Licenses

PURPOSE: This rule outlines the requirements for obtaining a tattoo, body piercing, and branding license. (1) No person shall operate a tattoo establishment, body piercing establishment, and/or branding establishment unless he or she has obtained a license for the establishment from the division. An application for an establishment license shall be notarized and accompanied by the appropriate fee. Only one (1) application shall be required for any single establishment. (2) No person, other than an apprentice, shall tattoo, body pierce, and/or brand another person; use or assume the title of tattooist, body piercer, and/or brander; designate or represent themselves to be a tattooist, body piercer, and/or brander unless he or she has obtained a license from the division for the profession practiced. An application for a practitioner license shall be notarized and accompanied by the appropriate fee and evidence of having successfully completed the following: (A) A bloodborne pathogen training program (or equivalent) which includes infectious disease control; waste disposal; handwashing techniques; sterilization equipment operation and methods; and sanitization, disinfection, and sterilization methods and techniques (Example: “Preventing Disease Transmission” (American Red Cross) and “Bloodborne Pathogen Training” (U.S. OSHA)); and (B) First aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR); and (C) An apprenticeship, which shall include at least three hundred (300) documented hours of practical experience that includes at a minimum fifty (50) completed procedures in each area that the applicant has filed an application for licensure. The documented work shall be certified and supervised by a currently licensed Missouri practitioner, a currently licensed Missouri professional whose scope of practice includes tattooing, body piercing, and/or branding, or by a practitioner who is licensed to practice tattooing, body piercing, and/or branding in another state, territory, or commonwealth whose requirements for licensure are substantially equivalent to the requirements for licensure in Missouri. A supervising practitioner shall register a person needing to meet the requirement set forth in this subsection by submitting an affidavit acknowledging the supervisory relationship on a form prescribed by the office. The affidavit shall be submitted by the supervising practitioner within ten (10) business days of beginning the supervisory relationship. The supervising practitioner shall be present during the entire procedure and shall be licensed in the same field of practice in which the applicant has filed a license application. Proof of having completed the apprenticeship requirement set forth in this section shall be submitted on forms prescribed by the office. The apprentice shall notify the office in writing within ten (10) business days of the termination of the supervisory relationship; or (D) In lieu of an apprenticeship, an applicant may submit proof that he/she has successfully completed a course of study in tattooing, body piercing, and/or branding in a school licensed or accredited as a school by any state or federal agency. The course of study must have been completed in the same practice area that the applicant has applied for a license. 1. The course of study shall consist of at least three hundred (300) documented hours of instruction and/or training which shall include, at a minimum, instruction in sanitation, equipment handling, disease control, skin treatment and/or skin infections, design and/or artistry, and clinical practice. Applicants shall submit an official transcript demonstrating compliance with the requirements of this section. Official transcripts must be mailed directly to the division by the school. 2. A person applying under this subsection shall also submit proof of practical experience that includes at least twenty-five (25) completed procedures in the same field that the applicant has applied for licensure. For purposes of this subsection, proof of practical experience may be certified to by a school which meets the requirements of this rule or by any person licensed to practice tattooing, branding, or body piercing in another state, territory, or commonwealth; or (E) Alternatively, and in lieu of an apprenticeship, an applicant may submit proof or other evidence which verifies that he/she has, within the last seven (7) years, practiced for a minimum of three (3) years in the same practice area that the applicant has applied for licensure. Sufficient proof or evidence may include, but is not limited to: 1. Affidavits from prior employer(s) or supervisors; 2. W-2 or 1099 forms; or 3. Tax returns verifying occupational status. (F) All applicants shall ensure that each state, District of Columbia, United States territory, province, or country in which a license, certificate, registration, or permit to practice tattooing, body piercing, or branding is held or has ever been held to submit verification of licensure, certification, registration, or permit directly to the division. The verification shall include the license, registration, certification, or permit issued, the number, status, issue and expiration dates, information regarding disciplinary action, and the name and title of the person verifying information with date and board seal. (3) Within a reasonable period of time after receiving a completed notarized application for a license, the division shall either approve the application and issue a license or deny the application. If the application for license is denied, the division shall give the applicant reasons in writing for the denial and provide information about how the applicant may appeal the decision. (4) The division shall not issue a license to a new or temporary tattoo, body piercing, and/or branding establishment without completing an inspection of the establishment to ensure that the establishment complies with the requirements set forth in these rules. (5) Applicants who are approved for licensure shall receive one (1) license. Duplicate licenses may be provided upon payment of the appropriate fee pursuant to the rules promulgated by the division. (6) Reciprocity. A person licensed to practice tattooing, body piercing, and/or branding in another state, territory, or commonwealth may apply for licensure by reciprocity in the same practice area if the other state, territory, or commonwealth has requirements that are substantially equivalent to the requirements of Missouri for the license sought. Applicants for licensure by reciprocity shall submit or AND INSURANCE cause to be submitted the following: (A) A completed notarized application and the accompanying application fee; (B) A copy of a current tattoo, body piercing, and/or branding license from the other state, territory, or commonwealth; (C) A current copy of the rules and regulations pertaining to tattooing, body piercing, and/or branding from the other state, territory, or commonwealth; and (D) A letter of license verification mailed by the state, territory, or commonwealth licensing agency to the division which shall include: 1. Verification that the applicant holds a valid and unexpired license; 2. The license issuance date; 3. The license expiration date; and 4. A statement verifying whether the applicant has ever been subject to discipline or if there are any complaints or investigations pending against the licensee. 5. Upon request, a consent that allows the office to examine disciplinary, complaint, and/or investigative records of the other licensing authority. (E) A person applying for licensure by reciprocity from a state, territory, or commonwealth whose licensing requirements are less stringent than those in force in the state of Missouri shall be required to meet the requirements of 20 CSR 2267-2.010(2). AUTHORITY: section 324.522, RSMo 2016.* This rule originally filed as 4 CSR 267-2.010. Original rule filed Aug. 15, 2002, effective Feb. 28, 2003. Moved to 20 CSR 2267-2.010, effective Aug. 28, 2006. Amended: Filed April 10, 2008, effective Nov. 30, 2008. Amended: Filed July 22, 2009, effective Jan. 30, 2010. Amended: Filed Sept. 13, 2019, effective March 30, 2020. *Original authority: 324.522, RSMo 1998, amended 1999, 2001, 2007.