Mission Viejo, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Tattoo & Body Modification (2026)

1825 makes it unlawful to engage in, conduct, or carry on a tattoo establishment anywhere in the city without first obtaining a conditional use permit, a discretionary land-use approval rather than an over-the-counter business license. Once open, Sec. 1820 requires the tattooing room itself to measure at least 100 square feet with impervious, washable walls, floors, and ceiling, a hot-and-cold lavatory in the room, and an accessible toilet, plus tables built of white enamel, porcelain, or stainless steel. 1830 sets the sanitation procedure for every tattoo: gloves worn and discarded between patrons, no smoking during the procedure, no tattooing over rashes, boils, or infections, single-use razor blades, and a two-minute antiseptic wash of the skin followed by a 91 percent isopropyl alcohol scrub before work begins.

1840 requires all needles and instruments to be autoclaved at 15 pounds of pressure at a minimum 251 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 30 minutes, individually wrapped, and dyes kept in single-service containers discarded after each patron under Sec. 1835. The proprietor must keep a signed record for every patron showing name, address, age, and date, verified against picture identification, retained for at least two years and open to the health officer under Sec. 1855, who may inspect the establishment at any time under Sec.

1860. 1865 bars anyone under 18 from being inside a tattooing establishment at all and requires a posted sign saying so. Licensed physicians, surgeons, chiropractors, osteopaths, and hospitals are exempt from the whole division under Sec. 1870.