The Legal Age to Get a Tattoo in California
Tattoo Age Requirements in California
In California, the legal age to get a tattoo is 18 years old. Under Section 119300 of the California Health and Safety Code, people 18 years of age or older may receive a tattoo without parental consent. A licensed tattoo artist must have an adult signature from the customer, or a parent or legal guardian, and keep it in their records for three years. The age can be verified in person or with a copy of the customer’s government-issued photo ID .
Section 119300 of the California Health and Safety Code states that "no tattoo or body-piercing practitioner shall do body piercing or tattooing on the surface of a person’s skin unless the person desiring to have such procedure performed is at least 18 years of age." Before commencing the procedure, health practitioners must receive a signed statement from the person noting their full name, date of birth, and that they willingly consent to receive the body piercing or tattoo.
Exemptions do exist under this law. If a minor is seeking medical treatment to remove a tattoo by a licensed medical practitioner, no person under 18 shall receive a tattoo from any business licensed under the law.
Exceptions to California’s Tattoo Law
As you can see, the legal age for a tattoo appointment in California is 18. This doesn’t mean that child tattooing laws in California won’t come up. There are three exceptions where someone under the age of 18 can legally get a tattoo (without permission of a parent or guardian):
- The minor is an emancipated minor. The State Bar of California defines the rules for being an emancipated minor as follows: "A minor can ask a judge to end his or her status as a dependent or ward of the court. To end the juvenile court’s jurisdiction, the minor must be at least 14 years of age. The person must show that he or she can support him or herself without help from parents or caregivers and should also have a place to live.
- The minor is married. It’s worth noting here that, in California, a person cannot marry before turning 18.
- The minor has either a birth defect or a disfigurement. This comes down to a professional opinion. If the minor in question has a deformity that has damaged the skin, such as a scar or a birthmark, a tattoo artist may legally tattoo over it without the permission of a parent or guardian. However, the tattoo artist must have written consent from the minor that holds him/her harmless from all liabilities and damages that arise from the procedure.
Penalties for Tattoo Law Violations
In addition to the potential criminal consequences for violating the California penal code laws, there may also be civil liability. A minor, often with parental assistance, can face civil suits against the tattoo artist as well as the shop for the procedure.
"A minor would come to our office with their parent and they may mention some things that happened while getting a tattoo, and then we’ll go through an investigative process to determine if anything was done improperly," says Santiago Alvarado, an attorney at Layfield & Barrett Law Group representing several tattoo shops in the San Fernando Valley where the practice of tattooing minors is common.
Should the tattoo artist or the shop be found liable for civil injury, the law firm will contact healthcare experts who can testify to the extensive and fundamental medical procedures needed when performing a tattoo, Pierce says. Expert witnesses have been called upon by Alvarado’s law firm for clients in cases that involve tattooing injuries, though he has yet to cite any specific case due to confidentiality regulations.
Pico Rivera is notable for being home to more tattoo parlors per capita than any other city in California, according to tattoo removal clinic Eraser Clinic. In a city known for its large youth population, Alvarado’s office is keenly aware of the problem the practice presents.
"They’re tattooing a lot of minors, and inevitably there are going to be injuries," he says.
In addition to legal repercussions, tattoo artists and parlor owners who tattoo minors may risk being reported to their local licensing agencies, which may ultimately threaten their professional licenses.
"Someone could file a complaint against you and then you’d have to defend yourself against the agency that issued your license," Alvarado explains.
However, Alvarado says it’s the minor’s parents who are most likely to face legal punishment. Minors cannot sign contracts on their own, he says, which makes it illegal for a child to contract with a tattoo artist. The tattoo artist may also face criminal charges, even if they did not directly witness the minor signing the contract.
"The law says that the minor cannot sign the contract themselves, so if the artist sees a minor come in, it’s their obligation to check their ID to make sure that the minor is not under the legal tattoo age," Alvarado explains.
