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

Section 17-357 bars anyone from practicing tattooing in New York City without a license issued by the commissioner, though licensed physicians are exempt. Out-of-state or foreign-licensed tattooists can work here on a seven-day temporary license issued under subdivision c, and if their home jurisdiction does not license tattooists at all, the commissioner may still grant the temporary license on proof of training equivalent to what New York's own exam requires.

To get a full license, § 17-358 requires an applicant to be at least eighteen, submit to a commissioner-administered examination covering infection control, universal precautions under CDC guidance, and proper needle and waste disposal, and pay a biennial fee of one hundred dollars. Anyone convicted of criminal tattooing of a minor under Penal Law § 260.21 within the preceding year cannot be licensed at all. Once issued, a license runs two years, cannot be assigned or transferred, and under § 17-359 must be posted at the premises alongside a sign giving a Health Department complaint number; every advertisement must carry the phrase 'LICENSED BY THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND MENTAL HYGIENE' along with the license number.

Section 17-360 sets the sanitary floor for every tattoo establishment: clean and sanitary conditions, proper ventilation and lighting, waste receptacles, hot and cold running water, soap and towels, commissioner rules on hand-washing, latex gloves and equipment sterilization, and a flat ban on tattooing anyone under eighteen. Tattooists must give customers written aftercare instructions and keep a record of each customer's name, address, age and tattoo date for the commissioner.