Sterling Heights, MI Business Licensing & Operations: Tattoo & Body Modification (2026)

A body art facility permit applicant files with the City Clerk under § 12-124, supplying full ownership information, fingerprints, and affidavits confirming no felony or moral-turpitude conviction in the past ten years and no other criminal conviction in the past five. The Chief of Police investigates the applicant's character and inspects the premises through the Building, Police, and Fire Departments, reporting to the City Clerk within 90 days (§ 12-125). The City Clerk, not the City Manager, decides issuance and must deny the permit if the fee was unpaid, the facility would not comply with the city's building, fire, or zoning ordinances, a principal has a disqualifying conviction, the application contains false statements, or a similar license was denied or revoked elsewhere at any time before the application (§ 12-126).

A denied or revoked applicant appeals using the same Ordinance Board of Appeals process set for pawnbroker licenses in Article IV. Permits run through December 31 of the issuance year and are not transferable to a new owner or location (§ 12-127). Owners and operators must display the permit, follow bloodborne pathogen standards, use sterile fields, single-use ink, and sterile needles, keep confidential client records including name, address, age, and the design and location of the work, and give every customer a Department of Community Health information sheet on aftercare and infection warning signs (§ 12-129(A)).

Smoking is prohibited inside the facility. , with an exception that lets a facility performing only microblading, as defined in the zoning ordinance, operate outside those hours (§ 12-129(B)). An operator may not tattoo, brand, or pierce a minor without the parent or guardian's prior written informed consent given in the operator's presence, and may not perform any of these procedures on anyone under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance (§ 12-128).