California’s Tattoo Age Law Compared to Other States
When comparing California’s tattoo age laws with those of other states, the difference in terminology can be a bit confusing. For example, many states have considered whether to raise an "age of consent" for minors receiving tattoos, which most laws will refer to as "informed consent." Under this definition, minors who have parental permission are "consenting" to the tattoo process. Other states, like California, use a more precise definition of "informed consent" when it comes to tattoos . Informed consent is defined as "the voluntary consent obtained from a patient fulfilling the requirements of his/her mental, physical, and emotional capacity to their awareness of the process of a tattoo," and must occur when a tattoo artist provides a minor with proper sanitation procedures.
As previously stated, and regardless of whether "informed consent" is defined as described above, the California bill applies to minors under the age of 18. In California, minors under the age of 18 need parental consent to receive a tattoo. Twelve other states follow this age restriction for tattoos, while another 23 states require minors to have parental consent if they are 17 or younger, and only 12 states allow minors of any age to have a tattoo.
Effects on the Tattoo Industry
The legal age requirement for getting a tattoo, piercing, or microblading can have significant impacts throughout the tattoo industry. Adults working and operating businesses in the industry face risks if they choose to ignore the regulations that govern their business and/or were previously unaware of the new laws, because adults who are unaware of the laws that regulate that industry can still be personally liable for the actions of minors in some instances when it comes to tattooing or microblading minors.
For all businesses, there is the always-present risk that an employee will fail to act within the law, either out of ignorance of the law or unknowingly allowing their customers to violate the law. These risks can be partly mitigated through proper training, but compliance is not always guaranteed. Legal liability for violating the law is the concern of the employer; however, in California, there is a limited negligence liability on the part of the tattoo artist (see § 1716(4)) because (1) the tattoo artist is providing the service to a person, which would ordinarily make them liable for negligence, (2) the tattoo artist is acting upon a minor rather than an adult, and (3) the tattoo artist is required to contact an adult for consent if the minor is not accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, meaning that the tattoo artist can only be brought to court if they "fail to act within prescribed statutory boundaries."
The above means that businesses face more potential liability than do the tattoo artists operating in their shops, leading to a greater emphasis on ensuring the business is compliant with rules and regulations. This can result in more training for staff, including management; better checking of government-issued identification; and knowing which local ordinances may impact business practices.
Our California tattoo law attorneys at 1-888-9-SMART LAW represent tattoo studios, microblading businesses, and tattoo artists in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Riverside, and throughout the state.
Tips for Minors Seeking Tattoos
Ultimately, a tattoo is a very personal decision. If you’re set on getting a tattoo, it is important to follow the law. In the process of getting that tattoo, there are a few rules for minors that they must follow to ensure that they get the cleansing and safety measures that should be taken when doing this. First, a parent or legal guardian must consent to the tattoo. This means that it is not enough for a friend, older sibling, uncle, aunt, or other family member to say it’s alright – it has to be a parent or legal guardian. So what constitutes as a parent or legal guardian? In general terms, a parent or legal guardian will have proof of relationship to the child. However, even if you are able to obtain the signature from a parent or legal guardian, it is still a good idea to go to the tattoo studio together to confirm that the legal guardian understands boundaries of the procedure and is comfortable with the artist. In general, it is a good idea to include someone in the process of doing the tattoo with you if you are a minor in case the legal age of the tattoo artist is questioned, and the tattoo shop needs to prove that you are indeed not an adult.
If you’ve had a conversation with your parents about getting a tattoo , and they are not ready to have that conversation, don’t automatically think you can’t go behind their back. Generally speaking, minors often function based on the "forbidden fruit" desire to have that which they cannot have. Therefore, if you ask and your parents say no, you may be less likely to want that tattoo. However, if you try to hide the tattoo, you will be more invested in keeping it because you worked so hard to circumvent the rules. It is also very likely that they will find out if the tattoo is in an area that is visible. In general, minors should discuss any kind of body modification they want to do with their parents.
There are many ways that minors can be involved with tattoos in a way that feels comfortable for everyone involved. Most importantly, both parties need to respect the wishes of the person who does not want to move forward. The tattoo artist and the parent or guardian have the right to say no at any time, even if the minor is fully committed to the tattoo. A tattoo can be a very big commitment, and becoming a tattoo collector at a young age can be tempting. However, this is a decision that both parties need to feel comfortable with and communicate about.