Do I need to register to tattoo, pierce or do microblading?

The short answer

Usually yes. The document you need, and who must hold it, depends on your nation. Wales licenses the practitioner and approves the premises or vehicle. Scotland licenses the business. England outside London and Northern Ireland register the person and the premises, but only where the council has adopted the rules. London licenses the premises.

Who this covers

This page is for anyone who tattoos, pierces skin or does semi-permanent make-up, including microblading, for money. It covers England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with a separate section for each nation where the rules differ. It is the detailed version of section B of Meet your personal services regulatory duties.

There is no single UK answer on who registers. Your nation decides it. In England and Northern Ireland your council also decides, because the rules apply only where the council has chosen to adopt them. Your council is the regulator in every nation.

Work out what you need

Follow these steps before you take a booking or buy equipment.

England outside London

Part VIII of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 sets up registration of the person and the premises. It binds a council only after the council passes a resolution to adopt it. We found no national list of adopting councils, so ask yours.

Microblading appears to fall within the Act's wording on semi-permanent skin-colouring, although the Act does not name it. Your council sets the fee and may write byelaws on hygiene.

London

GOV.UK directs Greater London readers, other than the City of London, to a special treatment licence for the premises under the London Local Authorities Act 1991 instead of the registration route. The licence conditions can cover who gives the treatment and how the premises are kept. For nails, massage and other treatments, read Do I need a licence to do nails or massage? This page covers tattooing, piercing and semi-permanent make-up only.

Wales

Wales has a national scheme that replaced council registration for these procedures. It is in force (dates below). Each practitioner needs a licence and the premises or vehicle needs an approval certificate. A licence names the premises and vehicles you may work from, so check that every place you work is on it.

Anyone registered under the old scheme who did not apply in time must now apply as a new starter. Practitioners licensed in England, Scotland or Northern Ireland also need a Welsh licence before working in Wales.

The GOV.UK licence finder page for England and Wales does not describe the Welsh scheme. Use the Welsh Government page and your Welsh council instead. The national register at specialprocedures.co.uk lets clients check who holds a valid licence.

Scotland

The licence belongs to the business, and a self-employed person counts as a business. If you run a company or partnership, the council looks at the knowledge, skill, training and experience of the people who will do the work. It also checks the premises before it decides.

Ask your council to confirm that microblading counts as micro pigmentation under the Order. The 2026 amendment order, SSI 2026/162, changes acupuncture glove rules only. It does not change anything for tattooing or piercing.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland has the same adoptive model as England, under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 1985. GOV.UK tells you to ask your council whether you must register yourself as well as the premises. Put that question to the council before you open.

Working from home or on the move

Registration, licensing and approval are tied to premises in England, London and Wales. The Scottish rules treat premises-based work and other work separately. A spare room is not automatically acceptable. Get your council's answer in writing before you convert a room or buy equipment. Check planning rules for a change of use as well.

Age limits

You must not tattoo anyone under 18 in England, Wales or Scotland. Parental consent is not a defence. Northern Ireland has its own Order with the same aim. Piercing rules differ by nation. We found no national age limit for piercing in England, so check your council's byelaws and conditions.

The Tattooing of Minors Act 1969 refers to a permanent mark, so whether it covers microblading in England and Scotland is not settled. Do not do microblading on anyone under 18. If you want certainty, ask your council in writing.

The offence of injecting botulinum toxin or fillers into under-18s in England is a separate law. It is not a tattoo or piercing rule.

England has announced plans to license non-surgical cosmetic procedures (status: announced, no regulations made). The government response, shown on GOV.UK as updated 7 August 2025, gives no start date and says further consultation will follow. We found no later stage on GOV.UK. It does not propose to include tattooing or cosmetic piercing, so your registration duties in England stay as they are.

Infection control

Byelaws apply in England and Northern Ireland, and they differ by council. Wales has mandatory national licence conditions instead of byelaws. Scotland sets the conditions in the Schedule to the 2006 Order. London sets them as licence conditions. Read the rules that apply to you, not a neighbouring nation's.

If you work without registration or a licence

Working without the right document is a criminal offence in every nation. A court can fine you on conviction. The table gives the maximum for each nation.

Who to ask

Your council's licensing or environmental health team decides whether you register, which document you need and what the conditions are. Ask them before you buy equipment or take a booking, and ask for the answer in writing. In England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, find your local council on GOV.UK. In Wales, apply to the council where you work or do most of your work. Its licence covers all of Wales, and the premises certificate comes from the council where the premises is.