Anyone shopping for their first tattoo artist job, or a studio owner building a hiring process, tends to assume the state license and the background check are the same thing. In most of the country, they are not. Tattooing is regulated as a public health activity, through state or county health departments, not through a licensing board that runs criminal history checks the way a nursing board or a bar association does. Understanding that split matters, because it changes who is actually responsible for screening a tattoo artist’s criminal history, driving record, or drug use before they touch a client.
This guide walks through how tattoo artist licensing actually works, what the published health department rules require, where a criminal history check is and is not part of that process, and what a studio should be doing on its own as an employer under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
Tattoo licensing is a health permit, not a criminal history screen
Tattooing involves breaking the skin with needles and working with blood and body fluids, so most states place it under the same public health authority that oversees food service sanitation and communicable disease control, rather than under a professional licensing board. That single fact explains most of what a tattoo artist license application actually asks for.
Texas regulates tattoo studios and artists through the Department of State Health Services under 25 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 229. The published licensing content focuses on facility sanitation, universal precautions such as handwashing and single use gloves, sterilization recordkeeping, and restrictions on tattooing minors or anyone impaired by drugs or alcohol. The Texas DSHS tattoo and piercing licensing page does not describe a criminal background check as part of artist licensing.
Washington State issues its tattoo artist license through the Department of Licensing. To qualify, an applicant must be at least 18 years old and hold a current bloodborne pathogens training certificate. The Washington Department of Licensing’s tattoo artist requirements page lists those two conditions and does not include a criminal history review for the individual artist license.
Oregon regulates tattoo artists through the Health Licensing Office under the Board of Electrologists and Body Art Practitioners. The Oregon Health Authority’s tattoo artist licensing overview directs applicants through license application, renewal, continuing education, and the laws and rules that govern the practice, and it does not present a criminal background check as a licensing condition either.
| State | Licensing agency | Criminal background check required for the artist license | Bloodborne pathogen training required | Minimum age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | Department of State Health Services | Not listed in published requirements | Sanitation and precaution standards apply | Not specified for artists on the licensing page |
| Washington | Department of Licensing | Not listed in published requirements | Yes, current certificate required | 18 |
| Oregon | Health Licensing Office | Not listed in published requirements | Governed by board laws and rules | Set by board rule, confirm with HLO |
That is only three states, chosen because their requirements could be verified directly against the agency’s own page. Body art licensing is not uniform across the country. Some states license at the state level, some delegate licensing to counties or cities, and a handful have no statewide tattoo licensing scheme at all, leaving it to local health departments or municipal codes. If a studio or an applicant needs a definitive answer for a specific state or county, the correct move is to check that state’s own health department or licensing agency site directly rather than assume the rule is the same everywhere, because it is not.
Where a criminal history check is not part of the license, it can still be part of hiring
The fact that a state health department does not run a criminal background check before issuing a tattoo artist license does not mean no one checks. It means the health department is only responsible for the public health side of the practice, sanitation, bloodborne pathogen exposure control, and age verification. The studio that hires the artist is a separate decision maker, and that studio can run its own pre-employment screening as an employer, the same way a retail chain or a restaurant group would.
A reasonable studio hiring process generally looks at a few things beyond the state license itself. A criminal history search is the most common piece, since studios are bringing someone into a small space with direct, repeated physical contact with clients. A sex offender registry check is a frequent addition for the same reason. A motor vehicle record check becomes relevant if the artist will drive a studio vehicle, travel to guest spots, or work mobile events. A drug test may be part of the process in states and for employers where pre-employment testing is still common, though state law on what can be tested for and how results can be used varies and keeps changing, so a studio should confirm current rules before building a testing policy rather than copy one from another state.
None of this changes what the license itself requires. It just means the studio, not the state board, is the one deciding how thoroughly to vet the person it is actually putting in front of clients.
Why bloodborne pathogen training is the real gate, not a background check
The piece every state in this guide does ask for, in some form, is bloodborne pathogen training. That requirement exists because of occupational exposure risk, not criminal history. The federal standard behind it is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s bloodborne pathogens rule, codified at 29 CFR 1910.1030, which requires employers whose workers have reasonably anticipated contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials to maintain an exposure control plan, provide training, and offer protective equipment and procedures. A tattoo studio is exactly the kind of workplace that standard was written for, which is why state health departments lean on bloodborne pathogen certification as the core safety credential for the license, rather than a criminal history review that would sit outside their public health mandate.
