Lubbock, TX Business Licensing & Operations: Tattoo & Body Modification (2026)

10 licenses tattoo and body piercing studios through the city's Environmental Health Department, located at 1625 13th Street. 041 bars anyone from operating, managing or maintaining a studio or temporary location without a permit, and each location needs its own permit; one permit cannot cover more than one studio. 043 sets the fee schedule: $150 for a tattoo-only studio, $150 for a body-piercing-only studio, and $300 for a combined tattoo-and-piercing studio ($150 per portion). Temporary locations, capped at seven days per event, pay $100 for tattoo or piercing alone or $200 for both, due at least five days before the event.

042. 007 requires artists to check government-issued photo ID and record a client's age and date of birth, and generally bars tattooing anyone under 18 except in a narrow parental-consent carve-out for covering an existing obscene, gang-related or drug-related tattoo. 005 requires studios to be in permanent, non-dwelling buildings separated from living quarters, with at least 50 footcandles of lighting in the work area, mechanical ventilation, and handwashing stations within 10 feet of the work chair for new studios. 006 requires single-use gloves, universal precautions, and fresh gloves whenever a session is interrupted or gloves tear. 053 if there is reasonable basis to believe a client contracted a communicable disease at the studio.