Madison, WI Business Licensing & Operations: Tattoo & Body Modification (2026)
Key Facts
- Licensing agency
- Public Health Madison & Dane County
- License year
- July 1 through June 30
- Late renewal fee
- 25% of the filing fee
- Temporary event license
- filed 30 days ahead, max 7 days
- Penalty range
- $25 to $1,000 per day
- Appeal path
- Board of Health subcommittee, then Circuit Court
Summary
Madison requires anyone who tattoos or body-pierces, or any establishment offering it, to hold a license from Public Health Madison & Dane County before opening. Applicants must pass a pre-inspection and follow Wisconsin's tattoo/body-piercing sanitation code, and the license must stay posted on-site year-round.
(6)Licensing and Fees.(a)No person, firm, or corporation may operate a tattoo or body-piercing establishment or combination thereof on an annual or temporary basis unless the person has obtained a license and paid fees as specified in this section.(b)No person may tattoo or body pierce another person within the City unless the person has obtained a license and paid fees as specified in Wis. Admin. Code ch. SPS 221.(c)The license shall be conspicuously displayed in the licensed facility.(d)A license shall not be granted to an applicant without a pre-inspection. ... (11)Penalty.(a)Any person who violates any provision of this ordinance may be fined not less than twenty-five dollars ($25), nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000). Each day of violation and every violation of any provision of this ordinance may constitute a separate offense.
Full Breakdown
15 makes it unlawful to operate a tattoo or body-piercing establishment, or to tattoo or pierce anyone within city limits, without a license issued under this section and Wis. Admin. Code ch. SPS 221. The licensing year runs July 1 through June 30; renewals filed after June 30 incur a late fee of 25% of the filing fee, and every license must be posted where the public can see it. No license issues without a pre-inspection, and the Board of Health sets annual establishment fees, pre-inspection fees and reinspection fees, published in the Public Health Madison & Dane County Fee Schedule.
Pop-up operators get a separate track: a temporary establishment license covers a single location for up to seven days per event, application is due 30 days before the event, and every practitioner working it must still hold a current State of Wisconsin practitioner license. Public Health Madison & Dane County administers the ordinance and may call on City-commissioned police officers to help enforce it under Sec. 03(4), MGO. Anyone hit with a Public Health order can appeal to a three-member subcommittee of the Board of Health for Madison and Dane County, which can affirm, set aside or modify the order by majority vote, with further appeal to the Circuit Court of Dane County.
Violations & Fines
Violating any part of § 7.15 carries a forfeiture of not less than $25 nor more than $1,000, with each day of violation counted as a separate offense. The department can also suspend or revoke an establishment's license on top of the fine, and operating without a license triggers an additional fee set in the Public Health fee schedule, separate from the forfeiture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a license to tattoo in Madison?
Can I tattoo at a one-day pop-up event?
What happens if I operate without a license?
Can I fight a health department order?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Madison
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Tattoo & Body Modification in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Dane County handle tattoo & body modification.