West Hartford, CT Business Licensing & Operations: Tattoo & Body Modification (2026)

Section 145-7 of the salon chapter, adopted September 27, 2016, folds Connecticut's tattoo-licensing statute directly into Town law: consistent with C.G.S. § 20-266o, no one may tattoo without a state license, an exception reserved for physicians, advanced practice registered nurses working with a physician, registered nurses under a physician's or dentist's direction, or physician assistants under a physician's supervision. On top of the state license, § 145-7.B requires every tattoo or body-piercing practitioner to hold a bloodborne pathogen certificate, either state-approved training or an equivalent course such as the American Red Cross's 'Preventing Disease Transmission' or OSHA's bloodborne pathogen training, and § 145-7.C requires the certificate to be posted where patrons can see it.

Subsection D bars buying, selling or fraudulently obtaining a tattooing credential, practicing under someone else's license or a false name, advertising 'tattoo' or 'tattooing' without the state license, and working with or for a technician whose license is suspended or revoked. No one may tattoo or pierce an unemancipated minor under 18 without the written permission of a parent or guardian, and that permission form must be kept for at least 30 calendar days. All reusable equipment touching blood must be sterilized in an ultrasonic machine or comparable approved method, and body-piercing needles are single-use only; ear-piercing guns are prohibited outright under § 145-7.G. The West Hartford-Bloomfield Health District administers the salon permit these rules sit inside, and can suspend or revoke it under § 145-9 for noncompliance.