Body Art Studio License

Permanent body art studio

Body art is the practice of physical adornment by establishments and artists utilizing, but not limited to, the techniques of body piercing and tattooing. It does not include ear piercing.

A license is required for anyone operating or managing a permanent building, place, premise, or structure, whether public or private, where body art procedures are performed.

Read the Board of Health regulations for body artist establishments.

Temporary body art studio

A temporary special event body art facility means any booth, building, room, shop, store, structure, or portion thereof, where body art procedures are temporarily performed during a trade show, product demonstration, educational seminar, or special event, for a period no more than 14 days. The application for the permit needs to be submitted no fewer than 30 days before the start of the event.

Temporary body art facilities can obtain a license at a location holding a hotel and restaurant liquor license if they are a bona fide body art trade organization and they are operating a trade show. Temporary body art licenses can be issued at locations that hold special event liquor licenses.

Online

Step 1.Before you apply

Read the ordinance for this license under "Municipal Code" on the right side of the page to make sure this license is right for you.

Step 2.Gather all required documents

Make sure you have everything from the "Required documents" section below.

Important notes to keep in mind about your documents:

All materials must be digital files saved as a .pdf or .jpg. Do not include any other file types. The Department of Excise and Licenses cannot accept other file types.
Use numbers or letters but not characters such as symbols (/ ? < > \ : * | “ ^) or spaces that could cause complications.
- For example:
  - Good filename: drivers-license-name-2022.pdf
  - Bad filename: last name/ id.pdf
In some cases, you might need to combine documents and upload them in a single .pdf. You can use a free, online tool to merge documents into a single file.
Legal documents must be signed, dated and executed. All pages of large legal documents (such as a lease) must be included in the application.
All materials must be legible.
Incomplete applications will be rejected.

Step 3.Have your credit/debit card ready

You'll need to enter your credit/debit card information to pay the permit fee. We accept Visa and MasterCard, and ACH payments.

The fees for a body art license exam are as follows:

$100 Application Fee
$200 License Fee (valid for 1 year,

Step 4.Apply Online

Please make sure that you have all of your required documents and information ready when you start your application. If you need to gather the information during the application process you can "Save" and resume the application at a later date.

Get Started

Step 5.Application review and next steps

Excise and Licenses tries to conduct an initial review of a complete application within seven business days. The review process might take longer if it is incomplete or requires police review (if applicable).

All application related communications will be sent through email, from EXLNotifications@state.gov. Do not respond to these emails as this inbox is not monitored.
If the application is incomplete, the applicant will receive a "notice of deficiency" email. This allows 14 days for corrections. License endorsement requests and incidents on a background check need police review.
All applications will be closed if they are not completed within 12 months.

Step 6.Required inspections

An inspection notice will be emailed after the review is complete. Inspections required for this license, listed by department, are below under "Required inspections."

Step 7.License issuance

After all the steps below are complete, email licenses@state.gov to let the Department know you want your license emailed. Include the business file number (BFN), and the name and address of the business.

All required documents are complete and submitted (if applicable).
Fees are paid in full.
All required inspections are passed (if applicable).

The licensee should read "Once you have your license" below and follow the requirements.

Paper Form

Phone

In Person

Required documents

Application for body art studio (PDF, 142KB) (Only required if mailing in application or applying in person, not required for online form application process)
Applicant criminal history form(PDF, 278KB) (required for each owner that owns 10% or more of the business)
Valid state or federally issued ID (required for each owner that owns 10% or more of the business)
Full set of fingerprints. Read more about fingerprinting and background checks. (required for each owner that owns 10% or more of the business and they must be within 60 days of application.)
Zoning use permit
Possession of property certificate(PDF, 130KB) or right of possession documents (lease or deed). The lease must be valid for at least 90 days from the date the application is submitted.

Required Inspections

Zoning business license inspection (470) 913-1311
Building business license inspection (470) 913-1311
Fire business license inspection (470) 913-3409
Public Health business license inspection (470) 913-1311

Once you have your license

License must be displayed

Excise and Licenses will email a professional license to all licensees. This license (or a clear picture of it) must always be displayed.

Requirement to keep contact information up to date

Email licenses@state.gov to notify the Department of any contact information changes (place of business, onsite manager, etc.). These updates must be submitted within 72 hours of the change.

Requirement to renew annually

Licenses expire annually. It is unlawful to operate with an expired license. A renewal application must be filed before the license expires.

Contact Us

Phone

(404)456-5255

Fax

(404)888-9000

Email

deptofpublichealth@state.gov

Location

Department of Public Health

2 Peachtree Street, N.W., 15th Floor Atlanta, GA

20202

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