Mount Pleasant, SC Business Licensing & Operations: Tattoo & Body Modification (2026)

Mount Pleasant's Zoning Code treats a tattoo or body piercing studio as a conditional commercial use subject to the spacing and permitting standards in Section 156.381. Division (A) sets the buffer at 1,000 feet, measured from the proposed studio location to the nearest place of worship, school, day care, playground, public or private recreation facility, or any property that is zoned residential or already carries an existing residential use, a shorter buffer than the 1,500-foot standard the Zoning Code applies to adult uses under Section 156.346.

Division (B) requires the studio to provide the Town a copy of its operating permit from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), the state agency that licenses tattoo and body-piercing establishments for health and sanitation compliance, before the Town approves the use. Division (C) bars mobile units outright, so a tattoo or piercing operation cannot run out of a van, trailer, or other movable vehicle anywhere in Town limits; only a fixed studio location that clears the spacing buffer qualifies. Because a tattoo studio is also a business operating in Town, it needs the standard business license from the License Official in addition to the zoning permit, and the License Official can require proof of the DHEC permit and zoning compliance under Section 110.09 before issuing that license.