Portage County, WI Business Licensing & Operations: Tattoo & Body Modification (2026)

Sec. 4.6 lets the Portage County Health and Human Services Board regulate tattoo and body piercing establishments under authority granted by Wis. Stats. §§ 46.23 and 251.04, to stop the spread of disease through tattooing and piercing. Sec. 4.6.4 requires two separate licenses: an establishment license held by the business owner, and an operator license held by each individual who actually tattoos or pierces clients, and both expire every June 30 after issuance. An establishment license cannot move to a new location or pass to a new owner, and if the premises does not meet the section's requirements the operator cannot be licensed at all.

A licensed operator who wants to work a special event outside the licensed establishment needs a separate temporary license for that event. Sec. 4.6.6 bars the Department from licensing a brand-new establishment, or a new operator taking over an existing one, without first completing an inspection. Sec. 4.6.7 then sets the sanitary rules that inspection checks: a work room separate from the waiting area used for nothing but tattooing, a clean towel and washcloth for every customer, disinfecting all customer-contact surfaces between uses with a state-approved disinfectant, no smoking or eating in the work area, a new disposable razor for every customer whose skin is shaved, and hair tied back if it is longer than shoulder length.

Sec. 4.6.8 requires the establishment to keep a record of every tattoo, including the customer's name, the date, the time, the design and the operator who did the work. Body piercing under Sec. 4.6.3(2) covers perforating any body part except the ear.