South Carolina Tattoo License

If you want to provide tattoo services, you have to obtain a South Carolina tattoo license. For that, you have to follow some instructions. Please keep reading to learn more about the process.

How to get a license to tattoo?

As a tattoo artist, you have to meet the requirements/guidelines regulated by the federal CS Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). Also, it is required that every professional performs body art practices in an authorized facility.

The first prerequisite is that you are at least 21 years old. The second one is that you apply to the board. The package includes:

• Your oath ensures that you will comply with the regulations.
• Your signature if you are working as an individual or as a partnership. In the case of a corporation, it has to have the signatures of two of its officers.
• Full name and address of the studio for which the permit is needed.
• The name(s) of the person(s) in charge of the location.

Required documents

DHEC may also require additional information that includes proof of the applicant’s ability to obey the regulations.
Other documents that the package has to have are:

• Copy of a business license
• Certification cost, if applicable
• Certified copy of local code authorizing this practice within its jurisdiction
• Written evidence that the applicant is an experienced professional
• Written notice of compliance with the Office of Safety and Health Administration requirements. They should attest to the completion of approved programs. Those can be subjects such as American Red Cross First Aid, bloodborne pathogens, adult CPR, as well as tattoo infection control.
• Descriptions of the disposal methods of the items (inks, dyes, pigments, etc.)
• Floor plan. It also has to mention the location(s) of workstations and identification of equipment sterilization.

Please, be informed that any missing record may result in delays in processing the request. So, you should double-check your documents before sending them.

It is vital to know that you won’t be eligible for the permit if your place is operating body art practices within 1,000 feet of a playground, church, and school. However, the place must have the shortest route from the mentioned utilities. It should also be easily reachable by ordinary pedestrians and/or vehicles.

Fees

Fees include an initial and annual renewal payment. Both are $400 for studios with 8 or fewer workstations. Nonetheless, if you have more of them, you should pay $50 more for each additional station.

You must do that by credit card, check, or money order. Keep in mind that online payment will speed up the process. Note that if you fail to make your payment before the expiration date, you will have to pay 25% of the cost along with the fee.

South Carolina tattoo license renewal

To renew your qualification, you should submit an application and pay the fee. Yet, if denied, the Department will refund you a portion of the cost. There is a fixed $75 refund. However, the amount may also depend on the remaining months of the licensure period.

So, whichever amount of the two is higher, it will be considered as compensation. Grants for temporary locations will not be reactivated.

Change of the qualification

You have to request the board to issue a new license before any of the following cases:

• The facility ownership change
• Change in the number of workstations

However, in the cases of relocation or name changes, you have to notify the DHEC with a letter.

Submission address

It is preferable to email the application to [email protected]. However, you can also send it by mail:

Bureau of Health Facilities Licensing
2600 Bull Street
Columbia, SC 29201

If you have more questions, call 803-545-4370.