Tattooing Arkansas’ Youth Becomes (Mostly) Illegal July 1, 2024

New laws in the Great State of Arkansas go into effect on Monday, July 1, 2024, including new starting wages for State employees, new cyber security rules and insurance plans for government offices, plus new rules for permanent body artists and minimum age requirement increases for body art in the state. 

If you are a tattoo artist in Arkansas you better pay attention to this, it would be a good idea to read through the new and amended laws concerning body art passed in last year's legislative session.

For All Body Artists:

According to the amended rules, Arkansas Tattoo Artists must take and pass a blood-born pathogens course, renew that course each year, and submit it to the state at renewal time.

"Each artist, artist instructor, and student shall complete United States Occupational Safety and Health 29 Administration blood-borne pathogens training approved by the Department of 30 Health."

The one-time State licensing fee is now reduced from $500 to $200.

Learning The Skills:

Body art students must now have 400 or more clock hours of supervised body art and classroom instruction at a state-licensed facility.

student artist in training in the fields of tattooing, body piercing, or permanent cosmetics body art, each student artist in training shall complete not less than four hundred (400) clock hours of supervised body art work and
23 classroom instruction

Committee:

The Arkansas State Cosmetology Technical Advisory Committee rules, terms, and member numbers have been updated as well.

The committee shall consist of eleven (11) members
appointed by the State Board of Health to two-year terms.

Updated Body Art Definitions now are:

• Tattooing
• Permanent cosmetics
• Body piercing
• Branding
• Scarification

Age Minimums Raised:

Sorry kids...

• Under the age of 13, you can't get a tat in Arkansas for any reason.
• 13 - 18: You must have a doctor and your parent's permission to receive body art. And only in an attempt to cover up scarring. No scars, no art under 18.
• 18 and above: You're an adult, you can do whatever you want.

The new age restrictions and parental and doctor's permissions in Arkansas do not mean you can't travel and get them elsewhere, underage tats have not been made illegal in the state. But the Body Art Artists in Arkansas cannot give them to you without those conditions and permissions of the state being met. So please don't ask them to. Your desire to put Tay-Tay's latest lyrics on your forearm does not outweigh the artist's need to keep their license.

I am not a lawyer or legal scholar, do not take legal advice from me. You are encouraged to read the information in the Act yourself, if you have questions, consult your attorney or call your state representative.

For all the new body art rules and regs, click here Act 688.

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