Tippecanoe County, IN Business Licensing & Operations: Tattoo & Body Modification (2026)
Key Facts
- Permitting agency
- Tippecanoe County Health Department
- Establishment permit term
- 1 year from issuance
- Minimum age for tattoo/piercing
- 16, or 18 without guardian
- Guest artist permit length
- 14 days
- Second violation fine
- $100.00
- Third-and-later violation fine
- $200.00
- Appeal deadline
- 10 days of penalty
Summary
Tippecanoe County requires every tattoo, piercing, or body art shop in the unincorporated county to hold a Health Department permit before opening. Permits run one year and can be suspended or revoked, and practitioners need their own separate permit to work inside a permitted establishment.
(A) No person may operate a body art establishment except with a valid permit from the Department. ... (C) An establishment permit shall be valid for one year from the date of issuance unless suspended or revoked sooner by the Department.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2025 S-17: Supplement contains: Local legislation current through Ord. 2025-25-CM, passed 8-1-25; and State legislation current through 2025 Acts, Pamphlet No. 3).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 113 of the county code, the Body Modification Ordinance, puts the Tippecanoe County Health Department in charge of licensing body art. 07, no person may operate a body art establishment without a valid Department permit, and the establishment permit is good for one year from issuance unless the Department suspends or revokes it sooner. Applicants file on Department-prescribed forms covering the shop's name, address, and phone number, with renewal applications treated the same as original ones. 08 requires each individual practitioner, tattoo artist, piercer, or apprentice, to separately hold a practitioner permit tied to a specific permitted establishment; a temporary practitioner permit for a visiting guest artist expires 14 days after issuance.
06 sets age limits: no tattooing, genital piercing, branding, or scarification on anyone under 16, and tattooing or non-genital piercing on someone under 18 requires a parent or legal guardian present with government photo ID and the minor's birth certificate. The same section bans tongue splitting, skin braiding, tooth filing or removal for body art, cartilage modification, amputation, genital modification, and saline or other liquid injection outright, and no body art may be performed on an animal. 05. 20 and had discretion to waive enforcement for the first 90 days after the June 2015 effective date to let existing shops come into compliance; any permit issued in conflict with the chapter is void.
Violations & Fines
No fine applies the first time an inspector notes a violation within a year. A second violation of the same rule within that year draws a $100 civil penalty, and a third or later repeat draws $200 under Section 113.22. Each day past the abatement deadline is a separate offense. Fines are due within 30 days, with a 10% late fee added and no permit renewal until fines are paid, and a violator may appeal in writing to the Health Officer within ten days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to run a tattoo shop in unincorporated Tippecanoe County?
Can a minor be tattooed or pierced in the county?
Are practices like tongue splitting or cartilage modification legal here?
What happens if a body art establishment repeats a violation?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Tippecanoe County
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