What studios need to do once they decide to run their own screening
Once a studio decides to use a third party consumer reporting agency to run a background check on an applicant or an existing employee, the Fair Credit Reporting Act applies, and it applies the same way it would to any other employer. A studio cannot simply ask for a criminal history printout and move on. It has to follow the process.
That starts with a standalone disclosure, a document that tells the applicant a consumer report will be obtained for employment purposes and does nothing else, not even cover other hiring paperwork in the same form. It also requires written authorization from the applicant before the report is pulled. If the studio is thinking about acting on something in the report, such as a criminal record, it has to send a pre-adverse action notice along with a copy of the report and a copy of the Summary of Rights before making a final decision, give the applicant a reasonable chance to respond, and only then send an adverse action notice if it proceeds with the decision. The Federal Trade Commission’s guidance on using consumer reports lays out this sequence for employers, and the underlying obligations trace back to the permissible purpose and adverse action provisions in 15 U.S.C. 1681b.
Criminal history results also deserve a second look before they become a hiring decision. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s guidance on arrest and conviction records in employment decisions recommends an individualized assessment that weighs the nature of the offense, how much time has passed, and how closely the offense relates to the job, rather than a blanket rule that any record is automatically disqualifying. A studio may be able to decline an applicant over a relevant record, but it should be able to show that the decision considered the specific situation rather than applied an across the board exclusion, and it should talk to its own counsel about how that assessment should be documented. Studios that also screen other personal care or body service staff, such as a cosmetology license background check or a massage therapist background check, will recognize the pattern, since licensing boards in those fields follow a similar health and sanitation model with employer screening layered on top.
Guest artists and travel add another layer
Tattoo artists frequently travel for guest spots, conventions, or seasonal work in another state, and that is where licensing gets more complicated than a single state page suggests. Some states issue separate guest or reciprocal registrations for artists who already hold an active license elsewhere, while others require a full local application regardless of an out of state credential. A studio that regularly brings in guest artists should confirm the destination state’s own rule for guest or reciprocal registration rather than assume the home state license travels automatically, since it frequently does not.
Frequently asked questions
Does a tattoo artist need a criminal background check to get licensed?
In the states checked for this guide, Texas, Washington, and Oregon, the published tattoo artist licensing requirements do not list a criminal background check as a condition of the license. The license is issued by a health agency and focuses on age, identification, and bloodborne pathogen training. Rules vary by state and sometimes by county, so an applicant or employer should confirm the current requirement with the specific state or county health agency.
What does a tattoo artist license actually require?
Typical requirements include being at least 18 years old, submitting a government issued photo ID, paying an application fee, and completing bloodborne pathogen and communicable disease training, sometimes with a minimum passing score. Facility level rules add sanitation, sterilization recordkeeping, and client record requirements on top of the individual artist requirements.
Can a tattoo studio run its own background check on an artist it wants to hire?
Yes. The state health department’s licensing process and an employer’s own pre-employment screening are separate. A studio can use a consumer reporting agency to check criminal history, registries, or driving records as part of its own hiring process, as long as it follows FCRA requirements for disclosure, authorization, and adverse action notices.
Why do tattoo artists need bloodborne pathogen training specifically?
Tattooing creates direct exposure to blood and other body fluids, which is the exact risk the federal bloodborne pathogens standard addresses for employers. State health departments require training on this standard as the core safety credential for a tattoo license, which is why it shows up on every state licensing page checked for this guide.
Does a background check on a tattoo artist always show criminal records?
Not automatically, and not the same way in every case. What a report shows depends on the search performed, the jurisdictions searched, and record availability in those jurisdictions, and state law on how far back certain records can be reported varies. A studio should not assume a single search covers every possible record.
What should a studio do if a background check turns up a criminal record?
Before making a final decision, the studio should follow the FCRA pre-adverse action process, including giving the applicant a copy of the report and the Summary of Rights and a reasonable opportunity to respond, and it should weigh the nature and relevance of the record rather than apply an automatic exclusion. Employers should talk with their own counsel about how to document that assessment.
Studios that want help building a compliant hiring process for artists and shop staff can see how Reveal Background’s screening platform handles disclosure, authorization, and adverse action documentation.
This article is general information, not legal advice. State and local licensing rules change, and employers should confirm current requirements with their own counsel and the relevant state or county agency.
