repealed chapter no longer apply; what remains in force is the zoning-district restriction plus the Board of Health fee. An applicant needs Zoning Officer sign-off that the site sits in an industrial district permitting retail uses before the Health Department will process a body art facility license.