Florida

What the record must capture

• Customer records, including parental consent
• Autoclave sterilization records and maintenance records
• Documentation of the manufacturer's method of sterilization
• Personnel records for every tattoo artist working in the shop

For a 16- or 17-year-old you must inspect government-issued photo ID for both the minor and the parent; for adults, inspecting an ID showing 18 or older is the statute's safe harbor if a client lied about their age.

"The records…shall be maintained for two years with those records for the current licensing period maintained onsite in the establishment and available for review by the department at the time of inspection." — 64E-28.007(21)(d)

A license on a phone in Florida

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

What we read: FLHSMV, 2026-09-11: the Florida Smart ID pages (flhsmv.gov/floridasmartid/, ?page_id=47744 and its FAQ ?page_id=47746) all answer 'Page Not Found'; the only FLHSMV app in the App Store is 'MyFlorida for FLHSMV', which renews vehicle and vessel registrations; no Florida Smart ID app is listed. Fla. Stat. § 322.032 as published in the 2026 Florida Statutes (leg.state.fl.us). Florida Senate bill page for HB 543 (2026): 'Died in returning Messages'; its passed companions SB 488 (ch. 2026-39) and HB 925 (ch. 2026-112) do not touch § 322.032. TSA list (2026-09-11): Florida absent.

On waivers.tattoo: a shop can let its clients choose a saved photo of their ID in Settings. It starts off, and in Florida 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. Under 16 there is no consent route at all, outside a medical or dental purpose by a licensed professional. At 16 or 17: the parent or legal guardian comes with the minor, you inspect government photo ID for both, the parent hands over written notarized consent on form DH 4146, and proves they are the parent or guardian. Violating it is a second-degree misdemeanor.

"A person may not tattoo the body of a minor child younger than 16 years of age" — Fla. Stat. § 381.00787(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 Florida requires, nobody under 16 is offered it.

Piercing a minor

18+ to sign alone. Minors only with conditions. Written NOTARIZED consent from the minor's parent or legal guardian for any minor, and the consent statement must describe the type of piercings that will be performed. Under 16, the minor must also be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. The shop keeps a copy of the notarized statement with the client record, 2 years.

Only the use of a mechanized, presterilized ear-piercing system on the outer perimeter or lobe of the ear is outside the definition; a lobe pierced with a needle in a shop is body piercing.

Second-degree misdemeanor; separately, a department administrative fine up to $1,000 per violation per day

Fla. Stat. § 381.0075(7) 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 Florida requires.

Health history and aftercare

No health-history form is required by rule. Aftercare has to be given to the customer both out loud and in writing.

"[A] tattoo artist shall provide information on aftercare to the customer, both verbally and in writing" — Fla. Admin. Code R. 64E-28.009(4)

Texting your clients in Florida

8am to 8pm, the client’s local time. 3 messages a day. Fla. Stat. § 501.616(6), with the consent and text-message rules at § 501.059, in force since 2021-07-01. It names text messages, so a text counts.

Consent. Prior express written consent for an automated or recorded solicitation (§ 501.059(8)(a)). Florida's own definition of that consent names a text message, wants the number written on it, and wants it to say that signing is not a condition of buying anything. Checking a box counts as the signature.

Your own clients. It gets you out of the consent rule and not out of the clock. A message to somebody you already do business with is not an unsolicited telephonic sales call (§ 501.059(1)(k)3.). But the window and the cap live in the Telemarketing Act, whose exemption list opens "The provisions of this part, except ss. 501.608 and 501.616(6) and (7), do not apply to", so both survive every exemption on that list, including the one for a shop selling at its own counter.

It reaches your sender too. Its own words are “make or knowingly allow to be made”, so a service that texts on your behalf is inside this rule with you. Hiring one does not move the duty off the shop.

A commercial telephone solicitation phone call before 8 a.m. or after 8 p.m. local time in the called person's time zone. The text

A client can sue for actual damages or $500, whichever is more, trebled for a willful violation. For a text, they have to reply STOP first and give you 15 days.

Federal law is the floor under it: 8am to 9pm, the client’s local time, prior express written consent for a marketing text, and a STOP honored within 10 business days (47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(c)(1), (e)).

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 8pm, 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.
• 3 messages a day, at most. Florida counts every marketing message you send one person.

Who inspects you

It is one statewide program with one rulebook, but it is administered locally: you apply to the county health department with jurisdiction where the shop sits, on form DH 4151, and that office issues the license and inspects.

Tattoo establishment and tattoo artist licensing (Fla. Admin. Code ch. 64E-28)

Inspected at least once a year (64E-28.007(22): at minimum, annual inspections). The county health department inspects on form DH 4153; the current licensing period's customer, sterilization and personnel records have to be on site and available for review when it does.

Licensing

Your shop. Yes, a tattoo establishment license from the county health department on form DH 4151, good for 1 year (a temporary establishment runs up to 14 consecutive days).

Your artists. Yes, a tattoo artist license under 64E-28.003, with a separate guest tattoo artist registration under 64E-28.004.

The licensing page

Florida 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