Tattoo consent records in Utah

Utah

Utah writes one statewide sanitation rule and then hands enforcement to your local health department, that is who issues your body art facility permit and who walks in to inspect. Every client fills out a consent and disclosure form before you start, printed or digital, and it carries a set list of health questions. Utah sets no floor age, but tattooing a minor without a parent present and signing is a class B misdemeanor. Keep client records 3 years.

Last reviewed 2026-09-02 · 14 sources
Minimum age
Tattoo
18+
Minors only with conditions
Piercing
18+
Minors only with conditions
Keep each record
3 years
Keep client records confidential for at least 3 years after the procedure and hand them to the local health officer when asked.
Written consent
Required
8 things the form must say

What the form asks in Utah

Utah’s rule names things the standard waiver form did not ask. A shop in Utah gets them by default: the questions on its form, the rest on its record in the shop app.

  • An allergies question: medicines, ointments, soaps, latex, anything put on the skin“Do you have any allergies or adverse reactions to dyes, pigments, latex, iodine, or other such products?” (Utah Admin. Code R392-701-16(2)(b)(ii)(F))
  • A bleeding-disorder question“Do you have hemophilia, epilepsy, a history of seizure, fainting or narcolepsy, or other conditions that may interfere with the body art procedure?” (Utah Admin. Code R392-701-16(2)(b)(ii)(G))
  • The medications and blood thinners question, always on“Have you ingested anticoagulants, anti-platelet drugs, or NSAIDS (aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, etc.) in the last 24 hours?” (Utah Admin. Code R392-701-16(2)(b)(ii)(D); a medication that may slow healing, (E))
  • Whether the client has eaten in the last 4 hours“Have you eaten within the past four hours?” (Utah Admin. Code R392-701-16(2)(b)(ii)(B))
  • The client's answer that they are not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, asked and printed on every form“Are you under the influence of drugs or alcohol?” (Utah Admin. Code R392-701-16(2)(b)(ii)(C))
  • A photo of the client's ID (on every form)“the client's full name and date of birth as verified from a valid government-issued photo identification” (Utah Admin. Code R392-701-16(2)(c)(i); the photocopy defense, Utah Code § 76-9-2002(5))
  • The risks of a tattoo the state's rule lists, in writing on a tattoo's consent“a risk notification section that provides information detailing the risks and possible consequences of a body art procedure” (Utah Admin. Code R392-701-16(2)(a); the physician statement, (2)(b)(i))
  • The risks of a piercing the state's rule lists, in writing on a piercing's consent“a risk notification section that provides information detailing the risks and possible consequences of a body art procedure” (Utah Admin. Code R392-701-16(2)(a); the physician statement, (2)(b)(i))
  • A box the client ticks: they are doing this of their own free will and have read and understood the form“the client is voluntarily obtaining services of the client's own free will and volition” (Utah Admin. Code R392-701-16(2)(d)(i) to (iii))
  • Aftercare instructions, acknowledged in the consent (on every form)“the client has received and understands written and verbal aftercare instructions” (Utah Admin. Code R392-701-16(2)(d)(iv))

What the record must capture

  • Client full name and date of birth, verified from a government photo ID (for a minor, the parent's or guardian's)
  • The client's signature, or a parent's or guardian's for a minor
  • The client's physical address
  • The client's phone number, or a parent's or guardian's for a minor
  • A brief description of the procedure, its type and location
  • The artist's name
  • The date of the procedure

Name and date of birth get verified from a valid government photo ID. If a client turns out to have been a minor, your defense in the statute is having reviewed, photocopied and kept that ID, so keep the copy, not just the answer.

Digital records. Utah's rule names the format. The client consent and disclosure form may be printed or digital, and the record you keep for each procedure may be written or digital. (Utah Admin. Code R392-701-16(1)(a) and (6))

Who may see it. Utah's rule: "The operator shall: (a) keep client records confidential", and make them available to the local health officer on request. (Utah Admin. Code R392-701-16(8))

"The operator shall: (a) keep client records confidential; (b) keep client records for a minimum of three years after the date of procedure; and (c) make client records available to the local health officer upon request." - Utah Admin. Code R392-701-16(8)

A license on a phone in Utah

Utah’s digital license is a real ID. It lives in GET Mobile ID app. Utah Driver License Division, Using mDL:

Utah’s mDL is certified to the ISO 18013-5 standard and can be used across the U.S. and the world. More businesses are accepting the mDL every day. As of March 2023, the mDL is accepted in Utah as an official ID at the following locations: The text

On waivers.tattoo: turn on “Choose from library” in Settings and a client whose license lives on their phone can pick a saved photo of their ID for your file. It starts off, and the signed waiver says when a photo was a saved one. The license itself is the proof of age, checked the way Utah requires.

