New Rochelle, NY Business Licensing & Operations: Tattoo & Body Modification (2026)

Under City Code § 331-110, a tattoo studio is not a use anyone can open by right anywhere in New Rochelle: it needs a special permit from the Planning Board, and the permit only issues for a location above the ground floor within the Central Parking District. That single-district restriction means a storefront-level shop, or one outside that downtown parking district, cannot qualify no matter how the applicant designs the space. The code also imposes two 200-foot spacing buffers measured the same way: 200 feet from any lot containing another existing tattoo studio, and 200 feet from any lot containing a school or a park.

Section 331-112H(1) clarifies that these distances run along public streets by the shortest pedestrian route between the two main entrances, or straight-line between entrances if that is greater, whichever produces the longer figure. Storefronts cannot advertise the tattooing itself: the ground-level entrance may carry only a business name sign consistent with the City's Sign Ordinance (Chapter 270), with no visual or graphic displays of the services performed. Operators must also hold whatever Westchester County or New York State licenses apply to tattooing, in addition to the city permit, and keep them current.

m. on Sunday, so no early-morning or late-night walk-ins outside that window. The special permit itself is not permanent: it expires two years after approval and must be reapproved by the Planning Board to continue operating, giving the Board a recurring checkpoint on compliance rather than a one-time sign-off.