Standards of Practice

PURPOSE: This rule outlines the standards that a practitioner will be held to in the course of performing tattoos, body piercing, or branding. Such standards relate to practitioners’ personal hygiene, safe and sanitary practices in performing procedures, and the protection of the health and welfare of tattoo, body piercing, and branding patrons. (1) Competence. (A) Each licensed tattooist, body piercer, or brander shall— 1. Practice within his or her scope of practice and shall not attempt any procedure that is beyond his or her level of competence or training; 2. Perform only those procedures for which he or she holds a license to perform pursuant to sections 324.520 to 324.526, RSMo; and 3. Maintain the safe and sanitary practice of his or her profession, taking all necessary precautions to prevent the transfer of disease or infection from one (1) patron to another, or from the licensee to a patron. (B) Licensed tattooists shall retain records of the dyes used in their tattoos, including the lot number of each pigment used for each patron. (C) No licensee shall delegate professional responsibilities to a person who is not qualified and licensed to perform such responsibilities. (2) Identification. (A) Each practitioner shall carry on his or her person proper picture identification when practicing pursuant to sections 324.520 to 324.526, RSMo. When requested to produce identification by an authorized agent of the division or office, the licensee shall comply. A licensee’s failure to produce proper picture identification upon request of an authorized agent shall be grounds for discipline by the division. (3) Client Welfare. (A) Each practitioner shall— 1. Conduct business and professional activities with honesty and integrity; 2. Obtain a signed informed consent from each patron prior to performing a tattooing, body piercing, and/or branding procedures; 3. Not engage in the practice of tattooing, body piercing, or branding on a patron with an exposed rash, skin lesion, boil, or any situation where contraindications exist; 4. Not engage in the practice of tattooing, body piercing, or branding while under the influence of alcohol or drug(s); 5. Not allow smoking or consumption of food or alcohol in the area where a tattoo, body piercing, or branding procedure is performed. Licensees and patrons may consume non-alcoholic beverages during the procedure; 6. Utilize universal precautions at all times as defined in 20 CSR 2267-1.010. This includes hand washing before and after each procedure and refraining from exposing clients to infectious or contagious diseases; 7. Thoroughly wash his or her hands and the exposed portions of his or her arms with dispensed soap and tempered water before and after each procedure and more often as necessary to keep them clean; 8. Dry his or her hands and arms with individual single-service towels; 9. Maintain a high degree of personal cleanliness and conform to good hygiene practices during procedures; 10. Wear clean, washable outer clothing; 11. Wear non-absorbent gloves when preparing the skin and while performing each procedure. The non-absorbent gloves shall be for single-use only and disposed of after the completion of each procedure; 12. If while performing a tattoo, body piercing, or body branding, the practitioner’s glove is pierced, torn, or otherwise contaminated, the contaminated gloves shall be immediately discarded and replaced with new gloves; and 13. If interrupted during a procedure and the interruption requires the use of the hands, a practitioner shall rewash his or her hands and put on new gloves before resuming the procedure. (4) Equipment. (A) All surfaces, counters, and general-use equipment in the tattoo, body piercing, and branding areas shall be cleaned and disinfected before each patron is seated. (B) All inks and pigments shall be obtained from reputable ink and pigment manufacturers. Information indicating the sources of all inks and pigments shall be available to the office upon request. Single-use containers of pigment or ink shall be used for each patron. No pigment or ink in which needles are dipped may be used on another patron. The remainder of unused portions shall be properly and permanently disposed of and/or destroyed after each application. (C) Instruments, dyes, pigments, stencils, branding irons and other branding instruments used for tattooing, body piercing, and branding shall be sterilized and stored in a safe and sanitary manner in order to prevent contamination. (D) Disposable-type razors shall be for single-use only and disposed of in an approved manner. (E) Tattoo stencils shall be single-use and each stencil shall be properly discarded after one (1) use. (F) The use of piercing guns shall be prohibited for anything other than ears. (G) Body piercing needles shall be disposable, sterile and for single-patron use only. All needles shall be placed in an approved sharps container after each use. (H) Body piercing jewelry purchased at the establishment shall be cleaned, individually packaged, and sterilized prior to use. Patrons that wish to use their own jewelry for body piercing must sign a waiver releasing the establishment from liability associated with the use of the patron’s own jewelry. (I) Bars, tubes, branding irons, and other branding instruments shall be constructed in a manner that permits easy cleaning and sterilizing. (J) Branding irons and other instruments used to brand may be reused if cleaned, sterilized, and stored in an approved manner between each patron. (K) Contaminated waste that may release liquid blood or bodily fluids when handled must be placed in an approved “red” bag that is marked with the international “biohazard” symbol. It must then be disposed of by, or delivered to, an approved medical waste facility pursuant to all applicable laws and regulations. Sharps ready for disposal shall be disposed of in an approved sharps container. AND INSURANCE (L) Contaminated waste that does not release liquid blood or body fluids when handled may be placed in a covered receptacle and disposed of through normal approved disposal methods. (M) Practitioners shall use single-use plastic covers to cover reusable accessories such as spray bottles to minimize the possibility of transmitting body fluids or disease during application of a tattoo, body piercing, or branding to successive patrons. (N) Insects, vermin, and rodents shall not be present in any part of the tattoo, body piercing, and/or branding establishments and any appurtenances or appertaining premises. AUTHORITY: section 324.522, RSMo 2016.* This rule originally filed as 4 CSR 267-5.010. Original rule filed Aug. 15, 2002, effective Feb. 28, 2003. Moved to 20 CSR 2267-5.010, effective Aug. 28, 2006. Amended: Filed June 16, 2008, effective Dec. 30, 2008. Amended: Filed Sept. 13, 2019, effective March 30, 2020. Amended: Filed Jan. 23, 2024, effective July 30, 2024. *Original authority: 324.522, RSMo 1998, amended 1999, 2001, 2007.