Louisiana

What the record must capture

• Client's name and address
• Date of each service
• Description of the service
• Color, manufacturer and lot number of every pigment used

The state rule requires proper identification only from the parent, custodian or guardian of a client under 18, it sets no photo-ID rule for adult clients, though checking one is how you prove the client was 18.

"Records shall be kept for a minimum of three years." — La. Admin. Code tit. 51, sec. XXVIII-107.F

A license on a phone in Louisiana

Louisiana’s digital license is a real ID. It lives in LA Wallet app. La. Admin. Code 55:VII.401, Digitized Identification Acceptance:

Alcohol and tobacco retailers may choose to accept digitized identification or they may still require a physical identification when checking identification. The text

A picture of one is not. “A digital copy, photograph, or image of a driver's license which is not downloaded through the application on a mobile device shall not be a valid digitized driver's license as provided by this Section.” The source

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 Louisiana requires.

Minors

18+. Minors only with conditions. Under 18 only if a parent, tutor, legal custodian or legal guardian is physically there, consents, and shows proper identification. Doing it without that consent is a crime, not just a licence problem, a fine of $100 to $500, or 30 days to a year in jail, or both.

"It is unlawful for any person to tattoo or body pierce any other person under the age of eighteen without the consent of an accompanying parent or tutor." — La. R.S. 14:93.2(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 Louisiana requires.

Piercing a minor

18+ to sign alone. Minors only with conditions. A parent, tutor, legal custodial parent or legal guardian has to be physically there, consent, and show proper identification. All three, and the statute frames it as consent from an accompanying parent, so mailing a note in does not work.

The sanitary code writes a lobe piercing done with a pre-sterilized single-use stud-and-clasp system out of both 'body piercing' and 'body art'. The criminal statute R.S. 14:93.2 carries no such exception, so the two texts do not line up here.

Fine of $100 to $500, or 30 days to a year in jail, or both, on the artist personally; the facility can also lose its registration.

La. R.S. 14:93.2(A)-(B); La. Admin. Code tit. 51, § XXVIII-107.H.5 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 Louisiana requires.

What the consent form must say

• The client's completed signature on the form
• A prominent statement on the regulatory status of the inks used

"Prior to any body art procedure, a consent form shall be completed and signed by each client." — La. Admin. Code tit. 51, sec. XXVIII-107.A

Health history and aftercare

The health history is written as a should, not a shall: the rule says the operator should request and record whether the client has diabetes, a history of hemophilia, skin disease or sensitivities, allergies to pigments or dyes, epilepsy or fainting, immune disorders or keloid scarring, and whether they are pregnant or nursing. Aftercare is mandatory, verbal and written, every service.

"Aftercare instructions shall be given to the client both verbally and in writing after every service." — La. Admin. Code tit. 51, sec. XXVIII-107.A

Texting your clients in Louisiana

8am to 8pm, the client’s local time. Never on Sundays or legal holidays. La. R.S. 45:844.11–45:844.17 (Telephone Solicitation Relief Act of 2001); LPSC Do Not Call Program General Order, Docket No. R-29617, § V(A)(2), in force since 2006-10-11. It names text messages, so a text counts.

Consent. La. R.S. 45:844.12(6)(a) takes a communication out of 'telephonic solicitation' when it is made "In response to an express request of the person called", and the LPSC's General Order adds that an express request obtained from an advertisement carrying the seller's own number "expires six months after the 'express request' is granted." Louisiana writes no prior-express-written-consent formality of its own.

Your own clients. Yes, but on a six-month clock, far tighter than the federal 18-month EBR. La. R.S. 45:844.12(6)(c) excludes a communication "To any person with whom the telephonic solicitor has an existing business relationship, or a prior business relationship that was terminated or lapsed within six months of such call." And the exemption does not buy relief from the hours rule: LPSC General Order R-29617 § V(A)(1) says the terms and conditions "apply whether or not the telephonic solicitor is granted an exception."

It reaches your sender too. Its own words are “makes or causes 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.

No calls will be placed on Sunday or Legal Holidays. No calls will be placed between the hours of 8:00 P.M. and 8:00 A.M. Monday through Saturday. (Local time at the call party's location.) The text

No private right of action in the chapter. La.

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, and never on Sundays or legal holidays. 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. Louisiana 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

One state agency runs it. LDH registers the facility owner, the manager and each operator separately, and inspects the business at least once before it may offer body art. There is no county tattoo licence layered on top; the state sanitary code is the rulebook.

Commercial Body Art registration (Center for Environmental Health, Food and Drug Unit)

At least one inspection before LDH approves a business to offer commercial body art, then whenever the department deems it necessary, no fixed interval in the statute. LDH can suspend or revoke a business's approval for operating in violation of the sanitary code or of R.S. 14:93.2, the minors law.

Licensing

Your shop. Yes, the facility owner registers the shop with LDH ($1,000 to start, $500 a year to renew) and a manager registers too ($200, then $150); LDH inspects before approving the business to offer body art.

Your artists. Yes, every operator registers with LDH ($100 to start, $60 a year to renew), on top of the facility's own registration.

The licensing page

Louisiana 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