Minors

18+. Minors only with conditions. Utah names no floor age. Under 18, the statute counts a parent's or legal guardian's consent only as "the presence of a parent or legal guardian during the performance of tattooing or body piercing upon the minor", after they have given "reasonable proof of personal identity and familial relationship" and "written permission signed by the parent or legal guardian". The sanitation rule adds that the parent or guardian "accompanies the minor in the procedure area for the entire procedure", and that the artist reviews and keeps a copy of their government photo ID. The statute's minor is a person under 18 who "is not married" and "has not been declared emancipated by a court of law", so someone under 18 who is married or court-emancipated is not a minor for this law. Doing it without that is a class B misdemeanor plus a $1,000 civil penalty on the shop. Scarification on a minor is flatly banned, consent or not. The rule's consent and disclosure form, R392-701-16(2)(c), asks for "the client's full name and date of birth as verified from a valid government-issued photo identification or, if the client is a minor, identification from a parent or legal guardian" and the "client's phone number or, if the client is a minor, a parent or legal guardian's phone number".

"[A]n actor commits unlawful tattooing of a minor if the actor performs or offers to perform a tattooing: (a) upon a minor; (b) without receiving the consent of the minor's parent or legal guardian" - Utah Code § 76-9-2002(2); consent defined at § 76-9-2001(2)

On waivers.tattoo: turn on Tattooing under 18 in Settings and a client under 18 gets a parent-or-guardian section — who they are, how they are related, their own signature, and a photo of their ID. Utah’s rule has the form ask for a photo of the birth certificate or guardianship papers too. The signed waiver prints what Utah requires.

Piercing a minor

18+ to sign alone. Minors only with conditions. The parent or legal guardian has to be present through the piercing, having given reasonable proof of personal identity and familial relationship and signed written permission. The sanitation rule adds that they accompany the minor in the procedure area for the entire procedure, and that the shop reviews and keeps a copy of their government photo ID. The same rule's consent form asks for the "client's phone number or, if the client is a minor, a parent or legal guardian's phone number" (R392-701-16(2)(c)(iv)), and the statute's minor is a person younger than 18 who "(a) is not married; and (b) has not been declared emancipated by a court of law" (§ 76-9-2001(3)).

The criminal section excludes the whole ear; the sanitation rule excludes only the fleshy non-cartilaginous earlobe with stud-and-clasp equipment. A cartilage piercing is inside the rule and outside the crime.

Off limits for a minor even with consent: branding and scarification on a minor are barred regardless of parental consent (R392-701-4(2)(d)); scarification of a minor became its own class B misdemeanor with a mandatory $1,000 fine in 2026 (§ 76-9-2004). No piercing site is named.

Class B misdemeanor, plus a $1,000 civil penalty on the shop's owner or operator for each violation (§ 76-9-2003(3)-(4))

Utah Code § 76-9-2003(2); § 76-9-2001(2) The text

On waivers.tattoo: turn on Piercing under 18 in Settings and a client under 18 gets a parent-or-guardian section — who they are, how they are related, their own signature, and a photo of their ID. Utah’s rule has the form ask for a photo of the birth certificate or guardianship papers too. The signed waiver prints what Utah requires.

What the consent form must say

  • A risk notification: an allergic reaction, bleeding, bruising, discomfort, pain and swelling
  • That a body art procedure can change the body irreversibly and raises the risk of infection
  • That a heart condition can raise the risk of bacterial endocarditis, so see a physician first
  • The statement telling clients with health or medical concerns to consult a physician
  • A client evaluation section with the rule's 11 health questions
  • Client name and date of birth verified from a government photo ID, address, phone, and signature
  • An informed consent statement: free will, read and understood, questions before, during and after
  • Confirmation the client got and understood written and verbal aftercare
"Before engaging in any body art procedure, the operator shall require a client or potential client to complete a client consent and disclosure form in a printed or digital format." - Utah Admin. Code R392-701-16(1)(a)

Health history and aftercare

The consent form must carry a client evaluation section asking a fixed list of questions: age, food in the last 4 hours, drugs or alcohol, blood thinners and NSAIDs in the last 24 hours, medication that slows healing, allergies to dyes, pigments, latex or iodine, hemophilia, epilepsy, seizures, fainting or narcolepsy, skin conditions, communicable disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart conditions, and pregnancy in the last 3 months. Aftercare goes to every client in writing, with the shop's and the local health department's name, address and phone on it.

"[A] client evaluation section that ... asks at a minimum the following questions to evaluate the client's condition for receiving body art without violating the client's medical privacy" - Utah Admin. Code R392-701-16(2)(b); aftercare at R392-701-12(14)

Texting your clients in Utah

8am to 9pm, the rule does not say whose clock. Never on Sundays or legal holidays. Utah Code Ann. § 13-25a-101 et seq. (Telephone and Facsimile Solicitation Act); time restrictions at § 13-25a-103(3); definitions at § 13-25a-102; private action at § 13-25a-107, in force since 2022-05-04. It names text messages, so a text counts.

