Arizona
Arizona does not license or inspect tattoo shops at the state level, the only tattoo law is a criminal statute, A.R.S. § 13-3721. A minor can be tattooed if the parent or legal guardian is physically present; the statute sets no lower age limit and no written-consent requirement. There is no state client-record rule and no retention period, so what you keep is your own call, and your insurer's.
What the record must capture
No ID rule, but checking one is worth doing anyway: asking for age identification and relying in good faith on it is an express defense to prosecution under § 13-3721(C).
A license on a phone in Arizona
Arizona’s digital license is a real ID. It lives in Arizona Wallet app, Apple Wallet, Google Wallet and Samsung Wallet. Arizona Department of Transportation, Mobile Driver License FAQ:
State law allows ADOT to issue driver licenses both as physical cards and as their digital equivalents. The mDL (in Apple, Google or Samsung wallets, or in our standalone app) is the state's digital driver license, and is valid for the same uses as a physical card. The text
On waivers.tattoo: turn on “Choose from library” in Settings and a client whose license lives on their phone can pick a saved photo of their ID for your file. It starts off, and the signed waiver says when a photo was a saved one. The license itself is the proof of age, checked the way Arizona requires.
Minors
18+. Minors only with conditions. Under 18 is legal only if the parent or legal guardian is physically present when the tattoo is done. Arizona sets no lower age limit and does not require written consent, which is looser than most states, doing it without the parent there is a class 6 felony. Asking for age ID and relying on it in good faith is a statutory defense.
"To intentionally brand, scarify, implant, mutilate, tattoo or pierce the body of a person who is under eighteen years of age without the physical presence of the parent or legal guardian" — Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 13-3721(A)(1)
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 Arizona requires.
Piercing a minor
18+ to sign alone. Minors only with conditions. The parent or legal guardian must be physically present when the piercing is done. Arizona asks for nothing in writing, no form and no ID, though asking for age ID and relying on it in good faith is an express defense to prosecution.
Ear piercing is out of the presence requirement, but only where the minor has written OR VERBAL permission from a parent or legal guardian; it is a swap, not an exemption.
Class 6 felony
Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 13-3721(A)(1) 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 Arizona requires.
Health history and aftercare
The statute's only health rules are about needles: you cannot reuse a needle or any color-leaving substance, and the needle has to be sterilized with equipment used by state-licensed medical facilities. Nobody without a Title 32 license may administer anesthesia. There is no health-history or aftercare requirement in state law.
"It is unlawful for a person ... Who tattoos or pierces the body of another person to use a needle or any substance that will leave color under the skin more than once" — Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 13-3721(A)(2)
Texting your clients in Arizona
8am to 9pm, the client’s local time. Arizona 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 Arizona: Fetched azleg.gov ARS pages for §§ 44-1271, 44-1272, 44-1273, 44-1274, 44-1275, 44-1276, 44-1277, 44-1278, 44-1279, 44-1280, 44-1281, 44-1282 and § 13-2919, and read each in full. Searched all of them for hours language ('a.m.', 'p.m.', 'hour'), for a per-person cap, and for 'text'/'customer'/'previous'. Also pulled the two enacting session laws: Laws 2023, ch. 41 (HB 2498, azleg legtext/56leg/1R/laws/0041.htm) which added 'or text message' to § 44-1282, and Laws 2013, ch. 95 (HB 2312, legtext/51leg/1r/laws/0095.htm) which added 'or sending a text message' to § 13-2919.
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. Arizona 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
No Arizona agency licenses body art establishments or artists, and no health inspector visits a tattoo shop for body art in most of the state. The rules that do bind live in the criminal code and are enforced by police and prosecutors, not by a health program. Coconino County is the one county with its own body art code; a city business license and zoning still apply everywhere.
- Coconino County Health and Human Services, Environmental Health Services · Coconino County (Flagstaff, Sedona, Page)
Outside Coconino County no health inspector comes to an Arizona tattoo shop for body art; in Coconino County, Environmental Health Services routinely inspects body art facilities.
Licensing
Your shop. No state license or health permit for a tattoo studio; the statute only forbids running the business out of a home or an impermanent structure like a tent, trailer or trunk. Coconino County inspects body art facilities under its Unified Health Code.
Your artists. No state artist license, registration, or training requirement of any kind. Check your county, Coconino County is the exception, and cities can add their own business rules.
Arizona in our state-by-state posts
- Texting your tattoo clients: the hours, the caps, and all 51 state rules
- 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
This page summarizes public regulations in plain language so you know what to look for, with the section each point comes from. It is not legal advice. Your local health department has the final word; ask them, and bring your records.