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

Chapter 255 of the Code of the City of Troy, Tattoo Parlors, was adopted by the City Council on 3-2-1995. Section 255-1 states the City's findings: the threat of AIDS/HIV and hepatitis contamination through shared tattoo needles, and an alarming expansion of the tattoo business into the criminal activity of tattooing minors. Section 255-2 defines a minor as any person under the age of 18 years and a tattoo shop as any room or space where tattooing is practiced or the business of tattooing is conducted.

The core ban is in § 255-3: no person shall tattoo a minor in the City of Troy. Section 255-7 requires any person engaged in the business of tattooing to conspicuously post a sign in the tattoo shop stating that tattooing a person under the age of 18 is prohibited by law.

Section 255-5 requires a register of customers. Each entry carries the name, address and age of the customer. If it would reasonably appear that the customer may be under the age of 21, affirmative proof of age must be provided and the manner and proof of identity and age recorded. Each entry also carries a description of the tattoo and its location on the body, and a statement signed by the customer acknowledging that he or she may be temporarily prohibited from donating blood under American Red Cross or other regulatory rules. The name, address, age and signed statement must be recorded before the procedure or any preparation for it begins.

Under § 255-6 the Chief of Police or a designee can inspect the register immediately upon request. Section 255-9 requires any tattoo shop operating in the City to comply with all regulations of the state or county health department. Section 255-8 lets the Chief of Police suspend or revoke a registration for a person convicted of a violation and makes revocation mandatory for a conviction under § 255-3, although the registration requirement formerly in § 255-4 was repealed 7-12-2018 by Ord. No. 43.