Alabama

What the form asks in Alabama

Alabama’s rule names things the standard waiver form did not ask. A shop in Alabama 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“History of allergies or adverse reactions to pigments, dyes, latex, etc.” (Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-3-23-.06(1)(a); Appendix E, items 7 and 8)
• A bleeding-disorder question“History of Hemophilia or any other blood disorder” (Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-3-23-.06(1)(a); Appendix E, item 5)
• The medications and blood thinners question, always on“anticoagulants that thin the blood” (Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-3-23-.06(1)(a); Appendix E, item 14)
• Aftercare instructions, acknowledged in the consent (on every form)“Written aftercare instructions received?” (Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-3-23-.05(2); Appendix E)

What the record must capture

• Client's name, date of birth, and address
• The date of the procedure
• Name of the operator who did the work
• Type and location on the body of each procedure
• The client's signature
• The parent or guardian's signature if the client is a minor
• The signed medical-information form (shop keeps the original)

The rules do not require you to check or copy a photo ID; they do require the client's date of birth on the record, and for a minor the guardian's signature as proof of consent.

"Such records, any release forms, and all materials signed by the client, shall be retained permanently and made available to the Department upon request." — Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-3-23-.07(2)

A license on a phone in Alabama

Alabama does not issue a digital license. A license on a phone is not an ID a shop here can rely on.

What we read: ALEA Driver License page and License and ID Cards page (www.alea.gov/dps/driver-license, .../license-and-id-cards) and the ALEA news page, 2026-09-11: no digital or mobile license is offered or mentioned. HB 110 enrolled text (alison.legislature.state.al.us): ALEA 'contingent upon the availability of funds, shall issue a digital driver license' and 'This act shall become effective on October 1, 2026.' TSA participating-states list (read 2026-09-11): Alabama absent.

On waivers.tattoo: a shop can let its clients choose a saved photo of their ID in Settings. It starts off, and in Alabama a saved photo is only ever a picture of a card: a copy for your file, never proof of age.

Minors

18+. Minors only with conditions. Under 18 needs "the prior, written, informed consent of the parent or legal guardian of the minor, as shown in Appendix B, Consent for Minor": the Department's own form, on which the parent attests they were told the possible risks and the permanence, signed beside the shop's employee or agent, with a line for the minor's own assent. The parent signs it "in the presence of the individual performing the body art procedure on the minor, or in the presence of an employee or agent of that individual", and the consent "is to be given in person to the operator or responsible person at the facility by the parent or legal guardian at the time the tattooing or piercing is to commence", so it is not mailed or signed in advance. "A photocopy of the parent or legal guardian's government issued photo identification shall be obtained prior to the commencing of any body art procedure and shall be retained by the facility as permanent record." The rules set no lower age floor that consent cannot cure.

"No person shall perform any body art procedure upon a minor unless the person obtains the prior, written, informed consent of the parent or legal guardian of the minor, as shown in Appendix B, Consent for Minor." — Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-3-23-.03(2)(a); in person at the start, r. 420-3-23-.15(1)(a)

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. The signed waiver prints what Alabama requires.

Piercing a minor

18+ to sign alone. Minors only with conditions. Prior written informed consent from the parent or legal guardian on the Department's own form, Appendix B, Consent for Minor. The parent signs it in the presence of the artist or an employee or agent, and the shop takes and permanently keeps a photocopy of the parent's government-issued photo ID.

Piercing the ear with a pre-sterilized single-use stud and clasp system is outside the rules entirely; 'body piercing' is defined as perforation of tissue other than the ear.

Class C misdemeanor, up to 90 days or a fine up to $100, or both, per violation

Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-3-23-.03(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. The signed waiver prints what Alabama requires.