Consent. "Prior express consent", and it is the only thing that unlocks the restricted times in § 13-25a-103(3). The chapter describes it elsewhere as "the prior express consent of the person who is called agreeing to receive a telephone solicitation from a specific solicitor" (§ 13-25a-103(2)(a)). The statute does not require it to be written.

Your own clients. Yes, but it does not lift the hours/Sunday/holiday rule. Utah's EBR (§ 13-25a-102(4)) is "based on inquiry, application, purchase, or transaction," "formed by a voluntary two-way communication," and ends on an act by either person or "the passage of 18 months since the most recent inquiry, application, purchase, transaction, or voluntary two-way communication." It removes a message from "unsolicited telephone call" (§ 13-25a-102(10)(c)), which is what the do-not-call bar in § 13-25a-108 and the autodialer ban in § 13-25a-103(1)-(2) turn on. Section 13-25a-103(3) turns on "prior express consent" alone, so an 18-month-old client relationship does not authorize a Sunday text.

It reaches your sender too. Its own words are “makes or causes to be made”, so a service that texts on your behalf is inside this rule with you. Hiring one does not move the duty off the shop.

A person may not make a telephone solicitation ... without prior express consent during any of the following times: (a) between the hours of 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. local time; (b) on a Sunday; or (c) on a legal holiday. The text

Private right of action, and ONE message is enough: § 13-25a-107(1)(b)(ii) lets a person sue after a single telephone solicitation that violates § 13-25a-103(3). Recovery is "the greater of $500 or the amount of the pecuniary loss," plus court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees, plus injunctive relief; treble pecuniary loss for a knowing and willful violation, and the greater of $1,000 or treble loss where the recipient is an on-call emergency provider who gave notice.

Federal law is the floor under it: 8am to 9pm, the client’s local time, prior express written consent for a marketing text, and a STOP honored within 10 business days (47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(c)(1), (e)).

What to do

  • Ask separately. A yes to marketing texts belongs on its own tick, not folded into the box a client has to accept to get tattooed. Keep it with the date and what it said.
  • Text between 8am to 9pm, the rule does not say whose clock, and never on Sundays or legal holidays. An area code is not where somebody lives, so when you cannot tell, use the tighter window.
  • Honor a STOP that day. Federal law gives you 10 business days. Same-day is the version nobody argues with, and it is what the carriers expect.
  • Keep the count low. Utah sets no cap and neither does federal law, but a shop that texts a client more than a couple of times a month is teaching them to reply STOP.

Who inspects you

There is no state permit and no state artist license. The state rule sets the minimums for every shop in Utah, and the local health department where you are issues the facility permit, reviews your plans before you build or remodel, and inspects. Counties layer their own board-of-health body art regulation and their own fees on top.

Body Art Facility Sanitation (Utah Admin. Code R392-701); permits and inspections by the local health department

The local health officer can enter the shop on proper identification to inspect or investigate, and can suspend the permit or close the place on the spot if there is an imminent health hazard.

Licensing

Your shop. Yes. You need a body art facility permit from the local health department before you open, and it does not transfer, selling the shop or moving it kills the permit.

Your artists. No state artist license. Instead the shop keeps a file on every artist for the inspector: full name, job description, dates of employment, phone, email, a copy of a government photo ID, and the training certificate.

Guest artists and conventions. Utah licenses no individual artist and has no guest license; a visiting artist works in a permitted facility with a current bloodborne pathogens certificate covering each element of OSHA's standard. A convention takes a temporary body art facility permit from the local health department for a single event, good for up to 14 consecutive days under the state rule; Salt Lake County's own regulation, from 2019 and still posted, says 7 days and keeps patron forms 4 years, so in Salt Lake County plan on 7 days and 4 years.

Utah Admin. Code R392-701-17 The text

The licensing page

Using a generic waiver app in Utah

A generic waiver app is one form builder for every industry — rafting outfits, gyms, trampoline parks and tattoo shops all start from the same blank template. The tattoo part is yours: you write the questions, you keep them current when the rule changes, and you find out whether you got it right when an inspector reads your file.

In Utah that is 7 things to set up and keep in step yourself:

  • An allergies question: medicines, ointments, soaps, latex, anything put on the skin
  • A bleeding-disorder question
  • The medications and blood thinners question, always on
  • Whether the client has eaten in the last 4 hours
  • The risks of a tattoo the state's rule lists, in writing on a tattoo's consent
  • The risks of a piercing the state's rule lists, in writing on a piercing's consent
  • A box the client ticks: they are doing this of their own free will and have read and understood the form

On waivers.tattoo, a shop in Utah gets all of it the day it starts. Your page opens with Utah’s questions already on the form, your client signs on their own phone, and the signed waiver prints what they answered.

Utah in our state-by-state posts

This page summarizes public regulations in plain language so you know what to look for, with the section each point comes from. It is not legal advice. Your local health department has the final word; ask them, and bring your records.