New Hampshire
The Office of Professional Licensure and Certification licenses the artist, not the shop, and your town or city approves the premises. Tattooing anyone under 18 is flatly prohibited, and a parent cannot sign that away; only piercing can be done on a minor, with the parent present. Keep records for at least 7 years, and a minor's piercing paperwork for 7 years or until a year past their 18th birthday, whichever is longer.
What the record must capture
- A photocopy, photograph or scan of the client's government-issued photo ID
- Or, if the client refuses copying, a signed acknowledgment that the ID was checked
- For a minor's piercing: the parent's written consent and photo ID
- For a minor's piercing: a birth certificate or court order proving the relationship
- For a minor's piercing: documentation of where the piercing goes on the body
Yes. You may only work on someone who presents valid, government-issued identification, and you keep a copy, photo or scan of it, or a written acknowledgment they signed if they refuse the copy.
"All records shall be maintained for a minimum of 7 years." — N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 314-A:6, I, the sentence after the one on spore-test records; minors' piercing consent records: N.H. Code Admin. R. Plc 606.03(e).
A license on a phone in New Hampshire
New Hampshire does not issue a digital license. A license on a phone is not an ID a shop here can rely on.
What we read: NH DMV home, Driver License/Non Driver IDs and FAQ pages (dmv.nh.gov), 2026-09-11: no mobile license offered or announced. RSA ch. 263-A read in full (gc.nh.gov). SB 70 (2025) itself was tabled and killed (Inexpedient to Legislate, Senate Rule 3-23, 10/31/2025) after its text rode the budget trailer HB 2 (2025 ch. 141). Apple Wallet, Google Wallet and TSA lists (2026-09-11): New Hampshire absent.
On waivers.tattoo: a shop can let its clients choose a saved photo of their ID in Settings. It starts off, and in New Hampshire a saved photo is only ever a picture of a card: a copy for your file, never proof of age.
Minors
18+. No minors, even with a parent. There is no parental-consent route for a tattoo in New Hampshire; 18 is the floor, full stop. Only body piercing can be done on a minor, and then only with written parental or guardian consent, proof of the relationship from a birth certificate or court order, the parent's photo ID, documentation of where the piercing goes on the body, and the parent physically present the whole time.
"Branding and tattooing a person under the age of 18 is prohibited." — N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 314-A:8, I
On waivers.tattoo: your form takes 18+ for a tattoo in New Hampshire, and tells the client which rule says so.
Piercing a minor
18+ to sign alone. Minors only with conditions. The parent or legal guardian has to be physically present at all times during the procedure, present photographic ID, prove the relationship through a birth certificate or court order, and sign a document declaring they are the parent or guardian. The consent has to name where on the minor's body the piercing goes, and the paperwork is kept 7 years or until a year past the minor's 18th birthday, whichever is longer.
Ear lobe piercing is excluded from the definition of body piercing, and a facility that does only ear lobes is outside RSA 314-A entirely.
A $2,000 administrative fine for a piercing under 18 without the parent's consent; $2,000 per underaged individual per branding or tattoo; both are grounds for revocation.
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 314-A:8, II-III; N.H. Code Admin. R. Plc 606.03(e) 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 New Hampshire requires.
What the consent form must say
"Each licensee shall disclose to each client the health risks and potential adverse effects of the procedure prior to beginning any procedure." — N.H. Code Admin. R. Plc 606.04(a)
Health history and aftercare
No health-history form is required. You do have to disclose the health risks and potential adverse effects before starting, turn away anyone who appears impaired, and give written and oral aftercare covering bandaging, skin care, what to wear while it heals, sun and water exposure, skin products, and when to seek medical treatment.
"Each licensee shall provide written and oral aftercare instructions applicable to the body art performed to each client." — N.H. Code Admin. R. Plc 606.04(b)
Texting your clients in New Hampshire
8am to 9pm, the client’s local time. New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire: Read all of N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. ch. 359-E (Telemarketing) at gencourt.state.nh.us, §§ 359-E:1 through 359-E:11, both subdivisions (Use of Automatic Telephone Dialing Systems and Caller Identification Services; Telemarketing Sales Calls). Searched it for 'text', 'SMS', 'electronic', 'hours', 'a.m.', 'p.m.', no hours provision and no text-message provision. Walked the full Title XXXI (Trade and Commerce) chapter list to check for a commercial-electronic-mail or commercial-text chapter: 359-E is the only telemarketing chapter, 359-H is Computer Spyware, and 359-Q is Sale of Furniture with Flame Retardant Chemicals, there is no NH commercial-email or commercial-text statute.
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. New Hampshire 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
OPLC licenses the individual practitioner and its inspectors visit regulated places of business; there is no state shop license. The rule instead says you may only work in a facility approved as a body art establishment under your town or city's regulations, and a number of New Hampshire towns, Salem, Laconia and Hudson among them, have their own body art ordinances on top of the state rules.
Body art practitioner and apprentice licensing under RSA 314-A, with an advisory board of body art practitioners
OPLC inspectors do routine and licensing-related inspections; they present credentials, and you must let them enter, photograph, and examine the records named on the posted inspection checklist for your business type.
Licensing
Your shop. No state shop license. You may only practice in a facility approved for use as a body art establishment under your town or city's regulations, so check the local ordinance.
Your artists. Yes. An OPLC practitioner license. You need 3 years practicing under supervision in an establishment plus an approved course in sterilizing instruments and materials; otherwise you start on an apprentice license, minimum one year. Renewal takes 3 hours of continuing education.
New Hampshire 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.