How to Get a Tattoo License: What Eight States and New York City Require

How to get a tattoo license in six steps

Getting an artist license in the seven places in Table 2 takes up to six steps on pages read November 6, 2026. Find the agency, meet its age and ID rules, finish its training, earn the safety course certificate, pass any exam, then apply, pay and renew. Starting from zero? Our guide on how to become a tattoo artist puts these steps inside the whole path.

1. Find the agency and the form. In Oregon, Washington and Oklahoma that is a state office, and in Florida and Tennessee the county or local health department acting for the state. In Virginia it is a licensing board, and in New York City the health department. The agency's own page names the current form; a guide like this one only points you to it.
2. Meet the age and ID rules. Six of the seven places in Table 2 state a minimum age of 18; Virginia's section does not. Florida, Oklahoma and New York City ask for a government photo ID. New York City also asks for a Social Security number or an ITIN, and Oregon for two forms of ID plus proof of a high school diploma or the equivalent.
3. Finish the training the agency names. The training section below and Table 2 give the hours or term for each place. Our tattoo apprenticeship guide covers how to find a sponsor and what to put in writing.
4. Earn the safety course certificate. All seven places in Table 2 ask for one. Florida and New York City run or approve the course and test it, Oregon, Oklahoma and Virginia add CPR or first aid, and Tennessee names a sterilization course.
5. Pass the exam where there is one. Oregon's is 100 multiple-choice questions with a 75 percent pass mark. Oklahoma's skills challenge and Florida's course test both need 70 percent. Virginia uses a board-approved exam through a testing service, Tennessee's local health department sets a written exam, and New York City tests you at the end of its course.
6. Apply, pay and renew. Table 3 and the cost section below give each first fee. Most licenses last one year; Virginia's and New York City's last two, and Tennessee's expires every December 31 whatever the issue date. Late renewal costs more in Washington ($385), Oklahoma ($350 after 30 days) and Florida ($85 to reactivate).

A studio license is a separate step for the shop itself. Washington lists $330 per location, Oklahoma $1,000 for a tattoo establishment, Tennessee a $280 studio permit and Texas $900 for a two-year tattoo studio license, each read November 6, 2026. Our tattoo shop business plan has a licensing section to budget both. Some agencies also ask for proof of cover; our guide to tattoo shop insurance shows New Jersey's rule.

What training does a tattoo artist license require?

Four of the seven places in Table 2 set training hours or a term before the exam, on pages read November 6, 2026. Oregon wants 360 school hours plus 50 finished tattoos, Oklahoma 1,500 hours over at least a year, Virginia a 1,500-hour apprenticeship or 1,000 school hours, and Tennessee one year in a certified shop.

Table 2. What each place checks before it issues a tattoo artist license, as its page states it, read November 6, 2026. Texas licenses studios and California registers through counties, so neither is in this table.

Oregon's school pathway is the most detailed. Oregon's Health Licensing Office page, read November 6, 2026, wants the 360 hours taught by a licensed artist registered as a teacher. It also wants one-to-one supervision when students work on the public, and transcripts sent straight from the school.

Oklahoma counts hours only from a department-approved sponsor. Oklahoma's page, read November 6, 2026, says the sponsor must have practiced as a licensed artist for at least five years and may supervise one student apprentice and one apprentice at a time.

Tennessee's rule changed on January 1, 2026. Under the act signed as Public Chapter 212, the supervising artist can also be one licensed in Tennessee for under three years but in another state for 10 or more.

Washington, Florida and New York City list no apprenticeship or school hours on the pages we read. That does not make a first tattoo easy: guides on how to become a tattoo artist from GlossGenius and Tommy's Supplies, read November 6, 2026, still treat an apprenticeship as the usual path.

How much does a tattoo license cost?

A first tattoo artist license ranged from $60 in Florida to $275 in Washington on fee pages read November 6, 2026, before exam and local fees and, outside New York City, course fees. Virginia charged $120, New York City $126, Tennessee $140, Oregon $150 and Oklahoma $250.

Table 3. Fees as each agency's page or rule lists them, read November 6, 2026. 'Not stated' means the page read does not give it.

Two fees sit outside Figure 2. Virginia's exam fee goes to a testing vendor, and the regulation caps it at $225. Oklahoma's $250 apprentice application fee is paid before the $250 license fee, so an Oklahoma artist who trains there pays $500 ($250 plus $250) in application fees on the way to a first license.

How can I get a tattoo license after moving or for a guest spot?

Four of the places we read on November 6, 2026, count out-of-state work toward a license, and four issue short guest or temporary permits. Oregon does it by reciprocity, and Oklahoma takes two years licensed elsewhere in place of an apprenticeship. Tennessee takes two years' work in place of its exam, and Virginia three years' work when the training was not equivalent.

• Oregon: an active license with no pending discipline from an equivalent state, or three years of work in the last five years (or five of the last ten), shown by pay stubs or tax documents. The written exam still applies.
• Oklahoma: two years of licensure from another government body, shown by the license itself, a statement from the regulator or the shop, or tax returns; the 70 percent skills challenge still applies.
• Tennessee: two years' professional experience in another state, shown by business licenses or tax records, in place of its exam from January 1, 2026.
• Virginia: an equivalent program plus the board-approved safety course, or three years of work in another U.S. state or jurisdiction on the board's form. The exam still applies unless the board grants a license by endorsement.
• Florida: a guest tattoo artist registration at $35 for up to 14 consecutive days if you hold an active license elsewhere; if your state has no license, you apply for the Florida license instead.

Short stays have their own paper. New York City's temporary license is $50 for seven days and cannot be renewed, and Oklahoma's temporary artist license is $50, both read November 6, 2026. Tennessee's temporary registration runs up to 14 days at $50, and Virginia's guest tattooer license expires 14 days after its effective date, on pages read the same day.

Where Twizzlo fits

Twizzlo is web-based online booking and appointment scheduling software for appointment-based service businesses, and a newly licensed artist can open a booking link before the first client. A studio adds each licensed artist as staff with a calendar of their own.

Twizzlo's /features/ page does not list license tracking or apprenticeship records, so keep each artist's license copy and renewal date in your own files. The staff profile holds the artist's services, schedule and location.

Worked example (hypothetical): a solo artist who books 38 sessions and 12 consults a month has 50 bookings (38 + 12 = 50), which the Free plan covers at $0 because its limit is 150. Free sends email reminders and no text reminders.

A three-artist studio booking 48 sessions each has 144 sessions (3 x 48 = 144). Add 20 consults and the month holds 164 bookings, over the Free limit, so it runs on Business Pro at $29.99 a month. One text reminder per booking means 164 texts: 50 are included and the other 114 cost $0.03 each, $3.42, so the month comes to $33.41. Staff and locations are unlimited on both plans.

Online payments run at the studio's Stripe rate, and Twizzlo adds a 1.5% platform fee on either plan: $3.75 on a $250 session paid in advance. A session paid in advance means the client pays the whole service price at booking. Current plan details are on Twizzlo pricing.

For other tools an artist might weigh, read our booking software comparisons. To open one booking link with a calendar for each licensed artist, start on the Free plan.