Idaho
Idaho does not license tattoo artists, permit tattoo shops, or run a state tattoo program, there is no state administrative rule for the trade at all. The one law that binds you is criminal: nobody under 14 gets tattooed, and 14 to 17 needs the prior written informed consent of a parent or legal guardian, signed in front of you. No state rule tells you what to record or how long to keep it.
What the record must capture
No state ID rule. The statute puts the parent or guardian in the room signing in front of you, so in practice you are checking an adult as well as the minor.
A license on a phone in Idaho
Idaho does not issue a digital license. A license on a phone is not an ID a shop here can rely on.
What we read: Idaho Transportation Department, Drivers Licenses & ID Cards page (itd.idaho.gov/dmv/drivers-licenses-id-cards/) and a search of the ITD site for digital/mobile/electronic license, 2026-09-11: nothing offered or announced. Idaho Legislature: H 78 (2025) history (last action 03/12/2025, referred to Senate Transportation); the 2026 bill list (only S 1299 touches digital ID); S 1299 as amended and its history (signed 03/31/26, Session Law ch. 250). App Store search for an Idaho mobile ID: none. TSA list (2026-09-11): Idaho absent.
On waivers.tattoo: a shop can let its clients choose a saved photo of their ID in Settings. It starts off, and in Idaho a saved photo is only ever a picture of a card: a copy for your file, never proof of age.
Minors
18+. 14–17 only with conditions. Nobody under 14, ever. From 14 to 17, get the prior written informed consent of a parent or legal guardian, and they have to sign it in front of you or in front of an employee or agent of yours.
"No person shall knowingly tattoo ... on a minor between the ages of fourteen (14) and eighteen (18) years unless such person obtains the prior written informed consent of the minor's parent or legal guardian." — Idaho Code § 18-1523(3)
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 Idaho requires, nobody under 14 is offered it.
Piercing a minor
18+ to sign alone. 14–17 only with conditions. Nobody under 14 gets pierced, ever, outside the earlobe. From 14 to 17, get the prior written informed consent of a parent or legal guardian, and they have to sign it in front of you or in front of an employee or agent of yours.
The statute defines body piercing as perforation of any body part other than an earlobe, so nothing in the section, including the age-14 floor, reaches a lobe.
Misdemeanor, fine up to $500; a second violation within a year is $500 to $1,000.
Idaho Code § 18-1523(2)-(3) 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 Idaho requires, nobody under 14 is offered it.
What the consent form must say
"The minor's parent or legal guardian shall execute the written informed consent ... in the presence of the person performing the tattooing ... or in the presence of an employee or agent of such person." — Idaho Code § 18-1523(3)
Health history and aftercare
No Idaho statute or rule requires a health-history questionnaire or written aftercare instructions.
Texting your clients in Idaho
8am to 9pm, the client’s local time. Idaho 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 Idaho: Read the whole of Idaho Code Title 48, Chapter 10 (Idaho Telephone Solicitation Act) section by section at legislature.idaho.gov: 48-1002 (Definitions), 48-1003 (Unlawful acts), 48-1003A (No telephone solicitation contact list), 48-1003B, 48-1003C (Automatic dialing-announcing device), 48-1004 (Telephone solicitor duties), 48-1005 (Exemptions), 48-1007 (Private causes of action and remedies), 48-1009 (Consumer notification; IPUC rulemaking). Also read Idaho Code 48-603A (Unfair solicitation practices, cross-referenced by 48-1003(1)(g)), 48-603E (Unfair bulk electronic mail advertisement practices) and 48-608 (ICPA damages). Searched every one of those sections for 'a.m.', 'p.m.', 'hour', 'text', 'message', 'SMS'. Zero hits for any calling-hours or per-day-cap provision anywhere in the chapter.
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. Idaho 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 state agency licenses artists or permits shops, and Idaho has no health-agency body-art program: Central District Health, the district covering Boise and Ada County, lists pools, child care, food and septic, and no body art. Check your own city and county before assuming nothing applies.
There is no state inspector for tattoo shops. If anyone inspects you, it is a city or county acting under a local ordinance.
Licensing
Your shop. No state license, permit or registration for a tattoo shop; whether you need anything at all is a city or county question.
Your artists. No state license or permit for an individual tattoo artist.
Idaho 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.
- Is a tattoo consent form signed on a phone legal? Yes, since 2000. Here is what your state adds on top.
- 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.