Lower Merion, PA Business Licensing & Operations: Tattoo & Body Modification (2026)

Under Township Code § 90-4.3, no practitioner other than a licensed health care provider may perform body piercing or tattooing in the Township unless the operator of the premises holds a license issued by the Building and Planning Department and the site carries a current inspection certificate. Applicants apply in writing to the Health Officer on Building and Planning Department forms, pay the license fee set in Chapter A167, and submit proof of at least $100,000 in public liability and professional liability insurance per occurrence under § 90-4.4.

Licenses run for one year from the date of issue and must be renewed annually under § 90-4.5; the registration number on each license is nontransferable. Section 90-4.6 sets operating standards: impervious, cleanable floors and walls, an adjacent toilet with hot and cold water, single-use gloves and needles, steam sterilization verified weekly with spore tests, and a written consent form signed by a parent or guardian before anyone under 18 is pierced or tattooed, kept on file for three years or until the patron turns 21.

Section 90-4.7.1, added in 2019, further restricts body piercing to hollow, curved or cannula needles and bans dermal punches, while limiting starter jewelry to surgical steel, titanium, niobium or Tygon. A separate certificate of inspection from the Health Advisory Council under § 90-4.10 is required for each establishment and is valid for one year. The Health Officer may enter the premises at reasonable times to inspect under § 90-4.11, and the Township may suspend or revoke a license for any misstatement or violation, but only after a hearing before the Board of Commissioners under § 90-4.8; no part of the license fee is refunded if a license is revoked.