Section 1200-23-03-.06 - TATTOO ARTIST LICENSING(1) Apprentice Tattoo Artist(a) Any tattoo artist not in business or operating prior to October 1, 1996, shall be required to obtain an apprentice license and operate from an approved tattoo establishment.(b) A tattoo apprentice artist license shall be issued upon submitting an application with the appropriate fee.(2) A tattoo operator or tattoo artist shall undergo a training program before receiving a permit either to operate a tattoo establishment or to apply a tattoo. The training shall include at least one of the following: (a) the Alliance of Professional Tattooist course in sterilization;(b) an approved local or state health department program;(c) a course approved by the local health department in methods and techniques for the proper sterilization of instruments and materials used in tattooing; or(d) present acceptable evidence of having satisfactorily completed an approved course of instruction in sterilization techniques and methods through a college medical sterilization course.(3) The tattoo operator and/or tattoo artist shall be required to take and pass an examination concerning the provisions of T.C.A. Title 62, Chapter 38 before a license shall be issued. Such examination shall be either a written exam prescribed by the local health department or documentation of a similar exam given with a course as required in 1200-23-3-.06(2)(a), (c), or (d). After passing such examination and complying with the other provisions of the law and these rules, a license shall be issued.(4) The tattoo artist license shall be issued upon proof of (a) having passed a written examination as specified in 1200-23-3-.06(3) and/or 1200-23-3-.06(2) and(b) having submitted an application with the appropriate fee and completion of a one year apprenticeship.(c) Any tattoo artist in business in the state of Tennessee on October 1, 1996, shall not be required to meet the prerequisite of a tattoo apprentice. Proof of business may be a copy of a business license, tax records, copy of another state's tattoo artist license, or other similar city, county, state, or federal documents which show the prospective applicant as having been in business or operating on October 1, 1996, or a combination, acceptable to the State, of such documents. The local health officer shall have final approval on other forms of documentation submitted as evidence or proof.(5) Any individual desiring to tattoo who is a physician licensed by the State of Tennessee or any person under the supervision of a physician licensed by the State of Tennessee shall be exempt from the requirements of these regulations. In order to receive such exemption, a person, other than a licensed physician, shall submit a letter stating that any and all tattooing is performed under the supervision of a licensed physician and such letter shall be signed by the supervising physician and shall be notarized.Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1200-23-03-.06
Original rule filed September 26, 2000; effective December 10, 2000.Authority: T.C.A. 4-5-202, 62-38-201 et seq., and 68-1-103.