Body Art

Body Art (Tattoo & Body Piercing)

The body art rules were created to establish minimum standards, applicable throughout Ohio, for the operation and maintenance of body art facilities — to protect the public from injury, minimize the potential for disease transmission, and provide a safe and healthy environment.

Body art in Ohio is regulated under the authority of Chapter 3730.01 of the Ohio Revised Code (ORC) and Chapter 3701-9 of the Ohio Administrative Code (OAC).

• The body art program is administered locally by the Perry County Health Department.
• Registered Environmental Health Specialists with our department are required to review, approve, and inspect all body art facilities, operations, and events located in Perry County.
• If you own or operate a body art facility, have plans to do so, or have any questions, you may contact the Perry County Health Department for assistance.

Definitions

Per Ohio Administrative Code 3701-9-01:

Body art

The practice of physical body adornment, including tattooing, permanent cosmetics and/or body piercing. This definition does not include practices considered medical procedures by the state medical board, performed with medical devices, including but not limited to biopsy or dermal punches and scalpels.

Body artist

An individual, including an operator, who performs one or more of the following procedures: tattooing; permanent cosmetics; body piercing.

Tattoo

Any method utilizing needles or other industry-specific instruments, by someone other than a physician licensed under Chapter 4731 of the Revised Code, to permanently place designs, letters, scrolls, figures, symbols or any other marks upon or under the skin of a person with ink, dye, pigment or any other substance resulting in an alteration of the appearance of the skin. This does not include practices considered medical procedures by the state medical board.

Body piercing

The piercing of any part of the body by someone, other than a physician licensed under Chapter 4731 of the Revised Code, who utilizes a needle or other industry-specific instrument to insert an object into the body for non-medical purposes. Body piercing includes ear piercing (except when performed on the earlobe with an ear piercing gun), surface anchors, and surface piercing. This does not include practices considered medical procedures by the state medical board.

Permanent cosmetics

A tattoo, by someone other than a physician licensed under Chapter 4731 of the Revised Code, which includes but is not limited to eyebrows, eyelids, lips and other parts of the body for beauty marks, hair imitation, lash enhancement or areola repigmentation. This includes procedures referred to as "permanent makeup," "microdermapigmentation," "micropigment implantation" or "dermagraphics," and for the purpose of these rules has the same meaning as "tattoo."