What the consent form must say

• The client's signature on the shop's client record
• A medical-information form signed and dated by both sides
• A copy of that form given to the client
• The parent or guardian's signature for a minor
• The posted Disclosure Statement listing the risk conditions
• A written site-care sheet handed over after the work

"This form shall be signed and dated by both parties, with a copy given to the client and the operator retaining the original with all other required records." — Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-3-23-.06(1)(c)

Health history and aftercare

Before the work, the client gets a written request for medical information covering at least the conditions on the department's Model Medical History, hepatitis, HIV, diabetes, bleeding disorders, allergies, keloids, heart conditions, blood thinners, pregnancy. After the work, the client gets a written site-care sheet carrying the shop's name, address and phone, telling them to see a doctor at the first sign of infection. The shop also posts a Disclosure Statement in the waiting area in bold type.

"In order for the operator or technician to properly evaluate the client's medical condition prior to receiving a body art procedure ... a written request for medical information shall be given to the client." — Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-3-23-.06(1)(a)

Texting your clients in Alabama

8am to 9pm, the client’s local time. Alabama has no telephone-solicitation or texting rule that goes past federal law, so federal law is the whole of it here. A marketing text to a cell phone needs prior express written consent: a signed agreement that names who may text, says the texts may be automated, and says the person does not have to agree in order to buy anything. A client can take that back any way they like, and you have 10 business days to stop.

No person or entity shall initiate any telephone solicitation to … any residential telephone subscriber before the hour of 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. (local time at the called party’s location) The text

47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(c)(1), (e). The hours reach a text because the rules set forth in paragraph (c) and (d) of this section are applicable to any person or entity making telephone solicitations or telemarketing calls or text messages to wireless telephone numbers.

What we read in Alabama: Fetched and read every section of Ala. Code Title 8 ch. 19A (§§ 8-19A-1 through -24) and ch. 19C (§§ 8-19C-1 through -12), 36 of 36 returned HTTP 200, 64,987 characters of statute text, and regex-scanned all 36 for 'a.m.', 'p.m.', 'hours of the day', 'text message', 'electronic mail', 'per day', '24 hours'. zero hits. Positive control on the same loop: 20 of the 36 sections contain the word 'telephone', so the scan could see the text. Read §§ 8-19A-3 (definitions), 8-19A-4 (exemptions), 8-19A-12 (oral disclosures), 8-19A-15, 8-19C-2, -5, -6, -7, -8, -12 in full.

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 client’s local time. 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. Alabama 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

ADPH writes one statewide rulebook and issues both the facility license and the operator permit; in practice you apply through, and are inspected by, your county health department office, which is part of ADPH. There is no separate city or county body art code to satisfy.

Body Art Program (Bureau of Environmental Services, Division of Food, Milk and Lodging)

At least every 180 days, and more often if an inspection turns up problems, a compliance check follows within 30 days when a critical item is left uncorrected. The inspector expects the license and operator permits posted, the last 3 years of client records on the premises, and everything available to the Department on request.

Licensing

Your shop. A body art facility license from ADPH is required before you open, renewed every year, $250 the first year, $200 to renew, and it is not transferable to another person or address.

Your artists. Every operator needs an ADPH operator permit, posted in the customer area, which expires with the facility's license year and requires an approved bloodborne pathogen course plus hepatitis B vaccination proof or a signed declination.

The licensing page

Using a generic waiver app in Alabama

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 Alabama that is 3 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

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

Alabama in our state-by-state posts

• Texting your tattoo clients: the hours, the caps, and all 51 state rules
• OSHA wants your bloodborne pathogens training renewed every year. Your state may want it once, ever.
• Can a minor get a tattoo with parental consent? State by state
• Can a minor get a piercing with parental consent? 45 states say yes, each on its own terms
• Do you have to ask health questions before a tattoo? 20 states say yes. Here are the questions.
• Do you have to give tattoo aftercare instructions in writing? 38 states say yes.
• What has to be on a tattoo consent form? 32 states say. Here is every line they name.
• 26 states make you check ID before a tattoo. The other 25 give you a reason to.
• How long do you have to keep tattoo consent forms? Every state, one table