District of Columbia

What the record must capture

No District rule makes you check or record an ID. Check one anyway, the whole 16-and-up rule turns on the client's age, and unlike some states DC gives you no statutory good-faith defense if you get it wrong.

A license on a phone in District of Columbia

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

What we read: DC DMV mobile app page (dmv.dc.gov/page/dc-dmv-mobile-app), 2026-09-11: the app renews and replaces licenses and puts a digital VEHICLE REGISTRATION card in Apple Wallet; no digital license. DC DMV Digital Registration Card page: registration only. No DC DMV page approves any manner of presenting an electronic license. D.C. Law 24-72 text (code.dccouncil.gov). TSA list (2026-09-11): DC absent.

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

Minors

18+. 16–17 only with conditions. 16 and 17 year olds can be tattooed with the written consent of a parent or legal guardian. Under 16 there is no tattoo at all, the only body art allowed under 16 is ear piercing, and that also needs written parental consent. The statute does not require the parent to be present, only to have consented in writing.

"No body artist shall perform body art procedures on a person under 18 years of age; except, that, if a parent or legal guardian has provided their written consent ... Tattooing services are permitted for persons 16 years of age and older" - D.C. Code Sec. 47-2853.76e(b)

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 District of Columbia requires, nobody under 16 is offered it.

Piercing a minor

18+ to sign alone. No minors, even with a parent. For any piercing other than an ear, there is no consent route at all: section 47-2853.76e(b) bans body art procedures under 18 and its only exceptions are ear piercing at any age and tattooing at 16 and up, both on the written consent of a parent or legal guardian. Ear piercing under 18 requires that written consent and must use a sterilized hollow needle or a mechanized, pre-sterilized single-use stud and clasp ear piercing gun.

Ear piercing is not exempt from the rule, it is the rule's one permission: allowed under 18 WITH the parent's or guardian's written consent, by one of two named methods.

Off limits for a minor even with consent: every piercing except the ear. Nose, navel, lip, eyebrow, cartilage and the rest have no parental-consent route under 18.

Misdemeanor, a fine up to $2,500, up to 3 months, or both

D.C. Code § 47-2853.76e(b) The text

On waivers.tattoo: your form takes 18+ for a piercing in District of Columbia, and tells the client which rule says so.

Health history and aftercare

No health-history questionnaire. Every customer gets aftercare instructions out loud and in writing when the procedure is finished, and the written version has to tell them to see a doctor if something goes wrong and carry the shop's contact details. A shop that tattoos also has to post the FDA warning about unapproved tattoo pigments and keep records of what its pigments contain, who made and supplied them, and any recalls, and show that to a customer who asks.

"Verbal and written instructions for the care of the tattooed, pierced, or other modified sites on the body shall be provided by the body artist to each customer upon the completion of the procedure." - D.C. Code Sec. 47-2853.76d

Texting your clients in District of Columbia

8am to 9pm, the client’s local time. District of Columbia 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 District of Columbia: Read D.C. Code sections 22-3226.01 through 22-3226.11 in full at the Council's own code site. The District's window, 8am to 9pm at the consumer's location under section 22-3226.08(3), is the federal window written into local law, and it reaches a solicitation to a residence rather than a text.

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. District of Columbia 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

Two District agencies split the job. DLCP's Board of Barber and Cosmetology licenses the individual artist and handles the business licensing; DC Health has the statutory job of setting minimum sterilization, sanitation, health and safety standards for body art establishments. There is no county or ward layer, the District is the whole jurisdiction.

Body artist licensing, tattooist operator, body piercer operator, micropigmentation operator; DC Health sets the sterilization, sanitation and safety standards for body art establishments

DC Health has the statutory job of setting and enforcing standards for body art establishments, but no inspection cadence is fixed in the statute and no body art inspection rules were found in the DCMR.

Licensing

Your shop. Yes, a body art establishment license issued by the Mayor, alongside the District's Basic Business License. An establishment may not employ a body artist who is not licensed.

Your artists. Yes, a body artist license (tattooist operator, body piercer operator, or micropigmentation operator) from the Board of Barber and Cosmetology: 500 apprentice hours, bloodborne pathogens, CPR and first aid certificates, and the exam. Licenses expire April 15 of even-numbered years, with 6 continuing-education credits at renewal.

The licensing page

District of Columbia 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