Albany County, NY Business Licensing & Operations: Tattoo & Body Modification (2026)

Chapter 265, adopted by Local Law No. 4-1999, sets 'County-wide minimum standards for the regulation of tattoo and/or body piercing shops' under § 265-1, applying in municipalities that impose no rules of their own or weaker ones, while making clear it does not authorize tattooing or piercing anywhere it is otherwise locally banned. Section 265-3 requires anyone who is not a licensed physician to hold a tattoo and/or body piercing artist certification from the County Health Officer before working on a patron; applicants pay a fee, pass a Department-administered exam covering aseptic technique, and must renew by December 31 each year.

A narrow exemption covers people who pierce only the ear lobe and outer perimeter using pre-sterilized, single-use stud-and-clasp systems, provided they follow the manufacturer's directions and FDA requirements. Section 265-4 separately requires every shop to register and hold a shop certificate of sanitation, issued only after a Health Officer inspection confirms compliance and, like the artist certification, expiring each December 31. Sections 265-5 and 265-6 set physical-plant standards: impervious, regularly-mopped floors, a work room separate from the waiting area, EPA-approved or hospital-grade germicidal solution at hand-washing stations, and a bar on setting up at fairs or festivals without written Health Officer approval.

Section 265-7 requires a bound-book record for every patron kept at least three years, and § 265-8 requires notarized parental consent plus two forms of photo identification before tattooing or piercing a minor where legally permissible. Section 265-13 gives the Health Officer authority to suspend or revoke either certificate after a hearing under the Albany County Sanitary Code and to impose a civil penalty up to the cap set in Public Health Law § 309(1)(f).