Washington Piercing Laws: Age, Licensing, and Sanitation

Washington piercing laws are set out in RCW 18.300 and WAC 308-22, and enforced by the Department of Licensing. Every person who performs body piercings for pay must hold a practitioner license, every shop must hold a separate location license, and both are subject to sanitation standards, mandatory insurance, recordkeeping duties, and inspections. Violations can cost up to $5,000 per offense. One thing the state does not do: set a minimum age for body piercing.

Is There an Age Limit for Piercings in Washington?

No. Washington’s minor-protection statute for body art, RCW 26.28.085, makes it a misdemeanor to tattoo anyone under 18 regardless of parental consent, and defines a tattoo as permanent marking or coloring of the skin with pigment, ink, or dye, or any procedure that leaves a visible scar.¹ Piercing is not included in that definition. The licensing rules in WAC 308-22-040 reference the tattoo age restriction but do not extend it to piercing.²

That leaves the question of minors to studio policy, local ordinances in some cities, and general professional duty of care. Most licensed Washington studios require written parental consent or a parent’s physical presence for anyone under 18, and many refuse certain piercings on minors entirely. Those are business decisions driven by liability and industry norms, not state mandates. Call the studio ahead of time and ask.

Licensing for Piercers and Shops

Under RCW 18.300, commercial piercing requires two separate licenses: one for the individual practitioner and one for the location where the work is done. Operating without either violates state law.³ Applicants must be at least 18.

Current fees, set by the Department of Licensing rather than fixed in statute, run $275 for an individual practitioner license and $330 per location for a shop license. Renewals cost the same on time, and $385 or $440 respectively if late.⁴ Because the director sets fees, they can change without a legislative vote.

Individual licenses have to be posted at the practitioner’s workstation, and the location license goes in the reception area.³ If you walk into a studio and can’t see them, ask.

Shop and Facility Standards

RCW 18.300.070 sets the physical baseline for a licensed shop:

An outside entrance not shared with any room used for sleeping or as a residence.
Adequate toilet facilities within or adjacent to the shop for customer use.
No piercing room that doubles as a living space, though restrooms may serve both purposes.
Compliance with local zoning and with state and local fire codes.
Safe storage and labeling of equipment and substances used in piercing.
Public liability insurance of at least $100,000 for combined bodily injury and property damage.

The $100,000 insurance floor is written into the statute itself.³ Shops must also hold a certificate of registration from the Department of Revenue, which is separate from the DOL license.

Sanitation and Infection Control

WAC 308-22 requires every licensee to follow sterilization and infection control standards set by the Department of Health. The practical rules cover the whole cycle from the waiting room to the sharps bin.

Studios must physically separate the client waiting area, the workstations, and the equipment cleaning area. Each workstation needs its own sealed, rigid, puncture-proof sharps container marked with the international biohazard symbol. A location that uses only disposable equipment can skip the separate cleaning area, but the workspace separation still applies.⁵

Piercers must wash their hands with soap before and after every client, change disposable gloves between procedures, and discard any glove that tears. Anything that contacts the client’s skin and cannot be properly disinfected has to go directly into a covered waste container after use. Liquids come from squeeze bottles or pumps, not open containers. Waste containers get emptied, sanitized, and disinfected daily.⁵

Client Records

Every piercing shop has to keep a record for each client. Under WAC 308-22-070, the record must include:

The client’s name, age, and address.
The date of the procedure.
The name of the practitioner who performed it.
The location on the body and the type of procedure.
The client’s signature.

Records must be kept at least two years and produced for Department of Licensing personnel on request.⁶ Destroying or losing these records inside the two-year window is itself a disciplinary matter.

Inspections

The Department of Licensing inspects shops on two tracks. The director or a designee must inspect each shop at least once every two years, and any written complaint triggers an inspection outside that cycle.³ The director may enter any shop during business hours without prior notice and may contract with local health authorities to carry out visits.

When an inspection finds problems, the director sends written notice describing what needs to be corrected and gives a reasonable window to fix it. Ignoring that notice moves the matter into the disciplinary process under RCW 18.235.110.

Penalties for Violations

The disciplinary tools available to the Department are broader than most people expect. Under RCW 18.235.110, sanctions can be combined and include:

License revocation or suspension, for a set period or indefinitely.
Fines up to $5,000 per violation, with aggravating and mitigating circumstances taken into account.
Restrictions on what procedures a practitioner may perform.
Mandatory remedial education or treatment.
Monitored practice under department supervision.
Probation with conditions for a designated period.
Denial of initial or renewal applications for a set period.

Fine revenue goes into the related program account rather than the general fund.⁷ Operating without a license at all, as opposed to holding one and violating its conditions, is a separate violation under RCW 18.300.090.

State enforcement runs alongside civil liability. A client who suffers an infection, allergic reaction, or other injury from a negligent piercing can sue. The statutory $100,000 insurance minimum ensures there is something to collect against, but serious injuries can exceed that floor.

What to Check Before You Get Pierced

Regulation only helps if you know what a compliant operation looks like from the customer’s side. When you walk in:

The practitioner’s license should be visible at their workstation.
The shop’s location license should be posted in the reception area.
The workspace should be physically separated from where clients wait.
You should see a sharps container at the workstation.
Needles should be individually packaged, sterile, and opened in front of you.
New gloves should go on for your procedure, and be changed if anything is touched outside the sterile field.

You can ask for a tour, ask to see the autoclave and sterilization logs, and ask what the jewelry is made of. A studio that treats those questions as a nuisance is telling you something. You can also stop the procedure at any point if something feels wrong; no deposit is worth a bad piercing from someone who doesn’t respect that.

1
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 26.28.085 – Applying Tattoo to a Minor – Penalty
2
Cornell Law School / Legal Information Institute (LII). Washington Admin Code 308-22-040 – Issuance of Licenses – Requirements
3
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 18.300.070 – Shop or Business Requirements – Director Authority – Inspections
4
Washington Department of Licensing. Fees: Tattoos, Body Piercing, Body Art, and Permanent Cosmetics
5
Washington State Legislature. WAC Chapter 308-22 – Body Art, Body Piercing, and Tattooing
6
Washington State Legislature. WAC 308-22-070 – Requirements and Standards
7
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 18.235.110 – Unprofessional Conduct – Finding