Rock County, WI Business Licensing & Operations: Tattoo & Body Modification (2026)

Rock County Code of Ordinances Sec. 124 makes it unlawful to operate a tattoo or body piercing establishment without a license issued under the ordinance, and bars transferring an establishment license from one person to another. An operator who already holds a license but wants to work a special event outside the licensed premises must first get a temporary establishment license, and the establishment license itself has to stay posted in a conspicuous spot on-site at all times. Practitioners must also independently meet the requirements of Wisconsin Administrative Code chapter SPS 221.

Before the Health Department will issue a license to a new establishment, it must complete a prior inspection; if the site does not meet the ordinance's requirements, the license is withheld under the Department's Enforcement Policy and Inspection Procedures. 124(3) sets the sanitary standards inspectors check: a work room kept separate from the waiting room (not used as a hallway to other rooms), clean towels and washcloths stored in a closed, labeled, dust-proof container with soiled linens kept separately in a covered, nonabsorbent, labeled container, no smoking, tobacco use, food or drink in the work area during a procedure, disinfection of every customer-contact surface (chairs, benches, work tables) between uses with a state-approved disinfectant, aseptic technique with a new disposable razor for each customer if skin is shaved, and operators with hair past shoulder length required to tie it back so it cannot touch the customer.

124(4) requires records of every tattoo and piercing, including the customer's name, date, time, description of the procedure and the operator's name, retained for five years. Appeals of an order issued under this chapter go to the Rock County Board of Health under Wisconsin Chapter 68 municipal administrative procedures, per Sec. 125; the Board can affirm, set aside or modify the order by majority vote, and its decision is final subject to review by the Rock County Circuit Court.