How to Get a Tattoo License in Michigan: Steps, Fees, and Rules

To get a tattoo license in Michigan, you do not apply as an individual artist at all. The state licenses the facility where body art happens, and every tattooer, piercer, and brander must work inside one of those licensed shops. So the path is one of two things: get hired at a licensed body art facility, or open one yourself by passing a local health department plan review and inspection and then applying to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) for a facility license. The base annual fee is $500.¹

There Is No Individual Tattoo License in Michigan

Public Act 375 of 2010 put all body art licensing under MDHHS, and it attached the license to a specific person at a specific location rather than to the artist. The license cannot be transferred. If a shop changes hands or moves, the new owner or new address needs its own license.²

Working outside a licensed facility is not a gray area. Michigan treats any tattooing, branding, or piercing done at an unlicensed location as an imminent public health danger, and the state or local health department can order it shut down on the spot.¹ No home studios, no hotel rooms, no garages. You also must be at least 18 to perform any body art procedure in the state.

If You Just Want to Work as an Artist

If you plan to tattoo at someone else’s shop rather than open one, you don’t file anything with MDHHS yourself. The facility holds the license. What you do carry are the training and health requirements that let the shop keep you on the floor.

Annual Bloodborne Pathogen Training

Everyone in a body art facility who could be exposed to blood needs bloodborne infectious disease training every year. That’s tattoo artists, piercers, anyone cleaning or sterilizing instruments, and front counter staff working in the general facility area. The training has two parts: industry-specific content on bloodborne pathogen risks, and site-specific training on how your particular shop handles those standards. Both must be redone yearly, and new hires need both completed before they do any task that could expose them to blood. The facility keeps the documentation on-site for inspection.³

Hepatitis B Vaccination or Declination

MIOSHA’s Bloodborne Infectious Diseases standards require the employer to offer the Hepatitis B vaccination series to workers with occupational exposure to blood. You can complete the series or sign a formal declination. Either way, the shop keeps the paperwork on file.⁴

If You Want to Open a Shop: The Application Steps

The order of operations matters, and MDHHS is not the first stop. The local health department has to clear your facility before the state will issue anything.

Step 1: Contact Your Local Health Department for Plan Review

Before applying to the state, submit a detailed site plan of your proposed facility to your local health department. They evaluate whether the layout will meet requirements for procedure rooms, sinks, flooring, and the rest of the physical standards. This review has to be completed and approved before you move forward.⁵ Local health departments may charge their own fees for plan review and inspection services on top of the state license fee.

Step 2: Pass the On-Site Inspection

Once the plan is approved, the local health department schedules an on-site inspection. The inspector confirms the physical space matches the approved plan: sinks installed, flooring compliant, sterilization equipment in place, exposure control plan and training records on file. The inspector then reports to MDHHS as pass or fail, with a recommendation on whether the shop should be licensed.⁶

If violations turn up, the inspector documents them with required corrections, and a follow-up visit may be needed before the recommendation goes through. A signed copy of the approved inspection report can be posted temporarily while you wait for the actual state-issued license.⁶

Step 3: Apply Through the MI Body Art Portal

With the inspection cleared, you apply for the license through the MI Body Art Portal, which runs on the state’s MiLogin system. First-time applicants create a MiLogin account and search for the MI Body Art Portal within it. Pay the license fee at the time of application.⁵

What the License Costs

Annual license: $500 base fee. Apply on or after July 1 and you pay half, $250 at the base rate.
Temporary license: $150, covering a fixed location for up to 14 consecutive days. It expires at midnight on the date printed on it.

The state treasurer adjusts these fees each year based on the Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint consumer price index, capped at a 5% increase in any year.¹ The current year’s figure may be slightly above the base. Check the MDHHS body art licensing page for the adjusted amount before you submit.

What Your Facility Must Have Before Inspection

These are the physical and procedural standards an inspector will be checking against. Getting them right before the first visit is cheaper than fixing them after a failed inspection.

Procedure Rooms

Each procedure room needs a dedicated handwashing sink with hot and cold running water through a mixing faucet. Floors must be smooth, non-absorbent, and non-porous. Carpeting is prohibited. Floors, walls, and ceilings all must be kept in good repair.⁷

Sterilization and Single-Use Items

Non-disposable instruments must be cleaned and sterilized before use on each client, using a medical- or dental-grade autoclave or dry heat sterilizer maintained according to the manufacturer’s specifications. Single-use items (needles, ink caps, gloves) go in the trash after each client.⁷ Michigan law specifically requires sterile needles, sterile instruments, and single-use ink for tattooing.⁸

Written Exposure Control Plan

Every licensed facility maintains a written bloodborne infectious disease exposure control plan specific to that location, compliant with MIOSHA standards and reviewed and updated every year.⁸ At minimum it covers evaluating exposure incidents, managing them, and post-exposure follow-up.⁴

Sharps Disposal

Contaminated sharps go immediately into closable, puncture-resistant, leak-proof containers marked with a biohazard label. The containers must be easily accessible and as close as possible to where sharps are actually used.⁴

Other Standing Rules

Smoking inside the facility is prohibited. The license must be displayed in a conspicuous place in the customer service area. And the local health department conducts at least one inspection every year to confirm continued compliance.²

Renewing Each Year

Annual licenses expire at midnight on December 31.¹ The renewal window runs from October 31 through December 1, and renewals go through the same MDHHS online portal as the initial application. Miss the window and the license lapses, with possible late fees when you do renew.⁵

Penalties for Working Without a License

Unlicensed body art is treated as an imminent danger, and the state or local health department will order it stopped immediately.¹ Violations of the body art licensing law can also be charged as a misdemeanor under MCL 333.13109. And an unlicensed operation has no legal footing if a client sues over an infection or complication, so the exposure is civil and criminal at the same time.

What the License Does Not Cover

The MDHHS facility license is a public health license. It does not register your business entity, get you a federal tax ID, or satisfy the IRS. If you work as a sole proprietor or independent contractor, you still owe federal self-employment tax of 15.3% on your net earnings and are responsible for your own estimated quarterly payments.⁹ If you hire employees or operate as a partnership or corporation, you also need a federal Employer Identification Number, which is free from the IRS.¹⁰ Michigan also does not require body art facilities to carry liability insurance, though shops routinely carry both general liability and professional liability policies because the state license gives you no protection in a civil suit.

1
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 333.13104
2
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 333.13105
3
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Requirements for Body Art Facilities
4
Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity. Part 554 – Bloodborne Infectious Diseases Rules and the Body Art Industry
5
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Apply for or Renew a Body Art Facility License
6
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Michigan Administrative Code – Body Art Facilities
7
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Requirements for Body Art Facilities
8
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 333.13107
9
Internal Revenue Service. Self-Employment Tax (Social Security and Medicare Taxes)
10
Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number