Skin piercing, acupuncture and tattoo licence

If you carry out a business involving any of the following treatments you must register the premises and activities with the council:

• acupuncture
• tattooing
• micro blading
• semi-permanent skin colouring
• electrolysis
• ear or body piercing.

Both the premises where the treatments take place, as well as all persons providing the treatments, need to be registered.

The purpose of registration is to prevent infection of the person whose skin is pierced. Staff carrying out the procedures and the premises must comply with byelaws designed to prevent infection. 

You must ensure that the procedures, equipment and facilities used are safe, hygienic, prevent the spread of disease and comply fully with the general duty of care required by the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

It is illegal to conduct the above activities unless the registration has been formally approved. Once you have applied and the appropriate fee has been paid, an officer will inspect the premises. If  officer considers your procedures and the premises to be suitable, then registration will be approved.  

Applying for a licence

Register a premises or person There is a fee for the registration of each premises and a separate fee for each person.

Registering a premises costs £396. This also covers the first person providing treatments

Personal registration costs £242.

Apply for a skin piercing, acupuncture or tattoo licence

Premises registrations are not transferable or subject to renewal. Personal registrations are transferrable between premises within the Wyre Borough. 

Tattooing of under 18's

Under the Tattooing of Minors Act 1969, it is against the law to tattoo a person who is under the age of 18. Parental consent cannot be accepted if the person is under the age of 18. If a person is tattooed and they are under the age of 18 the tattoo artist could face a criminal record, a fine of up to £1000 and be at risk of losing their registration. 

Documents to provide with your application

You must provide documents to support your application to register.

Premises registrations

If you’re registering a premises, you must include:

• a plan of the premises, highlighting the area to be used or registered
• details of relevant planning permission (if any)
• a copy of the public liability insurance (minimum £5 million)
• a copy of the waste contractor agreement for the premises 

Personal registrations

We need the below items to complete your personal registration:

• a passport sized photograph 
• a copy of your relevant qualifications
• proof that you have public liability insurance (minimum of £5 million)
• a copy of the waste contractor agreement for the premises you work from

What happens after you apply

One of our health and safety officers will contact you to arrange an inspection. 

You must ensure that procedures, equipment and facilities used: 

• are safe and hygienic 
• prevent the spread of disease
• follow health and safety rules

The officer will check if you meet health and safety requirements, along with the relevant byelaws and guidance

Health and safety legislation

You must also comply with the general duty of care and requirements of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

Premises

You must:

• keep all surfaces in any part of the premises used by clients clean and in good repair
• ensure all furniture and fittings in treatment areas are kept clean and in good repair
• regularly wipe down tables, couches and seats in the treatment area with disinfectant. These items must have a smooth and impervious surface and be covered with a disposable sheet
• have a sink in each treatment room with hot and cold running water
• display a ‘no smoking sign and a ‘no eating or drinking’ sign in a prominent place

Cleanliness of operatives

You must make sure that you:

• keep your overall (if you wear one) clean and in good repair
• keep your hands and nails clean
• cover any open cut, wound, sore or boil with an impermeable dressing
• do not smoke, eat or drink in the treatment area
• you have sole use of washing facilities within the treatment room. These facilities must have hot and cold running water, soap (or a similar cleanser) and a nail brush

Equipment

You must:

• keep any needle, metal instrument or other equipment used in the treatment in a sterile condition until it is used
• provide adequate sterilisation facilities, if you do not use pre-sterilised items
• keep all tattooing dyes bacterially clean and inert. At the end of treatment for each client, you must dispose of the containers used to hold the dyes or sterilise them before reusing them

Restrictions

The following restrictions apply:

• it’s an offence to tattoo any person under the age of 18 (under the Tattooing of Minors Act 1969), Parental consent cannot be accepted if the person is under the age of 18. If a person is tattooed and they are under the age of 18 the tattoo artist could face a criminal record, a fine of up to £1000 and be at risk of losing their registration. 

• you can perform body piercings on people under the age of 18, provided you receive written permission from, or you perform the treatment in the presence of, their parent or guardian
• it's illegal to perform nipple or genital piercings people on under the age of 18, regardless of parental consent

Before carrying out any treatment, you must have a discussion with the client about their health and the suitability of the treatment. 

Muscle-freezing injections and dermal fillers

The following treatments are not licensable activities: 

• administering botulinum toxin injections (such as Botox) or other muscle-freezing toxins
• providing cosmetic or dermal fillers (lip fillers, for example)

You do not need to apply to us for a premises or personal registration to carry out these services. 

If you perform these treatments, you should be a qualified and registered medical professional. For example, a surgeon, doctor, nurse or dentist. You should be on a register to show that you're skilled, have met training requirements and have insurance. Clients should avoid your practice if you're not trained, or if you have only completed a short training course. 

Botox and other branded muscle-freezing toxins such as Azzulure and Bocouture are prescription medicines in the UK, which means only a qualified prescriber can prescribe and give them to a patient or client. You can only be a qualified prescriber if you're also a qualified and registered medical professional.

It’s illegal to administer the below treatments for cosmetic purposes to anyone under the age of 18:

• botulinum toxin
• subcutaneous, submucous or intradermal injection of a filler

Definitions

The single term ‘cosmetic piercing’ encompasses:

• ear piercing
• cosmetic body piercing

The umbrella term ‘semi-permanent skin colouring’ covers:

• micro-pigmentation
• semi-permanent make-up
• temporary tattooing

Semi-permanent skin colouring is defined as ‘the insertion of semi-permanent colouring into a person’s skin’.