Middletown, OH Business Licensing & Operations: Tattoo & Body Modification (2026)

Section 1860.01 of the Middletown Code of Ordinances requires each person or entity operating a tattooing and/or body piercing business to pay an application approval fee when applying to operate in any of four categories: tattooing services, body piercing services, combined body art services, or time-limited approval for a specific event. The standard approval fee and the annual renewal fee are each $250.00; for a business approved only for a limited period at a specific event, such as a convention or festival booth, the fee drops to $50.00 per event.

A licensee who misses the April 30 renewal deadline is assessed a penalty fee equal to 25% of the city license fee, under authority the ordinance ties to Ohio R.C. § 3709.09. Section 1860.02 folds the substantive safety and sanitation standards into state law rather than duplicating them locally: all approvals, reviews and revocations of approval for a tattoo or body piercing business in Middletown must follow Ohio R.C. 3730.03, 3730.04 and 3730.05, plus Ohio Administrative Code §§ 3701-9-02 and 3701-9-03, which set the state's body-art facility and practitioner requirements.

In practice this means Middletown collects the licensing fee and administers renewal locally through the Board of Health, while the operational rules an inspector checks, sterilization, equipment, recordkeeping, come from the state code the local ordinance incorporates by reference.